What to Consider When Buying Land

What to Consider When Buying Land

A new house builder quickly realizes the importance of locating the ideal plot to build on. If you're searching for a piece of property that isn't part of a development, you're on your own when it comes to dealing with limitations and easements. Before you invest your hard-earned money in a beautiful view that may or may not be buildable, think about the following issues:

in the PERC. The subject at hand isn't caffeinated beverages. Percolation, on the other hand, is what we're referring to. If you don't live in a neighborhood, you won't have access to public water or sewer, so you'll need to set up your own septic system. In order to determine what sort of system you need, you'll need to have the Perc Test done first by a local civil engineer, who will then design it for you. A large hole will be dug, water will be added, and the time it takes for the water to percolate into the earth will be recorded. You will have an excessive amount of sand if the water drains too quickly. This is a sign that you have too much clay in your soil (or probably rock). The perc will not work if it exceeds a certain tolerance. Each time one of the percs fails, they dig a new hole to check whether the situation has improved. In New Jersey, the cost of a single hole is roughly $1000. It may be possible to locate an alternate septic system if the land does not perc, but it will almost certainly be troublesome.

The perc is an important consideration for any prospective buyer. Just because you own a large area of land doesn't mean that it will always percolate someplace. The buyer is normally responsible for the expense of the test. However, if you find a motivated seller, he or she may even provide you with a pre-approved septic system for the site. But the price of the land will go up as a consequence of this, so it's worth it. Spending a little more now will save you money in the long term. The septic system is built to handle the number of beds in a home, so adding more bedrooms will require a complete re-design of the system.

Once the land has been perceivable, that hole is where the septic tank will be put. If it's in the front yard, you can't move it without doing a new perc. It's also important to keep in mind that you can't build anything on top of your septic field or grow trees there.

Setbacks: The township establishes the distance between a property boundary and a building. Nothing, including your driveway, may be constructed in the setback.Setting back from the road may be required in certain townships, and the setbacks required on the property's front and rear are often greater than those required on its sides. The setback is often shown by a dotted line on your survey, and the area within this line is referred to as the building envelope. In certain cases, you may need to ask for a variance or adjust the building's orientation if the house's footprint is larger than the setbacks allow.

Other parties are granted rights to utilize a portion of your property, known as easements, for public or private purposes. Land-locked neighbors may include a strip connecting to a gas main that runs through your property; electricity lines; railroad tracks; water mains; or even a strip leading to a landlocked neighbor (this strip would be the "flagpole" of a flag lot). However, this easement should be defined in the deed, even if ordinary practice claims priority over imagined rights. Don't buy this property without first securing an easement for a flag lot, since you may not be able to get to it afterwards.

I used to assume wetlands were just puddles of water with a few ducks wading through them. The opposite is true... In fact, we were about to purchase three forested acres of marsh until a buddy warned us. Wetlands in New Jersey are controversial, and the state's decision is based on factors such as vegetation and soil composition. A little creek meandering through the woods is a red flag that something bad is about to happen. We hired an engineer to dig a row of soil samples and label each one with a little flag to indicate the boundary of the wetlands, just to be sure. Ken and Barbie were able to construct their ideal home in the setback once he completed it. If our plans had gone awry, we would have spent $110,000, which is a lot less than the $600 we paid for this little setback. It is possible to acquire permission to construct in wetlands, but this is a time-consuming and expensive endeavor, and there is no assurance of success. The municipality might halt your project at any stage or even order you to demolish what you have already built if they catch wind of your plans.

Restrictions on the transfer of property by deed On the other hand, the municipality may apply these limits if they so wish. When it comes to building a home, for example, your options may be restricted. Building a log house may be illegal in your area of the country. In certain cases, the amount of space a home may have or how it can be used is restricted. Your property may be restricted to a certain style of fence and how high you may build. With regards to how many acres one horse may cover, there may be a restriction. It's a completely unrelated matter to zoning.

Townships have begun to combat urban scribbling by mandating a minimum area on a construction lot. If the property you want to acquire is less than the required minimum acreage, you may have to walk away from the deal. "Grandfathered" lots are those that were subdivided before the legislation was enacted and are thus eligible for construction. You may need a variance to construct on a "substandard" sized lot, so check with the authorities. In addition, if you want to partition a large piece of property into smaller lots and resell them, verify that this is permitted. Due to deed limitations, prec limits, township restrictions, or land preservation concerns, even huge lots may be limited to one or two divisions under the law.

Due to unpaid debts or taxes, you may not be able to gain clear title to your property. This is because the lien will be termed "clouded." A long-term squatter may cause boundary conflicts or adverse possession if you don't want them there. A comprehensive title check may reveal any discrepancies, and the mortgage lender will then insist on your purchasing an upfront title insurance policy to guard against any potential problems. This must be done prior to any agreement being reached.

The source of the water Consult a well driller in your area if you need to dig one. There's a strong likelihood that the driller will know exactly how far he has to go. Drilling a well will cost you by the foot and potentially add thousands to your budget.

The ancient adage "Let the buyer beware" surely comes to mind while looking to acquire property. No one else can defend you if you don't perform a comprehensive investigation of your property with the municipality, civil engineers, or land use attorneys. If your property has been perceivably altered in the past, you may get access to those documents by working with a cooperative township office. A trip to the township office may reveal whether there have been any issues with your lot or block number in the past. Before making such a large investment, you need to, at the very least, know what you can and cannot do with your property.