Civil Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
secure property for you. They are also bound by law to
disclose all a place's warts to you ahead of time. Often
it's worth it.
I'll sum up the business of locating your land by
saying you should establish some clear guidelines,
with an eye to the future. Realize that you and your sit-
uation will change, and allow for that change. Then let
the magic of the right piece of land work within those
guidelines. It will, and you'll know it.
And about how to buy it? Any damn way you can.
Convenient land is higher in price, but you gener-
ally pay for it only once. Taxes will rise if the county is
prosperous, but there are often benefits from that, too.
Good roads, schools, a sane growth policy, culture, all
often come with higher taxes. Look at your priorities.
Legalities
You usually buy land if not for cash, then by deed and
mortgage, or by contract for deed. The first gets the
place secured in your name, with a loan against it. The
second means you get a deed when it's paid for, at
which time it's transferred to your name. You pay
taxes, insurance, and so on either way. Contract for
deed makes it easier for sellers to repossess if you
default in payment, because it's still sort of theirs on
paper. Most states have now begun to recognize that
an equity built up by this method must be acknowl-
edged in case of repossession.
I've bought land both ways. I've also taken and
given second mortgages in which, say, you as the buyer
pay the sellers their equity in payments (with perhaps
a down payment) and mortgage the land to a bank or
savings and loan association for the balance. It means
making two payments. Also, the sellers must be will-
ing, because your default gives the bank first consid-
eration in case of repossession.
It's nice to have the cash. It's nice, if you don't, to
have the seller finance the place. Individuals will
usually give you a better interest rate than lending
institutions, presumably because they don't have the
overhead in employees, computers, and flamboyant
buildings.
Buying It Anyway
Once you've found it and fallen in love with the land,
the money for it must be found. I've always proceeded
on the assumption that if I really must have a thing, a
way to get it will appear. This seems to work, too. I
remember I had to borrow most of my part of the
down payment for the Buffalo River place. Then my
brother and I tried every financing arrangement we
could think of, finally locating, through the real estate
agent, an individual who'd loan the money as an
investment. I've found money in strange places. And
when it just can't be done, maybe that wasn't the right
purchase anyway.
I won't go into a lot of detail about price, because
that's entirely up to you. It's got to be worth it to you
alone. But do compare, so you don't become a victim
of greed. See what the other comparable tracts are
going for to know where to start figuring from.
Here in central Virginia, rural land goes from
$1,000 an acre (much more if close in or in small
acreage) to $30,000 or so per acre. Up in the moun-
tains, past electricity and roads, you can do some
serious bargaining. Recently an acquaintance bought
200 acres of mountain for $600 per acre.
Land prices today are outrageous. But I can't think
of any time in history when that wasn't true. Even in
depression times of very low dollars, those same dol-
lars represented a lot of human endeavor. So the two-
dollar-an-acre land we hear of from our grandparents
was really out of reach, even then.
If you go way out in the mountains for cheap land,
you'll probably keep on paying for it in road construc-
tion, maintenance, vehicle and travel cost, and qual-
ity of life.
Camp on Your Land
When you've found several good pieces of land, go
back again and spend some time there. I like to camp
there if possible, see each property in as many lights
as I can. Compare. If you can't make up your mind,
chances are you haven't found the right place yet.
You usually know it when you're in love, even if it
comes as a surprise. And if you're drawn to a place but
can't quite say why, you'll probably keep on making
delightful discoveries after you've bought it. That's
serendipity.
