I'm getting ready to purchase some hunting property. Can anyone give me a general overview of the buying process?
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buying land
- Thread starter bigfoot12$
- Start date
- Fill out paperwork
- Hand over cash
- Continue to pay the feds rent on property you already "own"... forever
Sorry for the simplistic explanation. Someone will be along shortly with an honest reply. Congrats on the land.
- Hand over cash
- Continue to pay the feds rent on property you already "own"... forever
Sorry for the simplistic explanation. Someone will be along shortly with an honest reply. Congrats on the land.
How are you buying?
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Not 100% sure what you are asking but it's the same as buying any real property. Have you bought a home before?
If you are paying cash you have decisions to make about such things as title insurance, surveys, environmental assessments etc....
If you are financing, the mortgage will make most of those decisions for you.
Pay the attorney to do the closing and record your deed and begin enjoying the big time and money suck you just purchased.
If you are paying cash you have decisions to make about such things as title insurance, surveys, environmental assessments etc....
If you are financing, the mortgage will make most of those decisions for you.
Pay the attorney to do the closing and record your deed and begin enjoying the big time and money suck you just purchased.
Lauren isnt far off
1. Find property and make sure your financing is in order with a morgage company or bank. You might want to do this first.
2. You Make an offer either through a realtor or directly with the seller
3. They accept/reject your offer
4. If they accept, you give them a down payment ($1000)and sign a purchase and sale agreement.
5. Optional - You have someone do a survey/inspection of the property.
6. You schedule a closing, which usually happens at a lawyers office.
1. Find property and make sure your financing is in order with a morgage company or bank. You might want to do this first.
2. You Make an offer either through a realtor or directly with the seller
3. They accept/reject your offer
4. If they accept, you give them a down payment ($1000)and sign a purchase and sale agreement.
5. Optional - You have someone do a survey/inspection of the property.
6. You schedule a closing, which usually happens at a lawyers office.
If you're going to finance there are several differences when purchasing raw land instead of a home. First you must understand that for a bank to consider financing a raw land purchase you will be expected to have a minimum of 20% for a down payment. Some banks these days, if not most banks, are expecting 30-40% down. The logic being it is easier for the buyer to walk away from land than it would be to walk away from a home. Therefore they take you much more seriously when you make a substantial financial commitment suc as a large down payment.Even if the land has a doublewide on it you are expected to put down a minimum of 20%...Their logic is you could potentially pick the doublewide up and move it before they foreclose. Crazy, isn't it? Homes are where you will live, are a necessity, etc...when raw land is not considered the same, and for good reason. This is why a new home buyer can get by with a 3% down payment...Another reason is because if you fail to pay and the bank forecloses, it will be no problem for them to get their money back because it is much easier to sell a home quickly than raw land. If it were me, and you are financing, try to find a good deal with owner financing. When you owner finance the terms are more negotiable for down payment, interest rate, length of contract, etc...They may not even do a credit check...Owner financing can be a win-win because in the end the seller will receive a better price overall for their land, plus if you fail to pay them they lose nothing. Not much difference if a bank forecloses or a seller forecloses. Foreclosure is foreclosure. Hopefully something like that would never happen. Just saying those are the things a seller is thinking about when they owner finance. If owner financing is not an option, expect to put down a minimum of 20% if you're approved. This can be a sizeable amount of cash, obviously, if you are considering 200 acres at say, $2700 per acre.
If you're looking in Georgia I would look around further than 20 minutes from your house. Everybody wants land close by but you could be missing the best dealson land by not being willing to drive a couple hours to hunt. Some decent land can be had in Ga. for less than $2000 per acre. Prices are good right now. Best I've seen in years, in fact, but it is slowly starting to rise again. Everybody wants land.
Like already stated, it is a good idea to have someone do an inspection. It is optional but I would recommend it. This is a big investment and you don't want any surpirses later on that you may have to deal with. Environmental issues will be your responsibility if there is something going on with the property that you were unaware of before you purchased it...
Also like GaGunGuy stated, if you make an offer and the seller accepts, have a short agreement written up and $1000 up front for a hold. My Dad, who is one smart freakin guy, lost the deal of his lifetime for letting this seemingly small detail slide....
