Land is quite possibly the most overlooked type of real estate in the whole world. So many real estate investors fail to see the benefits that land has to offer and instead they choose to focus on luxurious properties. The problem with luxurious properties is that they come with their fair share of issues and this includes maintenance, upgrades, surveys and even the sale in general. When you own a piece of land however, there is so much simplicity and this cannot be compared to any other investment. The main thing that you have to remember here is that land can be deceptive and there are a couple of things that you need to look out for when making your investment.

Land can Be Deceptive

On the surface, land can look very simple. The problem is that there are a lot of issues with land that you might not be aware of, for this reason, it’s important that you take your time when making your decision and stay completely aware of your surroundings at all times. By understanding the top warning signs of land, you can be sure to make the right investment without compromise.

Zoning

The first thing that you need to do is know what a property can be used for and you also need to look at the best use of it as well. All you have to do is call up your local planning and zoning company for this and they can then tell you what the land can be used for. They can then tell you whether it is mixed use, commercial use, agricultural use and more. You can even ask them to give you some ideas as to which type of properties are allowed under the classification. This may even provide you with a couple of ideas when it comes to using the land. Once you have a good idea of how the land is going to fit your needs, you can then find out if there is a market for it and even find out if it is suitable for your requirements and budget. Hayfield Estate are a great choice if you are looking for land, and their team can always give you the advice you need.

Topography

When buying land, especially if it is out of your local area, you may want to look at the topography. This will help you to determine whether the land is unpredictable or whether it has valleys, ravines and more nearby. In a lot of cases, the topography of the land will ultimately decide what the land can be used for. Take the following example, you couldn’t build a house on top of a 90-degree cliff. For this reason, it helps to do some research so that you can find out how the land can be used and to even find out if there is a slant. You may not be able to venture out to the land and have a look, so it helps to use sites such as Google Earth as this will help you to find out what is nearby and you can also see where the tilts and grooves are. By understanding the lay of the land, you can then begin to plan out your investment and you can

also find out what is going to be where as well.

Tax Obligations

If you want to have a property on your land or if there is already a property there then you need to think about tax obligations. If you do have a super high tax bill then you will need to make sure that this relates to the value of the land itself. If you are not sure if you are paying too much tax then one good way to look at it would be to think that the tax of the land and property should be around 1-4%. If a piece of land doesn’t have access to staples that help to ensure reasonable living then you may not be able to build on the lands at all. After all, if you are not able to access clean water or even flush the toilet when you’re done with it then you can’t expect anyone to want to buy your land.  If your land cannot sustain this then it doesn’t matter what you do to it because it will not be as high in value when compared to other types of land.

Setbacks

In order to understand the setbacks that you are facing, you have to understand the dimensions of the land and you also have to call the zoning department as well. When you contact the zoning department, they will also be able to tell you what kind of setbacks you are looking at, whether there is actually enough room to build anything or whether you can’t actually build what you want due to certain restrictions. There is a high chance that any land you look at will have some form of zoning restriction on it. This helps to stop farms from being built next to skyscrapers, which is then right next to a landfill. Zoning restrictions do really help people to get what they want but it also helps to stop people from making daft decisions as well. For this reason, if you are looking at a piece of land and you want to have it so that it can be transformed into offices then you won’t be able to do this if there is green space all around it. If you wanted to turn this into a farm however, then there is a high chance that you could make this happen.

Some pieces of land are protected as well, meaning that if there are buildings nearby, you still can’t put your offices there because it would compromise the view and the overall scenery of the area. This may also have a negative impact on the value of nearby offices as well, so this needs to be taken into consideration.