Buying vacant land with cash step by steps

[Kevin Lin]

Hi All,

I am interested to buy a piece of vacant land in California (to use for my retirement years) which is priced between 5K and 10K, and I am planning to buy with all cash. The lot I wanted to buy is zoned for residential single family residence. I am an absolute beginner in buying vacant land and would like to get some suggestions. Due to my first time experience, there are many thoughts going through in my mind, and wanted to think out loud to get help!

1. Should I have a real estate agent to submit an offer? For house buying, it is a required step since, they can only write up an offer for a property. Is it the same for vacant land as well? If a buyer does not need a real estate agent, can he/she directly negotiate with seller for the purchase agreement terms?

2. I have learned that I should "at least" get a title search done. Should I do it before the offer is made or after the offer is accepted?

3. For the price between $5K~$10K property, should I buy a title insurance? I know you would say it depends on my risk appetite, but I would like to know what you would have done in my shoes?

4. Should I get land surveyed? If so, is it one of the contingencies of the purchase agreement? How do I go about getting the land survey done? 

5. If it were a house that I am buying, the closing cost could be significant, due to a lot of things getting added up in the process. How about closing costs for vacant land? Are there anything like "who pays what"?

6. What are the steps that I need to go through in the closing?

I would appreciate a bunch if you could throw some tips and answers for my concerns! Right now, I know nothing, but I know I wanted that vacant land. Thanks in advance!