Buying land is easier than most people believe. Once you go through and learn the process you will be amazed at how simple it really is. Most people that I know who have bought land end up buying more. It is a great investment and unlike an IRA or any other savings account, you can enjoy it while you're paying for it. A steady growing asset that will almost always increase in value and most likely gain considerably. It amazes me that most people do not realize that if they can afford a new pickup they can probably afford a decent piece of land. It is much more rewarding to work on your own land than dealing with leases, club members, etc...and if the land has good timber you can harvest the timber to help offset the cost of the land. Having your own land to do as you please is the real reward. Whether it is 30 or 300 acres the joy is the same. And even if you had to forego a few vacations, going out to dinner every week, buying a new pickup, etc. in the end it is probably worth it. Good luck.
If you're looking in Georgia I would look around further than 20 minutes from your house. Everybody wants land close by but you could be missing the best dealson land by not being willing to drive a couple hours to hunt. Some decent land can be had in Ga. for less than $2000 per acre. Prices are good right now. Best I've seen in years, in fact, but it is slowly starting to rise again. Everybody wants land.
Like already stated, it is a good idea to have someone do an inspection. It is optional but I would recommend it. This is a big investment and you don't want any surpirses later on that you may have to deal with. Environmental issues will be your responsibility if there is something going on with the property that you were unaware of before you purchased it...
Also like GaGunGuy stated, if you make an offer and the seller accepts, have a short agreement written up and $1000 up front for a hold. My Dad, who is one smart freakin guy, lost the deal of his lifetime for letting this seemingly small detail slide....
Buying land is easier than most people believe. Once you go through and learn the process you will be amazed at how simple it really is. Most people that I know who have bought land end up buying more. It is a great investment and unlike an IRA or any other savings account, you can enjoy it while you're paying for it. A steady growing asset that will almost always increase in value and most likely gain considerably. It amazes me that most people do not realize that if they can afford a new pickup they can probably afford a decent piece of land. It is much more rewarding to work on your own land than dealing with leases, club members, etc...and if the land has good timber you can harvest the timber to help offset the cost of the land. Having your own land to do as you please is the real reward. Whether it is 30 or 300 acres the joy is the same. And even if you had to forego a few vacations, going out to dinner every week, buying a new pickup, etc. in the end it is probably worth it. Good luck.
MRH has given you some good advice.Land is almost always a good buy,intrest rates are low right now and it would be a great time to buy before they go up,and they will go up.Also land is a good way to allow your money to grow,as an example I own a five ac. lot in the north Ga. mountains that I gave eight thousand dollars for in 1986, was just appraised at a little over two hundred thousand dollars.This area has been built up with million dollar homes(that don't mean I'll get that for it,but it shows it can really go up in value)
As Mark Twain said, buy land, cause they arent making any more of it.
Do you remember when property in Blue Ridge would go for $50 per acre? Back in the day you could barter everyday junk for 20 acres up there. Too bad those days are long gone.
Your example is a good one as to why land is never a bad investment. I think it is safe to say your investment stayed ahead of inflation, or an IRA, or 401K, or any of it.
My next door neighbor bought 24 acres back around '65 on Chapel Hill Rd here in Douglasville. Paid $200 per acre, I think...It just so happened to be exactly where the zoning and planning commission wanted to build the mall. He sold it in '97 or '98 for $1.2 million. Not a bad return on his investment.
If you look at the land as an investment first and foremost it will help you. Investment first, recreation (hunting) second.
I would definitely check with the county tax assessor's office and find out the annual taxes before I made a purchase. If the land is within city limits that will also be factored and it can be a considerable hike depending on the city. Look into having your land placed in the land conservation program. It will save you 50-60% on your annual taxes. You won't be able to cut your timber down for profit but that may be a good thing if you're going to be hunting. The trees will always be there and you CAN cut them because they're yours, but from that point on you will have to pay the full tax rate AND the back taxes from the years you saved money from being in the conservation program. But anyway if you decide you want to do the conservation program it only costs like $10-$20 to have it filed at the county courthouse and it lasts for 10 years. I'm guessing the 10 years is statewide.
That's about all I can think of for the moment. I've been at work all night and I'm tired. Good night...Or, good day.
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Speaking of taxes... if you are looking at small acreage (less than 50) check wih the county to see if they have a conservation program. Most do. Then make sure you know what the minimum acreage required is (many are raiing their minimums). Then buy more than the minimum. It can often cut your taxes by 75% r more. In the best case scenario, those couple of extra acres you buy will be 'free' after just a couple of tax bills.
