u/18findings

Not whether the property has "good soil."

Where the house is going, where the well is going, where the driveway is going, setbacks, drain field, reserve area, all of it.

Had a parcel recently that looked like a pretty normal homestead property from the aerial. Plenty of open ground and enough acreage for what someone would probably want to do with it.

Then I started looking at the soil map and the flood map together.

The areas that looked best for putting a house were also the areas where I wouldn't want to be counting on a conventional septic system.

That doesn't necessarily make the property unbuildable. It just means you can't look at acreage and assume you have that much usable space.

For homestead land, I think the septic location is one of those things that's worth figuring out before you get attached to the property.

A beautiful 10 acres isn't much of a homestead if the only place you can put the house and septic doesn't work.

the land isn't the hard part. the zoning is.

here's what I'd check before buying, not six months after.

1. minimum dwelling size

Some zoning codes have minimum floor area requirements for residential dwellings.

If you're looking at a 400 sq ft tiny home and the zoning requires 800 sq ft, you've got a problem before you even get to the fun stuff.

And this isn't some theoretical issue. Minimum dwelling sizes vary by jurisdiction, and requirements can be high enough to rule out smaller tiny homes entirely.

Don't assume "residential zoning" means your tiny home qualifies. Pull the actual zoning code and look for the minimum dwelling size.

2. tiny home on wheels vs. foundation

This is a huge one.

If it's on wheels, a lot of places classify it as an RV instead of a dwelling.

And plenty of jurisdictions have restrictions on living in an RV full time on your own land.

So you can end up in a situation where the tiny home is allowed to be there, but you're not allowed to use it as your permanent residence.

That distinction matters.

3. septic and utilities

Getting the dwelling approved doesn't automatically mean the site will work.

Check whether the property can actually support the required septic system and whether the county has specific requirements based on the type or size of dwelling.

If you're planning to go off grid, check water and septic before buying the dirt, not after.

4. how many dwellings are allowed

This gets overlooked by people planning multiple tiny homes.

A residential parcel allowing one dwelling doesn't mean you can put three tiny homes on it because they're small.

If the plan is one for you, one for family, and another for guests, check the actual dwelling and accessory dwelling rules first.

The listing can say "residential."

The seller can say "tiny homes are allowed."

Neither one answers the question that actually matters:

Can I legally live in my specific tiny home on this specific parcel?

I'd rather spend an hour reading the zoning code before buying the land than find out six months later.

If you're eyeing a specific parcel for your tiny home and want a second set of eyes on whether your setup is actually allowed there, drop a comment or DM me. Happy to help you look.

I see a lot of people here looking at raw land who get excited when the seller says "Well Permit on file!" or "Water is available!"
Just a heads up from someone who looks at this data daily:
A permit doesn't mean water. It just means you paid the county $100 to drill a hole.
I just ran a check for a parcel in Colorado. The permit looked fine, but when I pulled the actual Driller's Construction Logs for the neighbors, they were all drilling 360+ feet deep through sandstone to hit the aquifer.
The Lesson: Before you buy, go to your state's DWR (Division of Water Resources) Map Viewer. Turn on the
"Constructed Wells" layer (not just "Applications") and click on the dots next door.
• Permit = Permission to drill.
• Log = Proof of water (and how deep/expensive it is).
Don't buy blind. If anyone is looking at a specific parcel and doesn't know how to navigate the GIS maps, drop a comment or dm if you want me to look over something.

I see a lot of people here looking at raw land who get excited when the seller says "Well Permit on file!" or "Water is available!"
Just a heads up from someone who looks at this data daily:
A permit doesn't mean water. It just means you paid the county $100 to drill a hole.
I just ran a check for a parcel in Colorado. The permit looked fine, but when I pulled the actual Driller's Construction Logs for the neighbors, they were all drilling 360+ feet deep through sandstone to hit the aquifer.
The Lesson: Before you buy, go to your state's DWR (Division of Water Resources) Map Viewer. Turn on the
"Constructed Wells" layer (not just "Applications") and click on the dots next door.
• Permit = Permission to drill.
• Log = Proof of water (and how deep/expensive it is).
Don't buy blind. If anyone is looking at a specific parcel and doesn't know how to navigate the GIS maps, drop a comment or dm if you want me to look over something.

I see a lot of people here looking at raw land who get excited when the seller says "Well Permit on file!" or "Water is available!"
Just a heads up from someone who looks at this data daily:
A permit doesn't mean water. It just means you paid the county $100 to drill a hole.
I just ran a check for a parcel in Colorado. The permit looked fine, but when I pulled the actual Driller's Construction Logs for the neighbors, they were all drilling 360+ feet deep through sandstone to hit the aquifer.
The Lesson: Before you buy, go to your state's DWR (Division of Water Resources) Map Viewer. Turn on the
"Constructed Wells" layer (not just "Applications") and click on the dots next door.
• Permit = Permission to drill.
• Log = Proof of water (and how deep/expensive it is).
Don't buy blind. If anyone is looking at a specific parcel and doesn't know how to navigate the GIS maps, drop a comment or dm if you want me to look over something.

