r/land

I used to think buying land was mostly about:

• location
• acreage
• price

But after spending a lot more time researching parcels, I realized the listing photos usually tell you almost nothing.

Now one of the first things I check is the county GIS map because it instantly starts revealing things like:

• easements
• flood zones
• terrain
• neighboring land use
• access situations
• weird parcel shapes
• nearby power lines
• setbacks

I’ve seen beautiful listings that looked perfect until the maps showed:

• most of the property sitting in floodplain
• no recorded legal access
• terrain too steep to realistically build on
• utility issues
• neighboring industrial/ag land

At this point, I trust maps more than listing descriptions.

A lot of expensive land mistakes are completely avoidable if you slow down and research the parcel properly before getting emotionally attached to it.

How on earth do I get a good valuation on landlocked land?
I’m in southern New Hampshire. I have an acre and the neighbor across the river has 5 landlocked heavily wooded acres on my side. There are no rights of way or easements per multiple survey companies and tax maps. This is truly landlocked and only sellable to 4 other abutting neighbors - she can’t even access it unless she took a boat or swam across the river. She wants to sell it but wants $28k for 5 acres. That, plus a 10k survey and current use penalty will bring the total cost of absorbing the land to roughly $42,500. This seems very high for 5 acres that cannot be sold on the regular market. Additionally the FEMA flood maps show roughly 1/4 of this land is in a flood plane (I have witnessed some of these floods)
How can I get an idea of value other than “what an abutting neighbor is willing to pay”

I’m 25 and want to buy land within the next year, but I honestly have no idea where to start. I just bought a car, got an apartment, and had a baby, so I don’t really have savings yet, but I want to start planning now instead of waiting years to learn everything.
I know there are programs and financing options that can help first-time buyers, but I’m also trying to understand the actual land side of things. Like:
What should I look for when buying land?

What makes a piece of land “good” or “bad”?

How do utilities work (water, septic, electric, internet)?

What’s the difference between raw land and land ready to build on?

Are there hidden costs people don’t think about?
What kind of credit score/down payment do I realistically need?

Is it smarter to buy cheap rural land first or save longer for something better?

I’m mainly looking for advice from people who’ve actually bought land young or started with little money. I’m trying to learn the right way before I jump into anything.

I was planning to buy a small piece of land located in Virginia, and reached out to a title company by email to handle the transfer/title work. I did not sign any agreement or paperwork, and no fee was discussed up front.

The title company then performed a title search and found out that the seller does not actually have a recorded deed/title to the property, even though he has apparently been paying property taxes on it for years.

Because of that, we could not proceed with the purchase.

Now the title company is asking me to pay $125 for the title search. The title company says I would need to pay the entire amount due, and can seek reimbursement from the seller outside of them.

My questions are:

• Am I generally obligated to pay this fee even though I never signed anything and the fee was not disclosed beforehand?
• Since the issue was with the seller’s ownership/title, would it be reasonable to ask the seller to split or cover the fee?
• What is typically done in situations like this?

Just trying to understand what is considered normal/fair here.

Wassup everybody. I just have a quick question. Like everybody else on this page I want land. Where do you guys look to find prices or where do you just look in general? I look at land.com, Zillow, not sure if they are legitimate websites to be looking up things like that.

Arkansas if it makes a difference. I'm looking at a beautiful parcel and if looking at roads it definitely has access but they may be private roads and one of the roads cuts off to one side of the property to a house on another lot. Who should I contact to see who has access to where?

One thing i've noticed researching vacant land is how many people focus on the wrong red flags.

People get scared off by things like:

• no utilities
• dirt roads
• needing septic/well
• no cleared homesite
• "middle of nowhere"

But that's normal for rural land. you're buying raw, of course it doesn't have a driveway and city water.

The stuff that actually matters usually gets ignored:

• weird access situations
• floodplain issues
• wetlands
• county restrictions and zoning quirks
• unusable topography
• HOA language buried in documents
• back taxes or liens on the parcel
• legal access vs "everyone just uses the road"

i've looked through a lot of parcels lately and some listings look great until you spend 15 minutes pulling records. a cheap property isn't always a deal. sometimes it's cheap because nobody checked what they were buying.

The best parcels usually aren't the flashy ones either. they're the boring listings with clean access, decent zoning, usable terrain, and realistic development costs.

A lot of people in the homestead and land space could save themselves thousands just by doing deeper due diligence before getting emotionally attached to a property.

I do not own any land and would like to buy land for personal use and a way of having tangible investment. Right now I am living in Texas and though I do not intend to build anything right now, the goal is to have some land available for future home when I want to retire in another 15 plus years. I could surely add a small structure where we would love to spend weekend as family.

• As the title, have you ever regretted buying land?
• How much land is too much if you are working full time and not living on the property?
• If you are not building right now, how much is a decent price per acre ballpark for land in taxs that is not too far away from civilization.
• Is it possible to buy farm land and sub lease it for farming as a source of income?

I see developed land available to build homes in my area but it is too expensive and considering I don't need to build right now, I don't mind investing long term. I would appreciate it if you can share your thoughts. Thanks.

Last year, I bought a 10 acre parcel that I happened to find a great deal on. It didn't need a well, it's in an area that's been somewhat rural, but the closest city continues to grow in it's direction, it's minutes from the area's largest employer, it's in SC, which is a hot area in general, & I was aware of a very exclusive new golf club being built along the same road. I got it for just $8300 and acre, which was a fantastic price, & I'd just sold my home & was able to use the equity to buy it in cash.

