Buying Land Now What? Lots of Questions-NEED HELP!

[nikki]

Well we found a 10 acre plot of land that I think we might buy. It's 300'x1452'. About 5 acres of farm field in the front and 5 acres of small trees, little hills, and a creek in the back (perfect for a little track!). The farm field sits up on a little hill.

But I have lots of questions... maybe some DRN members have experience with this and can share some knowledge :D

-When buying only land - can you expect to get it for less than the asking price like you can with a house?

-Anyone know the going rate on drilling a well?

-How about the going rate for a Modular or Mobile home (new or used)? Or the price to transport one?

-Can you put a Mobile home on a basement? A Modular on a basement?

-Approx. how much will a small basement cost (mainly the concrete price)?

-The land is currently zoned A1 (agriculture). Does anyone know if you could throw a cow and a house on the land and still call it A1 for the tax break benefits? Or if we rent out 3-5 acres to be farmed?

-Is it better to finance a loan through a bank or a loan broker?

-There is already electric/sewer to the site - are there any other large costs that I might not be thinking of?

Thanks for any help!
-Nikki

 

[JWW]

No answer but Im very jealous about the size of you land..... My 2000 square foot backyard sucks

 

[JWW]

Oh yeah .... good luck with your purchase

 

[bbbom]

Most of your questions are pretty dependant upon location.

-When buying only land - can you expect to get it for less than the asking price like you can with a house? YES but check out what the going rate is for raw land in the area. Check in the local advertisments and with local realtors.

-Anyone know the going rate on drilling a well? - Depends on how deep you need to go. Best bet is to call some local drillers and see what their rates are AND check with the County Recorder or Assessor to see if they have Well Logs for any wells nearby to get an idea of how deep you will need to go. My well is 230' deep and was about $10,000 for drilling, casing, piping, pump, tanks and everything - 15 years ago.

-How about the going rate for a Modular or Mobile home (new or used)? Or the price to transport one? - This really depends upon what you want - ballpark for a mobile home new is $30/sf - $50/sf and that usually includes all the major appliances EXCEPT washer & dryer. As far as transport goes, that is usually included in the price of a new home unless the site is not accessible by the truck. I had to have a 245 trackhoe brind my 3 sections up my 1.5 mile long driveway and the operator was NOT thrilled about it, especially when we had a loaded logging truck meet us in a particularly ugly corner!

If you go with used, get a quote from a transport & set up company.

-Can you put a Mobile home on a basement? A Modular on a basement?

Yes and yes but it will most likely require an engineered design - cost should be under $2000 for the design. Be sure to have the home manufacturer's engineer work directly with your engineer if you can. I had a bit of rework on some of my supports because I couldn't get the info I needed from my home's manufacturer - yes I did pass the cost onto them.

-Approx. how much will a small basement cost (mainly the concrete price)? An unfinished basement is usually around $12 - 20/sf at least that's what they figure around here (not counting excavation). Best bet is to call around and get some ballpark prices from basement guys, and some dirt guys too - excavation can get expensive if you have rock problems. Also see if you can get some info on the soils - expansive clays will give you headaches you don't want.

-The land is currently zoned A1 (agriculture). Does anyone know if you could throw a cow and a house on the land and still call it A1 for the tax break benefits? Or if we rent out 3-5 acres to be farmed?
Best bet is to contact the local gov't office in charge of zoning enforcement and see what the restrictions are.

-Is it better to finance a loan through a bank or a loan broker?
Depends on the fees and rates, don't overlook a private contract with the seller.

-There is already electric/sewer to the site - are there any other large costs
that I might not be thinking of? What kind of access do you have? Roads can be extremely expensive to put in and to maintain. Also if your access crosses other properties make sure that the easement is clear and recorded.

Permit fees can be pretty high too - check with the local permitting office to see what they charge. It is usually based upon a valuation of the building being constructed.

 

[bsmith]

"Disclaimer" I'm not in real estate, but below is my experience and first impression of the questions.
Good luck.

-When buying only land - can you expect to get it for less than the asking price like you can with a house?

You should, but it probably depends on the region, I would assume in this economy you could offer less and get a good reception, You should look around at comprable sites, with utilities and without. With utilities include value for power, well, phone, septic, and driveway. Without should be considerably less.
I would have it appraised before buying, if the seller had it appraised I would still get your own, might cost $200 bones but save you a couple thousand.


-Anyone know the going rate on drilling a well?

Depends on the soil, rock, and depth. I would call a local outfit and they could tell you the average based on the depth of the well, they can probaly tell you how deep the average well is in your area.

