Land buying checklist: the 47-point due diligence guide for buyers.

Type the parcel number into the assessor's search. The record should return the same acreage, owner and address the listing claims.

Metes-and-bounds text and the GIS polygon should describe the same shape. GIS is a mapping tool, not a survey — treat differences as questions.

Deed acreage governs. Assessor acreage drives the tax bill. A gap of more than a few percent needs an explanation.

Check the plat book at the recorder. A survey older than about twenty years often predates current monuments and neighbouring splits.

Compare aerial imagery against the GIS boundary. Long-standing use over a line can ripen into an adverse-possession claim in some states.

Trace the boundary against the road centreline. A road or creek through the middle can leave part of the parcel unreachable.

Get the designation from the planning department, then read that district's section of the ordinance rather than a summary table.

By-right uses need only a permit. Conditional or variance uses require a hearing you can lose after months of cost.

Draw the setbacks on the parcel outline. What is left is the only place a structure can legally go.

Ask the planner about minimum lot size, road frontage per lot and whether a new road would be required.

Overlays sit on top of base zoning and add rules. They usually appear as a separate GIS layer, not in the zoning label.

If the land is enrolled, ask the assessor what rollback taxes are owed when the use changes — often several years of back tax plus interest.

The future land use map shows what the county intends. It signals both upside and the industrial neighbour you did not expect.

These are usually restricted by ordinance and separately by deed covenant. Both have to permit it.

A dirt track you can drive is not legal access. You need frontage on a public road or an easement recorded in the deed chain.

Walk or drive it. Grade, wetland crossings and a needed bridge or culvert turn access into a five-figure item.

Ask the county highway department whether the road is on the maintained list. If not, look for a recorded shared-maintenance agreement.

Most counties require a driveway or curb-cut permit with sight-distance rules. Get the requirement in writing before closing.

Every unmaintained mile is your snow removal, your grading and your delivery problem.

Use the FEMA Flood Map Service Center. Zone A or AE means insurance, elevation requirements and often a smaller buildable area.

The NWI mapper is a screening tool only. Mapped wetlands mean a delineation and possibly a Corps permit before you disturb ground.

Many states impose a fixed no-build buffer along a stream. Confirm the width with the state environmental agency, not the seller.

Web Soil Survey rates each soil unit for dwellings and septic absorption. A 'very limited' rating predicts an expensive engineered system.

Read the contour layer in GIS. Anything over roughly 15 percent slope adds cost for the drive, the pad and the foundation.

Check the EPA's mapping tools and the state's tank registry. Prior farm, fuel or industrial use warrants a Phase I assessment.

The US Fish and Wildlife IPaC tool lists species and critical habitat. A listing can delay or reshape clearing.

State geological surveys and wildfire risk maps cover these. Regional hazards drive insurance availability more than price.

Call the utility with the parcel number and ask for a line-extension estimate. Overhead and underground runs price very differently.

Ask the water district about tap fees, or check state well logs for neighbouring depths and yields to estimate a new well.

The county health department holds past perc results. Where none exists, make the purchase contingent on a passing test.

Check provider coverage maps by address and confirm with a local installer — rural coverage maps are optimistic.

The rating and distance to the nearest station affect whether insurers will write a policy and at what premium.

District boundaries do not follow county lines. Confirm with the district office if it matters to you or to resale.

The treasurer's history shows the trend and any exemption that has been keeping the bill low.

Many counties reassess on transfer. Apply the current millage to your price for a realistic post-closing bill.

Use recorded sale prices for similar acreage, access and zoning — not other listings, which are asking prices.

Get local numbers for each item. On rural land site prep often exceeds the land price itself.

Expect larger down payments and shorter terms. Local banks and farm credit lenders are usually more workable than national banks.

Ask a local title company for a written estimate. On vacant land these commonly total a few thousand dollars.