Buying property is a big project and to get started the first thing you should do is determine how much breathing space you have in your monthly budget for a new home. Some of these costs, you will have to account for include permits, fees, the actual cost of buying the property itself, and the expense of making necessary modifications to the property in order for you to have free running water and/or other utilities (if this is a necessity). After you’ve done all your research into what you can afford, it is time to start looking at the various deals you have available. In order to get the best deal possible, you must be able to comparison shop and not just rely on what you read about a particular piece of property on the internet or in a real estate magazine. By gathering all the information you can and then comparing all of the prices you see, you will end up with a solid idea of what you can expect to pay.
Once you have an idea of what you are willing to spend on a piece of property, you should check into the details of your purchasing plan and look for things like what contingencies are included in the purchase agreement, what type of inspections and permits you will need to acquire before buying the property, and what you will have to do to prepare the property for you and for the people who will be living in it. If you are buying property in a rural area with no existing amenities or schools attached to it, then you may not need any zoning or building permits. However, if you are buying in a city where there are public schools and there are likely to be multiple facilities attached to the property, you will want to make sure you account for these potential expenses when you are reviewing your budget.
One final item, you will want to address is the issue of financing. If you have good credit, then most people find it fairly easy to get financing for purchasing land. Unfortunately, many of us do not. If your credit is poor or the property is outside of your price range, then you will be looking at a real estate loan or a bank loan to obtain the money you need for the down payment, closing costs, and maintenance costs. Be sure to consider this when you are thinking about buying land because it will impact the way the down payment is structured, how much interest you will pay, and how long the loan will last.