-How about the going rate for a Modular or Mobile home (new or used)? Or the price to transport one?

If you buy them from the dealer I beleive transportation is free, the cost up here is about $40 single-$60 double and up to $120 if you get a nice double with attached garage for a mobile.

-Can you put a Mobile home on a basement? A Modular on a basement?

Yes/yes

-Approx. how much will a small basement cost (mainly the concrete price)?

-The land is currently zoned A1 (agriculture). Does anyone know if you could throw a cow and a house on the land and still call it A1 for the tax break benefits? Or if we rent out 3-5 acres to be farmed?

You can transfer the zoning and use it for feild or pasture, around here you can only be tax exempt if your land is over a certain size. It might not be considered ag if it is broke out of a larger section once you buy it. Your 10 acres might be the county min size so you instantly are disqualified. Check with the county zoning department.

-Is it better to finance a loan through a bank or a loan broker?

I'm going through a broker right now for a farm, yet he is going to turn it around and sell the paper to Washington Mutual. I get a better rate this way, he does the work, they get the interest. Just ask the broker who he would sell the paper to.

Hope it helps, and someone please correct me if I'm wrong :eek: .

 

[70 marlin]

Been there done it. down where your @ there's lots of Modular home builders mine came out of napee IN. If I had it to do it over again there'd be a few thing's that I'd do different. get the biggest house you can afford!!! go the extra coarse of brick on your basement, do the garage ! for the price difference trailer vs Modular, go Modular there build to a higher standards boca instead of hud. also a custom build stick house some times might not be out of your reach? once you get the land take a good long look at your financing, look to see what the MAX is what they'd lend you. when they did mine. they where about $25,000 short on what I really could have borrowed. also once your in the building proccess you have a bit more leverage with your banker. to get more out of them.

 

[Patman]

Nikki, everything is negotiable it just depends how many people want THAT piece of land. Well costs can be all over the board it depends on how many diggers are in the area and how much work they have, what the soil is like and how deep the water generally runs. Check around with several drillers on their costs and let each know your checking around then get a written proposal with a fixed cost for everything based on a per foot of depth base! Conside dual pressure tanks so that you have extra supply without the pump going on and off a lot plus the chances of both going out at the same time are slim and it should only add a couple hundred dollars. Zoning is a REALLY messed up deal. BEFORE you buy the land check and see if what you want to do with it is allowed with the current zoning. If not you can walk the deal of try to get it changed but it will cost a little money. With the proper zoning theose that might not agree with your use are S.O.L. from the misuse standpoint. Each local municipality will have their zoning codes and allowed uses available to the public so you just need to go ask for them FIRST. The best loan deal is through whomever offers the best terms, look at all options. For me the bank was a better option when we bought our land but when we built the new house a broker came through with a better deal. Telephone service might be an issue, we had no "cost" but it took 6 weeks to get a dial tone! :scream: All weather access could be a bit spendy depending on the soil conditions. An asphalt drive needs to be maintained on a regular basis so sometimes just crushed stone is the way to go but can still cost a bit depending on the availability of the product in your area. Insurance may be higher if fire protection is not reasonably close as well.

 

[bscottr]

Nikki,
One more consideration...a modular tends to appreciate whereas a mobile tends to depreciate. This can be geographically dependant so you may look into it.
BTW, being able to ride in your own backyard is a wonderful thing. I have a 1 mile track in mine and soon to add approximately 2 miles of wooded trails. :confused:
Good luck!

Scott

 

[nikki]

Thanks everyone for all the good info!!

I think we're gonna get the land and temporarily throw a cheap mobile home on it, build a shop, then start building a house ourselves in the next few years (my family has an excavating company so a basement probably won't be so bad). Red's been on the phone with the realitors and the zoning office and it sounds like we can do anything on the lot and it will still be zoned A1 (agricultrue) strictly based on meeting the size criteria (10 acres and 300' frontage). Luckily the land is in an awesome spot - just a mile outside of town so the roads are all paved and fire protection, etc. are all close. Phone, electric, and sewer shouldn't be a problem (the only house on the road is pretty much right next-door). Red's parents live about 40 miles away and just had a new well drilled and it was around $5k. I'm a little worried about negotiating the land price because it's on the outskirts of a proposed 3rd airport here in Chicago so they may not bargin too much - but right now it's cheaper than most every 5 acre site in the area. We'll probably put the house/shop a good 400'-600' off the road so I think a gravel drive is the way to go. Thanks again everyone! :)

 

[Okiewan]

Nikki...
being that close to town, is it in-town or unincorporated? I wish I could remember the details, but even on ag land, some communities have imposed quidelines, ie; more than one OHV riding at a time is racing and not allowed, believe it or not. Anyway, don't know if it applies, but worth looking into.

