Buying land can be confusing so here are the 3 most valuable questions to ask before buying land!
Do you own this property?
Yes, really! You want to make sure that the person you are buying this property from has clear title to the property. They should be able to show this to you and provide it via the County Assessor website, or, they should be able to furnish a copy of the notarized Deed showing they purchased this from the previous owner.
Are there any back taxes owed on this property?
What taxes are owed on this property? When you buy a property, you are inheriting any back taxes, liens and encumbrances! You want to be sure that there are no back taxes on the property. This can be checked at the County Treasurer website by entering the APN or parcel number.
Do you offer a money-back guarantee on this purchase?
Many land sellers have a policy of all sales are final. My purchases have a 30 day money back guarantee on all sales. If you don’t love the property, I don’t want you to have it! I offer both a 30 Day Money Back Guarantee as well as a 1 Year Land Exchange Guarantee.
Those 3 questions are a great START.
You should always feel comfortable asking about the acreage, zoning and any other questions on your mind!
If you ever have any doubts you can always email me directly at jim [at] landsforyou.com – I am here for you!
Video Transcription
Hey, it’s Jim from landsforyou.com. Just want to shoot you this quick video. Just some tips on buying land.
I had someone who just bought land from me recently and he had asked a couple of good questions and it got me thinking… what are some of the things you want to consider before you put down your money and you buy something from someone?
Just a couple of things to keep in mind, these are kind of the most important things.
The first one, most importantly, you want to make sure that the person that you’re buying this land from actually owns it.
So you can ask them first for a copy of the latest Deed so that you know that what they’re selling you, they actually have the right to.
Another thing that’s super important is, if they can’t produce that, sometimes the counties are… they’re really behind on recording stuff. What you can do is you can check the County website itself. A lot of times you’ll find it there or if they have that copy of that last deed, you can call the County Recorder’s office or Assessor’s office and they’ll be able to validate for you that what you’re buying is actually being sold to you by the person who’s selling it, super important. Another thing you want to consider… Just waving hi to my daughter.
And another thing that’s super important, you want to make sure when you’re buying land, you don’t inherit any back taxes.
If you buy a property, you’re inheriting everything that’s on that property, meaning the back property taxes, liens, encumbrances. Anything that’s wrong or banged up at the property you’re going to be getting. So check the county treasurer’s website, put in the parcel number and make sure that you’re actually buying a property with no back taxes on it. Super important, super easy to do. The person you’re buying it from, they should be telling you that and they should be able to produce that evidence for you in no time. Hang on one sec. Okey-dokey.
Got my daughter here.
Third thing, probably most important thing. The thing that can really save you. You want to make sure that you’re buying land with a guarantee.
So whenever I sell land, I always have a 30 day money back guarantee. You lose your job, you get cold feet, whatever. I don’t care, it’s fine. Just tell me and I’ll give you your money back. And I got the testimonials to prove it. So make sure if you buy land, the person isn’t just going to take your money and run off. They’re going to actually stand behind it for at least a month.
She’s making fun of me!
But those are the three most important things. Just off the top of my head. Just want to share that with you. Make sure that the person selling it to you actually owns the land first and foremost. Second of all, there should be no back taxes and verify that. And then the third thing, make sure you have a guarantee just for your own peace of mind. And she’s got my glasses, so I got to go. All right, talk to you soon. Bye.