How to buy land without inheriting someone else's problem.
Eight steps from defining your use to recording the deed — including what raw-land financing really looks like and the checks that belong inside your due diligence window.
Define the use before the budget
A homesite, a hunting tract, a storage facility and a hold-for-appreciation parcel are four different purchases. The intended use decides which zoning, access and utility answers count as dealbreakers.
Set a total cost, not a purchase price
Land carries costs a house does not: clearing, a drive and culvert, a well, a septic system, a power run priced per foot, survey and title work. On rural parcels these frequently exceed the land price itself.
Understand raw-land financing early
Most banks treat vacant land differently: larger down payments, shorter terms and higher rates than a mortgage. Local banks, farm credit lenders and seller financing are the common routes. Confirm your route before you make offers.
Screen listings against public records
Before touring anything, match the APN to the assessor record, compare the deeded acreage to the county GIS boundary, and check the FEMA flood panel. A surprising share of listings describe a parcel that does not match the record.
Walk it, then walk the access route
Look for encroachments, wet ground, dumped fill, and whether there is a drivable route today. Legal access on paper and a passable road are different things, and both need to exist.
Write an offer with a due diligence period
Ask for 30 days minimum and make earnest money refundable during that window. Everything below happens inside it, and it is the only leverage you have to walk away cleanly.
Run full due diligence
Title chain and liens, zoning and overlays, easements and restrictions, flood and wetlands, soils and septic feasibility, utilities and true tax burden after reassessment. Order the survey and perc test only after the desk research comes back clean.
Close with title insurance
Use a title company or real estate attorney, buy an owner's policy, and confirm the recorded deed matches the legal description you diligenced. Then record it and keep the file.
Common questions about buying land
How much money do I need to buy land?
Plan on 15–35% down for a raw-land loan, plus closing costs, and a site-development budget for the drive, well, septic and power. Cash purchases skip the financing hurdle but not the site costs.
Can I get a mortgage on vacant land?
Not a conventional mortgage. Raw land is financed through land loans, local or farm credit lenders, or seller financing, generally at shorter terms and higher rates than a home loan.
What should I check before buying land?
At minimum: recorded ownership and liens, zoning and permitted use, legal and physical access, FEMA flood zone, wetlands, soil suitability for septic, utility distance and cost, and the reassessed tax bill at your purchase price.
Take the checklist to the county office
Enter your email and we'll send the printable 47-point PDF plus a full redacted sample report.
One email with the file. No newsletter, no spam.
Land due diligence: the complete guide — our full hub of land research guides, from title and access to soils, zoning and cost.
Related reading: what land due diligence covers and how to run a land title search.