Legalese: Own land for how long before building?

[Pontificator]

Originally Posted by EasilyAmused

hmmm...what's in it for them if you hold off building??
Makes you wonder. Is your property good for poaching?

If someone wants to poach 'possums, raccoons and foxes, they'd have a field day!!

I think the issue really came down to these cronies trying several ways to exert pressure on us to change our minds about building on this lot. Our builder almost lost the deal with us, so he sold us his personal lot (and reportedly regrets doing so).

The scammer at the local mortgage company tried to tell us it would be difficult for us to get financing, because they liked the clients to own the land for two years prior. Of course we questioned, and this was just one element going on during the crazy process of a custom build. All worked out in the end, and we did get a terrific rate, etc. But this question just stuck in my craw, as we are planning to build again in the future. And we had built semi-custom in a different state, so we weren't totally unfamiliar with the process.

Thanks to everyone for the input! You're good people. I'll have to have you over for a 'possum roast.

[TexasNick]

There's no such thing as owning land free and clear to do whatever you want. There are always rules for what you can and can't do with it. However, Texas is not so bad as the other states.