I see a lot of people here looking at raw land who get excited when the seller says "Well Permit on file!" or "Water is available!"

Just a heads up from someone who looks at this data daily: A permit doesn't mean water. It just means you paid the county $100 to drill a hole.

I just ran a check for a parcel in Colorado. The permit looked fine, but when I pulled the actual Driller's Construction Logs for the neighbors, they were all drilling 360+ feet deep through sandstone to hit the aquifer.

The Lesson: Before you buy, go to your state's DWR (Division of Water Resources) Map Viewer. Turn on the "Constructed Wells" layer (not just "Applications") and click on the dots next door.

• Permit = Permission to drill.
• Log = Proof of water (and how deep/expensive it is).

Don't buy blind. If anyone is looking at a specific parcel and doesn't know how to navigate the GIS maps, drop a comment or DM me and I can try to help you pull the logs.

Been looking at a lot of off-grid properties lately and I think people get a little too hung up on acreage.
Give me 8–10 usable acres with decent terrain, a good water situation, year-round access and enough usable ground for a garden, shop, house, etc.
I’d take that over 80 acres where half the property is steep, the access is questionable and you’re 45 minutes from the nearest paved road.

More land is obviously nice, but at some point you’re just paying to own more trees. I’ve seen listings where the acreage number is basically the entire sales pitch. “47 ACRES!!” Then you look at the actual parcel and wonder what you’re supposed to do with 35 of those acres. If you were buying specifically for an off-grid setup, how much land would you actually want? I’m starting to think 10–20 usable acres is the sweet spot for most people unless you have a specific reason for needing more

was looking at a parcel this week that had one of those prices that makes you stop scrolling.
Acreage was good. Location wasn’t terrible. On paper, it looked like one of those “how is this still available?” properties.
So I started digging.
And that’s when it got interesting.
The listing made the property look pretty straightforward, but the county records told a much messier story. There were things I would’ve wanted answered before even thinking about making an offer.
Nothing dramatic. Just enough little details that the “cheap” price didn’t look nearly as exciting anymore.
That’s probably the biggest thing I’ve learned from researching land:
The question isn’t “Why is this land so cheap?”
It’s “What am I missing?”
Because sometimes you really did find a good deal.
And sometimes the price is the warning sign.
I’ve started spending way more time asking that question before getting excited about a parcel.
If you’re looking at land right now, I’d genuinely be interested to hear what you’re looking at.

I was scrolling through listings yesterday and came across a rural parcel that honestly looked pretty boring. A few blurry photos, barely any description, nothing that really stood out.

The only reason I clicked it was because the price seemed low for the area.

I ended up pulling the county records and noticed the property had changed hands six different times since 2008. It wasn't anything dramatic—some were normal sales, one looked like a family transfer—but it sent me down a rabbit hole.

I spent the next hour reading through old deeds, comparing parcel maps, and looking at how the ownership changed over the years.

It ended up being a good reminder that the listing wasn't really the interesting part. The paperwork was.

Sometimes the properties with the worst listings end up being the ones that are the most interesting to research. The photos tell you what the land looks like. The county records tell you where it's been.

I was looking into a piece of land someone sent me this week.
At first glance I thought, “I’d probably pass on this.”
The listing wasn’t great.
Nothing really stood out.
Then I started digging through the county records.
The more I looked, the more I realized the listing was actually doing a terrible job of selling the property.
It wasn’t perfect, but it was a much better piece of land than I would’ve guessed from the photos and description alone.
That was kind of a reminder that due diligence isn’t just about finding problems.
Sometimes it’s about realizing a property is better than it looks.
Curious…
Has anyone here ever almost walked away from a property, then found something that completely changed your mind?

A few days ago i was digging through a vacant lot that looked like a pretty good deal. Around $38k, flat, decent road frontage, no obvious red flags from the listing.

Then i pulled the flood map.

About half the property was in the floodplain, which isn't that unusual by itself. But when i overlaid the recorded easement, it got a lot worse.

The utility easement ran right through the only part of the lot that wasn't in the floodplain.

On paper it was still an acre. In reality, there really wasn't a good spot left for a second homesite without running into one problem or the other.

If somebody bought it thinking, "I'll build here now and split it later," they would've had a pretty bad surprise.

The thing that gets me is none of this was hidden. The deed, easement records, county GIS, and FEMA maps all lined up. It just wasn't in the listing because listings usually aren't trying to answer those questions.

I'm still learning this stuff myself, and a title company will catch things i won't. But one thing i've realized is that opening a couple public maps before you make an offer can save you from chasing a property that was never going to work for what you wanted.

