Pitfalls To Avoid When Purchasing Bare Land Real Estate In A Rural Area

If you are tired of the noisy neighbors and the constant dog barking that comes with living in close proximity to other people and have decided you want to build your dream home in a quieter rural area, then it's important you understand that there are many pitfalls you can run into when buying bare land as a future custom homesite. To avoid them, make sure you educate yourself about these potential issues.

Some Rural Property is Classified as Landlocked and Can Have Access Issues

When searching for bare land to build on, you need to do your due diligence to ensure the parcel you want to buy isn't landlocked.

Property that is classified as landlocked has no direct connection to a public street. In order to get on and off of landlocked property you will need an easement to cross another landowner's property. Since this scenario can be wrought with problems and disputes, it's always better to pass on landlocked parcels and buy somewhere else.

There May Not Be Any Public Utilities Available

When buying a home in the suburbs or city center, it's a given that it will be connected to public utilities such as power, sewer, and water. However, rural properties in areas that haven't been developed often have none of these things. 

If you plan to build an off-grid home, and are fine with hauling or capturing water and using a composting toilet, then a lack of utility access may not bother you. However, buying land for a home and then discovering it has no groundwater access, won't work for septic, and can't get power are not things you want to be a surprise. Living off-grid by choice is a nice challenge, but living off-grid by force is entirely another matter.

Everything is Inconvenient (and Costs More!) in a Rural Area

When you are used to running to the grocery store down the street or going across town to the local big box store, then you may not have given a lot of thought to the fact you can't easily do these things when you move to a more rural area. In fact, simple tasks like going to the doctor or dentist can take all day when you have to travel a long way to receive these services.

In addition, building contractors are harder to come by and you can expect everything from groceries and building supplies to any contracted labor to have a large markup.

In conclusion, it's important you take the inconvenience and added cost issues into consideration when shopping for rural real estate to build your family's dream home.