From the video:
Whether you are looking to purchase a piece of land as an investment or as a place to build your dream home, there are some things you must know before buying. Compass Land USA is a team of local land professionals.
In this blog post, we have put together some of our favorite tips for buying New Mexico land.
Tip #1: Make A List of What You Want
Are you buying the land as an investment? Or as a recreational or building site for yourself? Are you looking for New Mexico land you can camp on? Do you want to drop your RV or 5th wheel on the property? Are you looking to keep horses and livestock on the land?
The land’s use will determine exactly the types of land you will want to focus on. A few things you should consider are:
- Price. Sure this seems obvious, but you will want to set a maximum budget and stick to it. If you are planning to build a house or barn, you don’t want to blow your budget before you’ve even broken ground.
And if you’re buying for investment, you should know the exact price you can purchase in order to sell for a solid return down the road. Stick to your guns, and don’t go over budget. (If you found your dream property, but it’s over budget, you can look more into owner financing, and how that process works or land investments.
- Size. How much land do you need? You might think you want several acres until you see the maintenance that will be required or the property taxes that go with it. Maybe 1 or 2 acres would better suit your needs. Or maybe you want to build a decent-sized home, and still have a big yard. An oversized lot might be perfect for you.
- Dirt & trees. What kind of soil is on the property? Is it sandy or clay? The actual dirt on the land can cause issues with building and have a huge effect on what you are able to grow on the property. Many buyers love seeing a lot with trees or a house painted a certain color.
Tip #2: Educate Yourself
There are many variables to consider when making a land purchase. We do have a New Mexico land buying checklist that will help you with all the variables, you can get a free copy of it here.
Often times there are many things people will overlook, especially first-time buyers. It’s hard to know what you don’t know. Buying land is about more than just location.
- What type of access does the property have? Ideally, your land should accessible via a road, especially if you want to camp or RV on it. However, if it’s not, you will need to ensure the proper easements are in place so that you may transverse across someone else’s property to get to yours.
- Does the property have a clear title? Liens and other encumbrances can cause a big headache if they aren’t dealt with before closing. (FYI all the properties we sell at Compass Land USA come with a free and clear title, so you don’t need to worry about that with us. 🙂 )
- Zoning. Sure your land might be zoned residential today, but what if there is a zoning change planned for the future? Make sure you know of any potential zoning changes so you don’t get stuck with land you can’t use. Normally you can figure these out pretty quickly by giving the County Planning and Zoning Department a call.
If you want to figure out the zoning of the property, we have a step-by-step tutorial on how to do that here.
- What are comparable properties selling for? Do not go by what they are listed at, but rather the actual sales prices of some comparable lots.
Unfortunately, this isn’t always easy to find. One technique you could try using is to look up comps on Zillow.com and filter out for Sold properties. These numbers aren’t verified, but at least you’ll know how much the property was listed for when it sold. You can even decrease that price by 10 or 20% to include any potential negotiations and haggling that went on behind the scenes.
- Covenants are basically the rules of the land. If you want to have a small farm, the rules might say you cannot. Or if you want to build a three-story home, you might not be able to. Make sure you understand all the rules placed upon the land by local authorities.
- You will want to make sure you understand your water rights. Let’s say you bought 2 acres for your small farm, but then you find out that you are only allowed to irrigate an eighth of it. You will have a lot of dried up farmland on your hands. Not great for crops or livestock!
Tip #3: Work With A Pro
The process of buying and selling land is quite different than buying a home. Because a realtor might receive less commission when working with land, they typically don’t put in as much effort into understanding the variables.
Working with a team of highly skilled professionals, such as the team at Compass Land USA will help you to make the best investment possible.
A land professional will help educate you on all the points above and make sure you find the best property possible when looking to buy land. They can help answer any questions and help you find the perfect piece of land for YOUR needs.
Compass Land USA can help you whether you are looking to buy or sell land in the Colorado area.
Fill out this form, or give our office a call now to find out how we can help you! (313) 349-0434
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