It was originally a 100 acre parcel that had been purchased & subdivided into the 10 acre lots, & I recently saw a home was being built on the 10 acre parcel next to mine. I literally just saw it's now a pending sale for a 5/4 2700 sq ft home for nearly $600k, & needless to say - I'm really happy to have come across this info! And the golf course isn't even completed yet!

I'd like to hang on to it longer, but it left me somewhat cash poor, & I'd really like to pick up some different acreage to possibly build an RV park on, so I'd been thinking of getting a loan against this property to buy more. I'd wondered how it might get comped, so even though I only have raw land, hopefully, this will boost it up.

I'd also been a bit curious what I might could get if I did decide to sell, & I now I'm really wondering how this home sale could affect the asking price of the land...

Last month, I checked out a five-acre piece of land up in North Texas. A client planned to construct a home there, then use some space for horses. The asking cost came in at $185,000. On paper, everything seemed straightforward. It already had an agricultural exemption - that detail became a highlight when we talked taxes.

Only the AG's pass wasn’t what it seemed. That one detail turned everything sideways.

Most folks miss this part about Texas AG exemptions. Staying labeled ag depends entirely on how the land gets used year after year. The status fades if farming or ranching stops. Once activity halts, counties remove the break. Years of past taxes come due calculated not at old rates but current higher values. That catch-up cost? It hits hard when usage changes.

That piece of land saw a four-thousand-dollar gap yearly between its farm-use tax rate and open-market tax rate. Stop farming it, and five years of back taxes over twenty thousand bucks goes straight to the county.

A home goes up where crops once grew. The moment construction begins, farming ends. That shift flips the tax status without delay.

a few things he didn't know:

One part of the land might still hold its farm discount while construction happens elsewhere. Usually that one-acre spot near the home shifts to regular tax rates. Everything else? It keeps the agricultural status. Staying active matters - raising cows, growing hay, tending hives, planting orchards. Approval from local officials shapes what counts. As long as work continues, the break remains.

Beekeeping counts as farming in certain areas, needing only five up to twenty acres. Keeping bees often costs less than raising cows to keep land classified as agricultural.

Most people buying land in Texas never hear about the special wildlife option. Instead of farming, they could choose caring for animals on the property. This shift means no more growing crops or raising stock. Managing habitats becomes the main task. Planting native foods, keeping fresh water available, clearing thick growth when needed. A quiet change that helps those living off city life. Land stays useful without tractors or herds nearby.

Whoever ends the agricultural use pays the rollback tax, not the one who began it. Imagine the prior owner kept the land in ag status for two decades. You take over, then halt farming operations. Suddenly, five years of deferred taxes come due.The bill lands on your desk, not theirs. Most never see it coming until documents hit the table.

Not every county treats these things the same way. Reach out to your local appraisal office to be sure.

He kept bees across four out of the five acres. A half-acre turned into a place for a home instead. That move cut roughly twenty thousand dollars from what he’d have paid by halting farm work outright.

Surprisingly quiet, that fee sneaks up on folks after the purchase. When eyeing Texas land tagged AG-exempt, verify its current standing first. Before signing off, find out from the appraisal office exactly what sets off a rollback charge.

Looking to buy my first piece of land in California but I wanted to put it under an LLC is that a smart decision? Not looking to build anything on just to hold it for a few years.

selling parcel in golden valley, az any price is fine hmu i need it gone ASAP

APN: 339-14-157B
GOLDEN VALLEY, AZ 86413

This is the real truth about land ownership in the USA.

For those of you triggered by Communist rantings just study Mao/Stalin. This is the exact playbook they used. They didn't privatize the land they had forced workers work on seized land.

Paychecks will be waiting in the future jet hangars.

Seizing land for a community airport is the epitome of communism

So I've been looking a bit into owning/claiming/buying land, and eventually being able to build on it and own livestock on it, ie cows, pigs, chickens.

However, I'm not completely sure where to start. I've read many different opinions on whether it's better to buy through online, or discuss in person with existing owners.

Any chance anyone could help out?

Picked up an off-market 40-ac parcel in San Pablo (Costilla County, CO — San Luis Valley) and putting it back out at $19,900 cash. Free & clear, taxes current, fully assignable. APN 10007690, if you want to verify on the county GIS.

Coordinates: 37.04243, -105.54477.

Comparable listings on LandWatch for this size in Costilla run $35-45k. Decent spread.

Mods: I'm the one under contract with the seller, not a broker, no commission.

I bought my first house (small western WA town, house hack situation) about 2 years ago. Looking for a next move as I have a little bit saved up. I have an off market land deal available to me. Property is in Leavenworth area. Probably around 120k, 6 acres, mostly hilled, couple good build sites. Utilities down at the street. Looks like a decent deal compared to other properties. I would be having to finance this, and it would mainly be used as a recreational place with friends, building cabins, so numbers wise it won’t be making me any money/offsetting the cost. Purely for enjoyment purposes.

I am torn deciding on this. The land emotionally is what I want but I know my money could be better utilized towards another SFH/househack deal. What is everyone’s opinions on buying this land vs putting my money towards a DP on a second house?