7 Things to Know Before Buying Land or Acreage Near Amarillo
Buying land can look simple from the outside. Find a piece of property you like, agree on a price, and close.
In reality, land purchases can involve questions that never come up when buying a home in a traditional neighborhood.
Whether you're looking for a residential homesite, a few acres outside Amarillo, property for a manufactured home, or land you plan to hold for the future, understanding what you're actually buying is important before you make an offer.
I work with land and acreage throughout Amarillo, Canyon, Bushland and the surrounding area, and these are some of the things I want buyers to look at early in the process.
1. Know What You Want to Do With the Property
The first question isn't necessarily, “Do I like this land?”
It's:
Can I actually use it the way I want to?
A buyer may be looking for land to:
- Build a home
- Place a manufactured home
- Keep horses or other animals
- Build a shop
- Create a future homesite
- Hold as an investment
- Purchase additional acreage around an existing property
Those plans can be affected by deed restrictions, zoning, subdivision rules, minimum construction requirements, utility availability and other property-specific limitations.
Never assume that because a parcel is vacant, you can automatically do whatever you want with it.
2. Read the Restrictions Before You Get Too Excited
This is one of the biggest things I want buyers to understand about acreage and residential lots.
Two pieces of land sitting near each other can have completely different restrictions.
Depending on the property, restrictions might address things such as:
- Minimum home size
- Manufactured homes
- Shops or outbuildings
- Livestock
- Fencing
- Building materials
- Setbacks
- Number of homes allowed
- Commercial use
- How quickly construction must begin
If a particular use matters to you, we want to verify it rather than assume it is allowed.
3. Find Out What Utilities Are Actually Available
Seeing power lines near a property does not necessarily mean every utility is ready to connect.
Depending on where the land is located, a buyer may need to investigate:
- Electricity
- Natural gas or propane
- Public water versus a private well
- Public sewer versus septic
- Internet availability
- Distance and cost to connect utilities
On rural acreage, bringing utilities onto the property can become a meaningful part of the overall cost.
The purchase price of the land is only one part of the budget.
4. Understand the Survey and Property Boundaries
A survey can be especially important with land.
It can help identify the actual boundaries of the parcel along with things such as easements, access, encroachments and other property features.
Do not rely solely on a fence line to tell you where a property begins and ends.
Fences are useful, but they are not always located directly on the legal property boundary.
The survey can also become important later if you plan to build, install fencing, add improvements or divide the property.
5. Pay Attention to Access
A beautiful piece of acreage is much less useful if getting to it creates problems.
Buyers should understand how the property is accessed and whether that access is public, private or through an easement.
Things I want to understand include:
- Is there direct road frontage?
- Is the road public or privately maintained?
- Is an access easement involved?
- Can construction equipment reasonably reach the homesite?
- Could weather affect access?
- Who is responsible for maintaining a private road?
Access can affect both how you use the property and how easy it may be to sell later.
6. Wells and Septic Systems May Be Part of the Plan
Land outside more developed areas may not have municipal water and sewer available.
That can mean planning for a private well, septic system, or both.
If a property already has these systems, I want buyers to understand what is there and what inspections or testing may be appropriate.
If they are not already installed, the buyer should factor those costs into the overall plan for the property.
I have separate resources explaining these systems in more detail:
7. Financing Land Can Be Different From Financing a House
A buyer who qualifies for a traditional home mortgage should not assume the same loan will automatically work for vacant land.
Land loans can have different:
- Down-payment requirements
- Loan terms
- Interest rates
- Property requirements
- Appraisal considerations
The financing may also change depending on whether you are buying:
- Vacant land only
- Land with plans to build
- A home and acreage together
- A manufactured home with land
- Property as part of a construction package
Talk with the lender before writing the offer so you know which properties fit the financing you intend to use.
Buying a Manufactured Home With Land?
This deserves special attention because the transaction can involve both the real estate and the manufactured home's ownership records, foundation, HUD information and financing requirements.
If you're considering this type of property, start here:
Buying a Mobile Home in Amarillo
That page goes much deeper into the additional things I look at when a manufactured home is part of the purchase.
The Bottom Line
Buying land near Amarillo can be a great opportunity, but the right piece of property is about more than acreage and price.
Before making an offer, you want to understand:
What you can do with it.
How you'll access it.
What restrictions apply.
What utilities are available.
What the survey shows.
And what it will actually cost to make the property work for your plans.
Those are questions I would much rather answer before you're under contract than discover after you've already committed to the property.
Thinking About Buying Land or Acreage Near Amarillo?
Whether you're looking for a residential lot, a future homesite, rural acreage, land for a manufactured home, or property with room to spread out, I can help you work through the real-estate side of the purchase and identify the questions that need to be answered before you move forward.
Haley Sutter, REALTOR®
Brokered by: 2015 Real Estate
Call or text: 806-591-4036
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