 

[nikki]

It's unincorporated. There is quite a few private MX tracks in the area (same township) so I think it should be ok. People around there ride atv's back and forth to visit friends. There is only one house on the whole road, too (the land is surrounded by cornfields and trees). Plus the track won't really be too visible from the road (the ground slopes off and down towards the back). But it is something to check on for sure - I hate to get all settled and find out that we can't ride. I wonder if that would be a question for the zoning office or Beecher township? :think:

 

[Okiewan]

zoning office or Beecher township?...
I'd check with both. Can't hurt.

 

[WaltCMoto]

Nikki,
Go to the county building department and ask all the questions you can think of. They can give you lots of the info you may be looking for. Ask about impact fees for school, fire and any permit fees for whatever you are looking to do with the property. they will also be able to tell you what you can and cant do one the land. I overlooked impact fees only to find out they will cost me 7K.

 

[70 marlin]

let's see some pic's! one of the really nice thing's about Modular housing, for me was it only took 23 day's from breaking ground to my seal of occupancy. I know a lot of couples that did the on site office "trailer" while they had there house built, it works but can be real tough on the couples. who are you buying the land from? private owner or a realtor, somtimes if it's a private party sale you can write a land contrac with them. then when you line up your financing, you can roll the contrac right in to the mortage. I found my self bitting off more than I could handle. on my house when it came to doing parts of the constuction my self. " I was the general contractor" and sub'd out most of the work except a few small jobs. that I wished that I would of farmed out! just make sure you get all your contractor's lined up! took me year of lots of visit & reference checks. if the contractor looks shady most likely he's is. good luck ! putting up my place was a lot of fun for me.

 

[lawman]

all good advice. to follow up on okie's advice, i'd pay a local lawyer a few bucks & check on the zoning before i invested a nickel; just b/c the locals seem to get away w/stuff, i wouldn't count on that. i know a guy who has a VERY expensive practice mx track, built to ama standards, that he can't open to the public b/c he didn't think he needed to bother checking on the zoning 1st. i'd also be sure i got title insurance.

 

[Smitty]

Water Well

I don't think it's nearly as common there as here in OK, but my parents water well is an abandoned oilwell. The casing remained (down to 9600 feet!) but we plugged it and blew it open at 625 to catch the aquifer. Just something to think about if there are any drilling sites on your property.

 

[Highbeam]

That's cool Smitty. That water source must be cold and never ending. How did they plug it? I'm not sure I would completely trust it though. Like if the earth shifted and a big bubble of natural gas got pumped into the well casing. I would also worry about the surface soils being a little oil soaked. Neat idea though.

In my area if I were to go try and buy raw land I would have to come up with a large down payment... usually 20% down. But since you have sewer and power to the site it may be considered "improved". I would check on this though as it may be a deal breaker if you don't have the 20%.

 

[Tracktor2]

You eill be hard pressed to find a mortgage lender to lend on bare land. Most people who are selling bare land understand this and may be able to offer a private contract. If that is the case you could purchase the property and put a cheap mobile on it. Otherwise, you will need some type of construction loan which will combine the land and improvements(house, etc.) into one loan. ten acres still falss under standard conforming loan limits as long as it is typical for the area. I am a loan officer, so if you have any further questions you can e-mail me at giles@cpacmortgage.com

 

[kfrost]

For Mortgage, I would suggest First Union. Not that they're the best but the will do arms on land. Just have to have comps for comparable land sales in the area.

Which if you are trying to figure out what the land is worth, you should get with a real estate agent that deals with land and have them pull comps for land sold in the area for the past 1. I'm in the process of buying 27 acres and I saw several instances where land only brought about half of what the asking price was. Most noteble was a lot where asking was in the 180's and the actual sell was 100k.

To answer the question, a bank should give you a better deal on closing costs and such. A loan broker has to get their fee from somewhere. To my knowledge they help people that may have difficulty getting loans or for people that don't want to take the time and search around for the best rates and such.

Also, about the cost for drilling a well, around here you can pay a per foot cost or pay a set fee for any depth. For example, NC you can pay $3300 fixed cost to have a well dug. You gamble a little because they may do it for what would have cost you a $1000 or so, but on the plus side, they could run into a situation where you could pay 3 or 4 times that. One other thing you could do is check with other houses in the area and find out the depth of the water table in the area.

Call the county to get sewer hook up charges.