Vacant Land

You've looked at horse properties, but they don't feel like home. Someone else's idea of the perfect horse setup just isn't yours. Maybe you don't see yourself dragging hoses around every morning because someone decided the water spigot belonged on the other side of the barn. It could be what you want doesn't exist, or hasn't come on the market yet. So, why not build your own? 

Starting with vacant land opens up a different set of possibilities. Maybe it's the location, the views, the amount of usable land or simply the chance to start with something that hasn't already been decided for you. A beautiful piece of land can make it pretty easy to imagine what could be there.

Build it and they will come... Well, first you have to make sure you can build it.

You've found the perfect piece of property. Before you become a landowner, keep in mind the property line isn't necessarily the fence line. Remember those two tracks through the property? That could be someone's actual road. And the only spot where the new barn can go? There's an easement running right through it. 

If you scratch your head and wonder why no one has ever done anything with the property, there might be a good reason why.

Start with the survey or parcel map, then plan a trip to the county. They can tell you how the property is zoned, what you can build and where you can build it. “Sure, you can build an ADU. No, you can't put it there.” Dig up as much information as possible about access, setbacks, wells and septic, water and anything else that could affect what you have in mind. Then there's the title. Is there a cloud on it? Does someone have mineral rights? You never know what you'll discover. 

You probably won't get to see the property through all four seasons before you buy it. But you can try to figure out what might happen throughout the year. Which direction is south on your compass? Where does the moss like to grow? How did all those twigs and sticks bundled up in the creek? 

It's summertime and those big beautiful shade trees sure do serve a purpose. Inevitably, fall arrives with a gust of wind and suddenly those trees are bare and their leaves are everywhere. Winter comes and you discover you're just above the snow line. By spring, that low spot in the pasture has become a seasonal pond.

Do you remember ever seeing anything about a pond in the description? 🦫

Vacant land doesn't always mean starting from scratch. There might already be a well, power, fencing, a driveway or even a building pad. Some of it may be exactly what you need. Some of it may only look that way at first. The listing says there's a well. Is that a 1 or a 7 GPM on the well report? 

Then there are the things that come with the property whether you wanted them or not. Some things run with the land. Some things were left behind. Like that 1965 Chevy C10 buried under blackberry bushes.

Did you happen to notice a cap in the ground near where the farmhouse once stood? It could be a UST. That needs a little more digging into. 

As you plan the layout of your masterpiece, you'll be asking yourself, where will I put everything?

“The house has to go on the hill to take in the view. The barn and covered arena can be together on the flatter part, where there should be enough space to turn the truck and trailer around. The hay and trailer storage can possibly fit behind the barn, but we'll need to stay back from the seasonal creek. Although it could be nice to have the hay and the shop closer to the road for deliveries.

Maybe the guest house goes beyond those oak trees where it has a little privacy. The ground-mounted solar panels could go on that south-facing slope. The pastures can go... no, not there. That's where the leach field is supposed to be.

Okay, the pastures can go over there. We'll need to get water to them.

Hold on. Now I need a place for the compost pile.”

Plan for what you want now. Leave a little room for what you haven't thought of yet.

Apparently, vacant is a matter of opinion.

You may be the new owner, but you won't be the only resident. Deer have their usual route through the property. Turkeys have claimed the pasture for the time being. Squirrels are busy around the oak trees. A badger has a den over by the barn site, and something left huge tracks in the mud.

Some visitors will come and go. Others may have made themselves quite at home. And before you decide where to clear, grade, fence or build, it's worth finding out exactly who you've been sharing your blank canvas with.

Know who your tenants are. Some of them have rights. ⚖️