Raw Land Help!

[Megan Aldridge]

Good Afternoon!  I am looking at a deal on a piece of raw land.  I drove past and it's in a decent residential area - as far as I can tell someone must have planned on building on it at some point, but then the deal fell through or something, I think.  Here's my question:

It's covered in mature trees and weeds (so not cleared at all).  Who do I contact about finding out if this land is good to build on?  I certainly don't want to buy it and find out I can't build a house on it.  

Thanks!

[John H Huston]

Megan,  Greetings!  There are a whole host of factors that go into the determination of whether a particular piece of land is good to build on, including existing zoning and land use designation in any master plan, restrictive covenants of record, potential for rezoning and use, access (including curb-cut), slope, soils, drainage, flood risk, historical use (pristine or a dump or former manufacturing site), and availability of services (water, sewer, power, telephone, cable, internet, garbage, etc.)   The local municipal/county building department can be of help in terms of present and potential zoning and use.  Depending on the context, it might be wise to obtain and Phase I Environmental Report from a local qualified  engineering firm that does such investigations and reports.  Some lenders require one to be done in any event.  Often, the same engineering firm is also familiar with the area and can advise you on soils, slope, drainage and geotechnical aspects, such a sinkhole risk.  Determination of availability and cost of services may involve contacting each provider and finding out what services are available and their cost (such as tap fees for water & sewer.)   It would be important to talk with the city or county about access, roads and who pays for the cost of the improvements, extensions and future maintenance you will need.   It might be helpful to talk to a couple of local builders and see what their experience and advice is.  If you really like the land you should think about tying it up on an option first before exposing it to lots of folks in your investigations - people who might become interested themselves or mention the property to someone else. Generally, you should be able to option the land for a nominal amount of earnest money paid  into escrow for a reasonable diligence period while you gather information, the option money returnable to you if you find out something you do not like, including any defects in title that show up on the preliminary title report (usually delivered to a buyer for the buyer's review after entry into the option or purchase agreement and prior to the earnest money becoming non-refundable to the buyer.)   Good luck. Best,  John