Vacant land holds a lot of possibilities, like building your own home or creating a business there. Buying vacant land for sale can be a fantastic way to have a space you can fully customize to your own liking. But there are many things to consider, like land transfer tax, zoning restrictions, and environmental factors. Here is a guide to making sure your purchase is a success.
When you're planning to get land, there is nothing more important than the location. This is especially crucial if your plan is not just to own vacant land. For example, if you're planning to create a business there, space shouldn’t be isolated from potential customers. If you want to build a house, you shouldn’t purchase land you can’t even build on. Think about what surrounds your location, like access to schools, shops, and your job. It’s important to inspect for yourself or at least have a professional help you to look at the land.
When it comes to purchasing land, you may put yourself at the risk of overpaying for land or getting a property that doesn’t suit your needs. Having a real estate agent that has a lot of experience will help to make sure you get the right land for the best price. Make sure to note that vacant land and an existing home are two very separate things, so get an agent that knows the ins and outs of purchasing vacant land.
Zoning laws are what you can and can’t do with your land. The reason why it's so important to know about them is that it's almost impossible to get exceptions to zoning permits. Without looking into these restrictions, you might be buying a property that interferes with your building plans. To figure out what your zoning laws are, seek out a zoning office in any U.S county. Make sure to look out for your count's long-term land-use plans and schedules for road-additions.
When you eventually find a piece of land, it's crucial to run an environmental test. This can save you time and money from building on poor/ polluted soil. With this test, you’ll also have to look if your lot falls within a floodplain. Checking this will require you to check the plats, the plot of land. Doing additional past research can help determine potential flood areas. Knowing the environment of your desired land will help you know if it's worth the spend.
Even if it doesn't sound that difficult, it can become a complex situation to deal with when purchasing a vacant lot. The road access problem will be less prevalent in urban areas compared to the countryside. The problem with a lot of rural lands is that it is cut off from major roads, and only uses private access. If your land isn’t accessible through public roadways, that means it also may not have access to your city’s water or sewage. This will result in you having to pay extra in construction for a septic system. Try to find a property with public road access.
When you're buying real estate, you will run in different expenses that won’t just come from purchasing the land. When you purchase property, something you want to consider getting is title insurance, it "protects owners and lenders against any property loss or damage they might experience because of liens, encumbrances or defects in the title to the property" (the source: Stewart.com). Use it as a shield from legal complications. You might as well get a land survey. Sometimes you won’t need to get one because the land has already been surveyed, but it’s important to check the date of the survey. You don’t want to base your research
When you're planning to build a home or establishment from scratch, take into account you will have to pay for water and power access. This ties in with road access. If you are planning to buy the land for an investment, luckily you’ll be able to bypass a lot of those things.
When buying land for sale in Ontario, there are many things to consider and look out for. But using these tips, you’ll avoid the extra hassle and costs of not knowing. Make sure you are getting the best out of your money.