Buying property is a very important part of the process. If you buy the wrong piece of land it can swallow your money and leave you homeless. Do your research on the land. It helps to have a real estate agent looking for you. Your agent can send you info on any vacant land that comes up in areas you like. Minimize your search options by picking a few cities or areas where you would like to build. My good friend Steve Beck at http://newneighborhoods.com helped me out immensely when building my house. This guy knows everything about property, real estate, zoning, and building. If your in the Seattle area, then you are in luck. Steve has the experience and knowledge, to help you out with any real estate needs. If your not in the area, then try to find a real estate agent you can trust.
Research the areas you picked and the schools. Even if you don't have kids, some schools can add a higher tax for building permits. Know what the community is like and future development. Once you have picked a piece of property analyze it on google maps and look it up on a parcel viewer. County parcel viewers can be your best friend and they have loads of info that can help make your decision. Find out what kind of gov zoning restrictions the land has. Is the land a legal lot? Are there any critical areas on the property? CAD or critical area design is part of the process for most building permits. Hopefully a CAD has already been done on the property. If not it may be something you ask the owner to have done before buying the property. If it has been done make sure it has been done within the last couple years. King county only excepts CAD's that have been done within the last two years. If it is past the two years you may have to have a environmental architect conduct a wetland reconnaissance. I paid 500 dollars to have one done and submitted to the county for CAD application. Check with your entity to find out time restraints and if needed.
What building setbacks and easements it has. Is it located in an area that has a homeowners association? How is the road access to the property? Does the property have utilities (power,gas,sewer,water,cable,phone)? Does the property already have a certificate of water availability. If not what is it going to cost to put in a water line? Or how much will it cost if you have to install a new power transformer box. If their is no sewer then find out if the soil perks for a septic system? A preliminary septic design will have to be conducted before submitting for building permits. Is their storm systems that can handle your runoff. Do you have power lines, trains, airport or any other noisy problems? Is the property on a flood plain or is an active volcano near by? How much clearing needs to be done in order to build house? Has the lot been surveyed? If it has can you still see the property markers? If not ask the seller to pay for this process. Also before buying make sure property taxes are up to date. It really is a big decision. If you buy a small lot, you may not be able to build that huge dream house you wanted. If you buy to much land, you may go broke just paying property taxes. Figure out what is right for you and your dreams. Make sure you answer all of these questions before jumping into anything. Lastly can you envision building your house on this property? If so begin planning how your house will sit and where your driveway will be. All of this will be coming up in building a site plan and submitting for permits.
