10 Things to Know Before Buying Land in the Country

If your dream is to leave the city to live in the country, there are some things you should know before making an offer. We thought we had covered all our bases before we bought this place, but we didn't. Maybe others can learn from some of the mistakes we made and from some of the things we did right.

Whether you want move to the country to sit on your porch and enjoy the view, or you want to be a homesteader or hobby farmer who raises chickens to sell eggs at the farmer's market, or you want to be a full-time farmer who raises acres of corn and wheat, you need to find the right land. You can, and should, start with a realtor. Even if you decide to buy from an individual, you can use a realtor. Just remember in that case that you, not the seller, will be paying the realtor's fee. And remember one more thing: people lie. Sellers lie. Realtors lie. It may be a lie of omission, or an outright falsehood, but no one wants to admit to something that will kill their deal. So you need to verify everything you are told, and search for information you aren't told.

Now you've found the land of your dreams. What next?

1. Soil Quality

If you want to grow anything, find out what kind of soil it has, how deep is the soil, and what is under the soil. The USDA has a Soil Survey Map for every area of the U.S. You can find out how deep the topsoil is, what type soil, and what rock formations might be beneath the soil. The soil data tab will give the suitability for crops, the percolation rate, and the soil stability for building or setting fence posts. Had we known there was solid rock under our thin soil, we would never have bought this land. Not only did our septic system cost twice what we anticipated, we had to put in an aerobic system instead of the cheaper lateral line system. Also, the hay we intended to raise won't grow in thin soil, and the grass that will grow isn't desired by most hay buyers.

When we looked at this land, our realtor told us the land was in hay production. That wasn't true. We signed the contract in the spring before the "hay" started growing. After a month or so, we could see that the land was growing mostly weeds. After closing, I talked to a soil and water conservation agent who knew the property, and he said the land had been converted to native grasses twenty years ago and had been in CRP until the last few years. That brings me to the next point.

2.  Land Use and Taxes

Find out if the land is in use for CRP or another government program, and if it is, see if you have to abide by the contract until it expires, and how many years are left on the contract. You find this information at the local USDA Soil and Conservation District office. Also, find out if the land has a current agricultural use exemption on it. If it does, you will have to keep it in agriculture use. If you don't, you could be liable for taxes and fees. In Texas, it is five years back taxes plus penalty; a good incentive to keep the land in ag use. If the seller divides the land into smaller parcels, the land may not be eligible for an ag exemption, and you will be liable for these taxes unless you get the seller to pay them at closing. In Texas, different counties have different requirements, but few counties allow an ag exemption for land under 10 acres. If you want to use the land for agriculture and it doesn't have a current ag exemption, it could take you several years to qualify, and in those years, you will pay premium taxes for the land.

What are the current taxes?  This will only be pertinent to you if you are buying the land in whole, not being subdivided.  You can find this at the county Appraisal District, possibly online.  While you are checking, see what the tax is on nearby homes that are similar in age and size to the one you want to build to give you an idea of your future taxes.

3. Topography

What is the lay of the land? If you want crops, is the land flat enough, or terraced? Are there hills or trees that will make part of the land unusable? If you can't tell in person, check the land at USGS Topography Map. Can a tractor get through to your field? What about a building site? Will water runoff from higher ground be a problem? Is there a flood plain on the land? You can check that at FEMA Flood Map Service Center.

One other thing, and this isn't topography as much as it is the shape of the land, especially if it is land being subdivided. If the land isn't fenced, or marked in any way, it's hard to visualize where the boundaries are. A ten acre rectangle won't seem as narrow when it's in the middle of a hundred acre farm. My advice here is to take some stakes and flagging tape with you when you walk this type land. Measure out the distance of the narrow side of the piece of land for sale and place the flagged stakes at each end. Then you can see how much room you will have for a house, garage, driveway, etc, and see if there is enough room and enough space between your house and a house that could be built on the next lot. Our land is long and narrow, and while it is not a problem now, someone could build just two hundred feet away someday. If we had used the stake idea and visualized how narrow the land really was, we might have chosen a lot that was more square than rectangular.

