Vacant lots and what to look for...

[Daniel Hornsby]

I recently came into contact with a sweet little old lady who called me from a yellow letter I sent her. She mentioned she had 2 parcels of vacant land side by side that she was considering selling. A total lot size of around 6 acres in a primarily residential area but within walking distance of the downtown area of Howell, MI.

What are some things to consider when determining if a certain piece of vacant land is "developable" or usable?

If more info is needed let me know and I'll post what I know. I'm pretty green when it comes down to vacant lots so any feedback/advice is very much appreciated.

Thanks!

[Seth Williams]

I think Naveen Desai has a great point above. I'd also ask the local zoning department what exactly the property can be used for.

With build-able lots in the city like this, it's important to know what the required setbacks and feasible uses are (make sure you'll actually have the required room to build something, and make sure you can actually build what you want to build). Make sure the property doesn't have any oddball restrictions that make it "virtually useless".

All of these issues come up fairly infrequently, but they are important things to watch out for before you purchase. I have seen them ALL come up at one time or another.

The trick with vacant land is to understand why it's vacant in the first place. I've run across quite a few vacant lots that seem attractive at first glance, but the reason nobody is currently using them is because you CAN'T use them. If one (or more) of the issues above are prohibiting anybody from putting a property to good use, believe me - you don't want to find out the hard way (after you've purchased the property).