Curious what everyone else's biggest "looked great until i checked" moment has been. I've already had a few parcels go from "this is a steal" to "never mind" after spending an hour digging through county records.

The more properties I look into, the more I think successful land investing has less to do with finding amazing deals and more to do with eliminating bad ones quickly.

Every parcel has a reason to get excited.

The hard part is spotting the reason to walk away before it costs you money.

Have you found that's true in your experience, or do you think the opposite?

Genuinely curious where people land on this, because I've heard it both ways.

Some people I've talked to run access, liens and flood before they market, on the theory that a buyer finding a problem mid-option period costs you the assignment and the time.

Others do almost nothing and let the buyer figure it out, on the theory that it's their money and their diligence period, and time spent on a deal that might not close is time wasted.

Both seem defensible. What's your process?

One property looked like a great deal until I started digging and after looking through a bunch of properties people sent me over the last week, I realized I spend almost no time looking at the pictures anymore.
I’ll scroll through them once…
Then I’m off looking at county records, parcel maps, flood maps, deed history, and surrounding properties.
One looked like a great deal until the county records showed the “road access” was really an ATV trail with no recorded vehicle access. Another had covenants that prohibited anyone from living on the property until the owner-financed loan was paid off—about 15 years out. Neither of those things was in the listing.
At the same time, another property looked pretty average at first and ended up being much cleaner than I expected once I dug into the records.
When I first started looking at land, the pictures were what caught my attention.
Now they’re almost the last thing I look at.
Has anyone else found themselves doing the same thing?

I'm curious because I've noticed a lot of the discussion around flips is focused on the house (understandably), but not as much on the land it's sitting on.

For those of you who buy older homes or tear-down opportunities, how much time do you spend researching the actual parcel before closing?

Things like:

• Easements
• Floodplain
• Zoning
• Future road projects
• Surrounding land use
• Title/deed history

Have any of those ever changed your mind on a deal?

I'm wondering because it seems like the lot can end up being just as important as the structure, especially if the exit strategy changes.

A few days ago I offered to look over people's land listings. I run a small land research business so it's what I'm doing anyway, and I figured maybe two or three people would send something.

Got a lot more than that, from all over the country.

The part that surprised me was that almost nobody had the same goal. Hunting ground. A cabin build. A specific kind of farming I'd never researched before. A couple of people just wanted to know whether they were overpaying.

Which made the obvious thing obvious: there's no such thing as good land. There's only land that fits what you're trying to do. The same parcel is a great buy and a disaster depending on who's asking.

The other thing I noticed is that I'd stop reading the listing after about a minute and spend the rest of the time in county records. The listing tells you what the seller wants you to see. The county tells you the rest.

What's something you found during your own due diligence that completely changed your mind on a property?

A few days ago I offered to look over people's land listings. I run a small land research business so it's what I'm doing anyway, and I figured maybe two or three people would send something.

Got a lot more than that, from all over the country.

The part that surprised me was that almost nobody had the same goal. Hunting ground. A cabin build. A specific kind of farming I'd never researched before. A couple of people just wanted to know whether they were overpaying.

Which made the obvious thing obvious: there's no such thing as good land. There's only land that fits what you're trying to do. The same parcel is a great buy and a disaster depending on who's asking.

The other thing I noticed is that I'd stop reading the listing after about a minute and spend the rest of the time in county records. The listing tells you what the seller wants you to see. The county tells you the rest.

What's something you found during your own due diligence that completely changed your mind on a property?

A few days ago I offered to look over people's land listings. I run a small land research business so it's what I'm doing anyway, and I figured maybe two or three people would send something.

Got a lot more than that, from all over the country.

The part that surprised me was that almost nobody had the same goal. Hunting ground. A cabin build. A specific kind of farming I'd never researched before. A couple of people just wanted to know whether they were overpaying.

Which made the obvious thing obvious: there's no such thing as good land. There's only land that fits what you're trying to do. The same parcel is a great buy and a disaster depending on who's asking.

The other thing I noticed is that I'd stop reading the listing after about a minute and spend the rest of the time in county records. The listing tells you what the seller wants you to see. The county tells you the rest.

What's something you found during your own due diligence that completely changed your mind on a property?

I spend a lot of time in county records on vacant land, and that's the pattern that keeps showing up.

I've seen parcels that looked overpriced until you checked access, surrounding development, zoning and ownership history, and then they made sense. I've also seen cheap land where a few minutes in the records raised enough questions that I'd want answers before making an offer.

Curious if anyone here has backed out of a land deal after finding something during due diligence. What was it?

If you've got vacant land under contract or you're seriously considering making an offer for a tiny home build, send me the listing.

I'll do a quick review and tell you what I'd investigate further before closing. Zoning that actually permits tiny homes, legal access, well and septic feasibility, flood zone on the actual parcel, and whether the price holds up against real comps.

Not trying to replace a title company or survey, just another set of eyes using county records and public data.

If it looks solid I'll say that too.