4. Ponds and Streams

If there is a pond or creek on your property, see if it is federally protected by the Clean Water Act, or can you use it to water your crops or your cattle. If there isn't a pond and you want one, see if the ground will hold water. The USDA Soil Survey map will help, but you should have a pond expert come out and examine the land. Also, make sure the pond will comply with the EPA and Clean Water Act.

5.  Utilities

Find out where the water and power come from. Is the water from a local co-op, or do you have to drill your own well? If it is from a co-op, is the co-op solvent? How hard is it to get a meter? How much does a meter cost? Is the pipe big enough to give you good water pressure? How well are lines maintained? How does it taste? What is the base cost?  You can get a copy of the water quality report from the co-op but that won't tell you how it tastes.  Ask a neighbor if you can taste their water.

If you have to drill a well, how much does it cost to drill?  How far down do they have to drill?  What is the water quality?  Are there contaminates in the aquifer?  Your answers to these questions will come from neighbors, the local co-op, and local well drillers.

Our water comes from a co-op well and it is very alkaline and tastes terrible. The lines haven't been maintained well and can't support any more meters in some areas. That means that people buying land without a meter on it already cannot get a meter.  I know of two properties where the buyers weren't told this prior to closing.

Other services you need to check are trash service (most rural water service doesn't include trash service, residents are responsible for choosing their own method or service), internet service, telephone service, and cable service.  When you walk the land, check your cell phone by the road and in several possible building sites.  Ask neighbors what internet services are available and then call the services to find out about speed and if service drops with the number of users or time of day.

6.  Easements and Restrictions

Find out if there are any easements, mineral right owners, mineral leases, or restrictions on the land. You can get this information at the county clerk's office. All you need to know is the name of the current owner of the land and the legal description. You can get that from the county appraisal district office. If there are easements, do they allow someone to drive across the land to get to another piece of land, or are they utility easements? Either way, some people will have the right to enter the land on the easement at any time. If there is an easement, where is it located and will it interfere with your use of the land? You may need a utility easement to get power to your house. If any or all of the mineral rights have been kept by previous owners, you may have drilling on your land whether you want it or not, depending on the size of the land. If there are restrictions, usually written by the current seller, who is going to enforce them?  Will you be able to build the size and kind of home you want?  Generally, once all the land owned by the seller is sold, restrictions are a civil matter. Meaning, if the restrictions say buyers must build a 2000 square foot house and one buyer brings in a mobile home, the other buyers either accept the mobile home or file a civil suit against the offender.

7. Insurance

How much will your insurance cost? Will you need farm insurance, or liability insurance for the guy who is mowing your field and his tractor rolls over on him? Even homeowners insurance is higher if you are more than a specified number of miles from the city limits. It's five miles here, and we are four miles from the fire department on the edge of town. Another 1.1 mile and our insurance would have doubled. Where will you get insurance? Your current insurance company may not cover a farm, or a non-conventional home like a barndominium.

8. Financing

Where will you get financing? You may have to look at Farm Credit agencies rather than your usual bank, and you may have to put down more than you would on a city building site. Some financial institutions won't let you diy any part of building your home. If they will let you build it yourself, how long do you have to get it done before rolling the building loan into a conventional loan? If part of your dream is to diy, you may have to finance your own building.

9. Investment Value

How is the neighborhood? Even if the next landowner is a quarter of a mile away, their farm could affect your home value, and certainly your resale value. Are the neighboring properties trashy, or maintained? Will their fences keep their cattle off your property?  Look on Google maps and see if there are four-wheeler trails all over their land that will disturb your peace while you are sitting on your deck trying to listen to the birds.  Or maybe there is a shooting range, or they dump their trash within sight of your property.

How is the land you are looking at?  Does it have trash on it?  A dilapidated barn?  You can make it a term of sale that the seller haul off all the trash.  Is there anything on the property you want to keep?  Stock tanks?  Round pen? Squeeze chute?  Greenhouse?  Write them into the contract too.  You can also negotiate other things, like livestock or farm equipment.  It will benefit both of you not to move them, IF you want them.

10. School System

How is the school system? Even if you don't have children in school, the school system will affect your resale. Property in good school systems sells quicker and for more money than properties in poor performing school districts.  Good districts will probably get more money from the state and be able to offer more advantages to students.  Check the ISD website or call the local administration office to find out. If you have children in school, a visit to the schools would be a good idea.