Where to buy a few acres of lot/land to build a single family home?

[thehoustonian]

I forgot to add, that the plot is in the AE flood zone.

FEMA recently updated their flood maps which not places the plot in zone AE, which was not the case as per the prior survey.

As there are plenty of other homes there, I presume it is an inherent risk, but not sufficient enough not to consider living there?

Any inputs on this will also be very welcome.

Thank you,
thehoustonian

[georgemichael]

you know as a buyer you generally don't pay the 3% commission unless the seller negotiates you into paying for your own representation?

the seller generally pays 6% commission to his seller's agent which is then split with the buyer's agent.

so unless the seller was negotiating this you really aren't avoiding the "3%", you're helping the seller to avoid it.

as for the flooding, if you have been to the area and it is possibly talk to the neighbors and ask when it last flooded or how often it floods. also ask the seller the same questions. he is required to disclose that. which an agent could let you know.

[georgemichael]

finally home and able to correct myself. as for the seller disclosing, if it's land (no home) then there should be a flood certificate not disclosure since there is nothing to disclose. I was mixing up thoughts in my head skimming the thread and hey, it was early in the morning for me. occurred to me about an hour later of course that it was land only. my apologies and duh, to myself!

[thehoustonian]

Hello,

Thank you georgemichael and everyone who has taken the time and effort to visit or reply to this query.

We have done some research on some of the questions we had pertaining to buying just the land, but any other suggestions are welcome.

If we do make an offer, do we need to ask the seller for the current flood certificate or is that our responsibility?

Also, after having spoken to a couple of septic designers and installers in the area where the land is located (from a list provided by the county office) they stated that there is no issue with installing a septic in that area.

We still need to find out about the feasibility of a well, although it seems feasible as the entire community has well. What type of service provider would we need to get to assess the feasibility of a well?

The seller does not have a percolation test or a soil test, should we include that requirement in the contract if we were to make an offer?

Thank you,
thehoustonian

[diggity101]

no offense, but getting advice on a complicated transaction like buying land in a rural area on an internet forum wouldn't be my advice.

It sounds like you really need an agent who knows these types of properties. They can tell you what to look out for.

In most transactions you find online, the seller will be paying the commission for both parties so you should be getting representation there. Even on a FSBO, most seller's are willing to pay a buyers agent. If this were a simple transaction and you were familiar with the process, I would say go for it, but it sounds like you aren't so I would advise you to find someone who is.

Good luck either way!

[thehoustonian]

Hello diggity101,

Thank you. The real estate agent that we have previously used when looking for built homes was a friend of a friend, and we were not too pleased with the agent's dedication to fulfill our objectives. Furthermore, the agent is not familiar with land transactions and especially not in areas outside of the loop.

In this transaction this seller is offering a 3% reduction from the list price if we do not involve a buyers agent (he is not requesting us not to involve a buyer's agent, it is our choice whether to avail of a buyers agent and pay the addition 3% which will be rolled into the sale price).

I was under the impression that for any sale, whether land or built home, if there are real estate agents involved, the price that the buyer paid inherently included the 6% commission to be split between the real estate agents, i.e. the seller has made a provision for the commission to be paid in the sales price.

Maybe I am wrong in this understanding?

Either ways, maybe we need to consider finding an agent who is well versed in land transactions, any recommendations?

Thank you,
thehoustonian

[diggity101]

I was under the impression that for any sale, whether land or built home, if there are real estate agents involved, the price that the buyer paid inherently included the 6% commission to be split between the real estate agents, i.e. the seller has made a provision for the commission to be paid in the sales price.

Yes, the commission will come out of the sales price so if there are no commissions to be paid, the seller would net more and theoretically they could pass those savings onto you.

In your case though, you could end up missing something that would cost you many times more than the potential savings. There could be environmental issues, usage restrictions, or certain services unavailable to you in that location. I would want someone who knew that particular part of town very well.

Since I don't know exactly where you are going to end up, it would be hard for me to suggest someone. I deal mainly in the inner loop so this is not my specialty by any means. Even as an agent, I would probably look for representation if I were doing a purchase like yours because I know enough to know that I don't know much about rural acreage.