Buying Land? Here's the Guidance You Need to Avoid Expensive Disasters!

When you're buying land, you need to know all the details, especially the ones the seller hopes you don't find about out until it's too late.

If you don't know them, and you sign anyway, it could mean headaches, heartaches, and financial disaster.

Any real estate agent who has been in business for long can tell you stories about land-buying disasters. They hear them from would-be listing clients who want them to help re-sell unusable land.

And that's why this book came into being.

For 19 years I was a practicing real estate agent - and for 9 of those years I was the owner-broker of a real estate firm. In that time I helped a lot of people purchase undeveloped land. Sometimes things went smoothly and there were no problems, but most of the time there was some kind of problem or issue that had to be handled before closing. Usually, given some time and some help from title officers, attorneys, and the sellers, I could do it. But sometimes the problems were insurmountable. And that's when I advised my buyers against purchasing.

I could help my own buyers, and as broker I could step in to help customers dealing with my company. But there were others I could not help. Realtors have to adhere to a Code of Ethics - and that code says you do not interfere between another agent and their client. I had to watch in silence while agents let their buyers go to closing on the purchase of undeveloped land with problems that would take months or years to solve - if they could be solved at all.

Now, I write copy to help real estate agents and other business people promote their products and services. I don't have a real estate license. So I can warn YOU about the dangers you face when buying land.

Later is too late...

After you sign the closing papers and hand over your money, it's much too late to re-negotiate a price or to ask a seller to provide something like a road maintenance agreement or a utility easement. At that point, you as the buyer have the land - and all the problems it might carry with it.

Doesn't it seem a bit more sensible to learn everything there is to know about a parcel before you buy it? I think so, even if it means NOT buying a piece of land you've fallen in love with.