the raw land rabbit hole.
I got in trouble this week. I went down a rabbit hole researching if a lot would be feasible for my friends/buyers. Let me tell you, it got very complicated. Upon driving out to the lot my buyers fell in love. It was picturesque and relatively flat, it had sprawling orchards along one side. So we talked to our builder rep and put it under contract with a long feasibility study period because we knew right away there were some big questions we needed answers to.
The planning department told us there needed to be a graveled road for access that would be approximately a mile long. The power company told us we needed to bring power to the lot that would be a stretch of over 2000ft. All of the above would involve getting easements from various parcel owners including the state of Washington Department of Natural Resources and a company that owned the orchard. We would need a road maintenance agreement signed by all parties and drawn up by a lawyer.
Would the other lot owners be willing to chip in on the expenses? Would we be able to get easements? How much will all this potentially cost?
Well guess what? As your Realtor, I am not supposed to do any of this research for you. It is your feasibility. The problem is if I give you the wrong information or miss something important or hear something incorrectly that makes me liable if you purchase the lot or don’t purchase the lot. Do you see where I am going with this? I thought I was just doing what was right to help my client make an informed decision. The buyer should NOT in fact rely on any oral statements made by the seller or any brokers involved.
Here is how it should work:
We find lots on the MLS that look promising. I give you all the attached documents. Each listing agent provides varying degrees of information. Usually it is known where the closest power source is located. Usually they note in the listing if a well or septic is required. Usually there are attached CCRs.
We can ask the listing agent any remaining questions and look on the assessors website to see what the land history is and what is surrounding the property. We can also look up if the property is in a flood zone.
If we think the property would be a great fit, we will write up the contract and get the lot off the market. We will put a sufficient feasibility period in the contract that gives you a specific amount of days to do research. If by the end of the feasibility period we find out the lot will not work, we can get your earnest money back.
Feasibility study: as much as I would like to help here, it is outside of what I am licensed to do. Finding out the answers to questions like: Does the land have easements? how far do you need to dig for the well? How far do you need to pull power? Is the land flat or will extra excavation be needed? Perc Test-Can a septic system be implemented on the lot? Is the road to the property sufficient or will it need to be improved? Call the Benton PUD or the Benton REA or the Franklin PUD to check the power situation. Call the local city planning department or the county planning department and give them the parcel number -they will tell you what might be a challenge or important. Your agent can go over section u lines 191-212 on the Vacant Land Purchase and Sale Agreement which lists off a checklist of sorts for information you should look up.
If you already have a builder or a specific type of home loan, that plays a role in what goes into the sale process as well. A builder would have a team that goes to the lot and does an assessment to see if they can build at the site. If you are getting a construction loan that includes the lot, check to make sure they can do this without first having a well dug. Certain loans cannot work if there is no proven water source.
Once you are sure the lot will work for you, the sale can move forward.
It is detective work at it’s finest. Don’t be nervous though, with a great Realtor by your side you can rest easy knowing you have the time you need to feel confident whether or not to proceed with the sale of raw land.
Some links for more information
What is a perc test? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yp6qPMTkjgE
Process of drilling a well and cost breakdown explained https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YuO_vJ2wQU
5 Things you should know about bringing utilities to vacant land https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zm-EQH-yljA