10 Land Buying Mistakes People Make and You Shouldn't

If you're thinking about buying land, this video is a must-watch! We'll guide you through the 10 most common mistakes first-time land buyers make. From environmental surveys to boundary disputes, we'll help you navigate the complexities of land ownership. So put on your rose-colored glasses and join us on this land-buying journey. And remember to hit that subscribe button for more helpful videos!

Sponsorship Inquiries:

Do you need a local Realtor for the area you want to move to?

🔶My Other Channels:
📺 On This Day
🏡Suite Life For Briggs

homesteading

[WorldAccordingToBriggs]

If you enjoyed this video please give it a like and share it on your social media. It goes a long way to help the video gain traction.

[gigi]

Not only do you need to worry about having legal access to your land, you need to know if others have a legal right across your land to theirs (easements); also, you will want to make sure there are no toxic waste issues on the land ( buried gas tanks, etc....), that can end up costly. Awesome video, good advice given, thanks. Take care, be well

[johnvowell]

Probably the most important professional in a raw land transaction is the title company. The buyer gets to choose the title company. A good title company will find all the legal filings concerning ownership, liens, easements, surveys, and mineral rights. A realtor will often give vague answers about these issues either because they don't know the answers or because they want to avoid being held liable if a transaction goes bad. Also confirm your water availability. We once entered into a contract to purchase a property with a contingency added that the deal was off if we couldn't drill a producing water well to our specifications. Everyone thought we were crazy, but I would rather waste $20k to find out a property has no water source than waste $500k+ buying a property with no water source.

[madisonw.]

Nothing I say can express how thankful I am for you making these videos. Knowledge like this was not passed down in my family. I feel like this needs to be an economics 101 class in every college and university, but here we are trying to research these topics on our own. Your channel is a wonderful and entertaining way to being expanding my knowledge base.

Please do not ever let a negative comment get you down. I’ve just only subscribed to your channel and already I am in a much better place and know I will be for a long time to come.

[roydavis]

Looked at a home on 37 acres, mostly trees, that the guy wanted top dollar for the acreage. I found out the guy was trying to withhold mineral and logging rights. This was not mentioned when we looked at the property. With these rights withheld it lowered the value by $200k. Next property I looked at the agent showed up with an ATV on a trailer to tour the property. He was experienced at selling land.

[johncampbell]

When looking at off-grid property, make sure you water and perc test (though having enough water to run one) to ensure that it'll be "livable"...

[AD-brsx]

I just closed on 3.5 acres in the TN mountains a few years ago. It's awesome to know I'll have the space when I need it. One of the best decisions I've made for the future! Thanks Briggs!!

[pottery]

Another tip, make sure the person selling the land is legally entitled to do so. A new scam that has popped up over the 5 years or so is people selling property that they do not own outright. Typically it is an estate, no will, some relative comes forward and claims they are the only living relative. They sell off personal property and real estate, takes the money and runs before other living relatives show up to stake their claims to the estate. I worked for a while as a "right of heirship" researcher. More often than not, I caught such scammers. Usually it is the buyer or their agent that hired me. A title search company will typically be the first to notice something is not quite right and advise the buyer or his/her agent to do further investigation.

[Unknowncomanche]

Need more of this Briggs!!

Just bought some land in Lakehills, TX with the veteran land loan. Added a $15K septic and electrical infrastructure then threw a tiny house on it for vacation rental

[KevenTomlinson]

Talk to the neighbors and talk to the local county Or municipality about the area as well.
Use a local EXPERIENCED agent and keep everything in writing. If the agent gives you the “I’m in it for the money” vibe run. Most agents don’t understand a land transaction.

[singingwindrider]

True, traditional banks don't like to do land deals anything over 3 ac. But, go to an Agriculture credit financer type place. It's usually a local place that knows the property, people, etc and can even guide you in land development ideas.

[co]

Great video. I immediately thought: swamps, flooding, pollution, proximity of future building developments, accessibilty, liens, mining/drilling rights. You had some things in this list I didn't think of.

[quitasistanumberone]

I've been waiting for a no nonsense video on this subject. Thanks again Briggs!

[violetbf]

These are all solid points, no matter where in the world you live. Thanks

[JeffMathias]

Spoke to couple who built dream home. Then realized trips downtown take way longer than distance suggested because of bad congested city streets that tore up their car. So they go around the city on interstate.

People often buy without considering distance to medical care, decent grocery store and esp Home Depot or similar which they will desperately need for projects.

[caseyjones]

This is a great list. Also I would add you usually can't get a conventional loan on a mobile home. Your down payment will be significantly higher.

[Fusako]

Water rights should be on the list. Are you allowed to (or actively encouraged to) collect rainwater off your roof? Have you maxed out your run-off allowance? (Big here in Oregon)
When is the last time the sacrificial anode in your hot water tank was changed?
How hard is the water at your property?
Are there sprinklers? How healthy are they?
Are there any toxic plants you need to be aware of? Giant hogsweed, foxglove, poison oak/ivy/sumak?
What sort of wildlife is there in the area, and how do they behave?

[mikenixon]

Very good Briggs. Good to have an instructional one. I needed you once 40 years ago. Two days after I signed the septic tank was full. Insurance, as you know, does not cover that. Live and learn.

[heatherdeavalon]

Wimer, Oregon is awesome in the summertime! Not so much in the winter. 50 years ago (Holy crap! How did I get so old?) people would come up from California in the summer and buy a piece of land, then realize it was underwater in the winter!

[paulayala]

All good information. I have worked in civil engineering for over 40 years and I can't tell you the number of times some issue has come up. Most of the time we were dealing with a big land developer with big pockets, but even having big bucks is no guarantee your not gonna get hit with problems. The smallest endangered bird or rat can throw off the most grandiose of plans. I was always taught before doing anything, get a surveyor out there and a Title Report. A surveyed property will tell you the exact meets and bounds of your property, if it's a large property, you may want to pay extra for the surveyor to prepare a topo map or have it flown. The Title Report if there is one available, will have the history of the property along with any easements, deeds or liens. Like Briggs mentions, you'll probably want to get a soils report to make sure you know what your building on, they should be able to tell you the exact makeuo of the soil and whether it is suitable to build a house on it or if there is a fault line running under it. If your close to a river you will probably have to bring up the Army Corps of Engineers maps to see if your property falls within a flood plain.