In any market, availability of views, suitable (gentler) terrain, cleared ground, water frontage/access increases land prices...a bunch!

I once had a new, beautifully finished property that looked incredible...3 months into ownership, the finished basement flooded (the slab had been poured too close to the water table, so when ground water rose, it flooded).

Depending on when the house was built you may or may not have footing drains, and the exterior walls may need to be sealed to stop and ground water from penetrating the walls.

Soil testing to make sure contaminates are not being introduced into the ground and thus the ground water has to be done if DEC gets involved.

In my market we get a separate bill for sewer and ground water.

In other areas of beautiful and cheap land, there are groundwater contamination zones in certain places due to chemicals used in the 70s and before on golf courses and nurseries.  

Nicholas,I have encountered major groundwater issues and resolved by placing well points to reduce the levels but still had to wait for the site to dry to continue building.

and just to be clear, the boundaries of a federal superfund site are determined by how far the contamination has migrated and is not necessarily limited to the source of the contamination. there can be groundwater plumes that can extend for several miles so that all of the properties sitting above the zone of contamination would be considered to be located within the superfund site but that are not responsible for the contamination but simply impacted. very different calculus than if the parcel you are considering is a source of the contamination  

Examples of such liens are: (i) Public Improvement District Liens;(ii) Municipal Management District Liens; (iii) Wind Erosion District Liens; (iv) GroundWater Conservation District Liens; (v) Water Control and Improvement District Liens; (vi)Standby Fee Liens; and (vii) Special Water Liens.

Watch out for cesspools and high ground water.