Buying vacant land

[Bigdawg90]

I just got a call from the property owner of the land right next to us. Super excited as he agreed to a purchase price.

We have the cash on hand, but now what? Do I need a realtor and escrow company?

If there’s anyone with experience purchasing land right next to yours, please PM me. It’s about 2 acres but secures our view of the lake cove we’re on. Just made our day as we’ve wanted to purchase this land since we moved in.

 

[swampratt]

Could be really simple.
Go to the court house and look at the county records and see who actually owns it.

If you know the guy that owns it personally and know he is not a liar or a thief you could just go to the county courthouse and transfer ownership.
That is if there are no liens on the property.
Records in the courthouse will show any liens.



It is called a: Quit Claim Deed.

I have bought and sold houses and property using that Deed.
You only pay court costs to file it.

Most I ever paid was $23

Yes twenty three dollars.
Most of the time it was 2 bucks.

 

[mr ed]

I think I would at least go thru a closing company and get title insurance.
I wouldn't want to pay the guy and then find problems with the title months/years later that costs me thousands.

 

[FullAuto]

Agree with above. Use a closing company with a warranty deed or title insurance. Do not use a quit claim deed.

 

[trekrok]

If it was me, I'd verify there were no liens or judgments outstanding in the county. Make sure property taxes are current. Then I'd want the property conveyed via warranty deed.

If there is a mortgage on it and/or you don't feel like doing anything but writing a check, contact a closing company to handle it.

 

[TinkerTanker]

If it was me, I'd verify there were no liens or judgments outstanding in the county. Make sure property taxes are current. Then I'd want the property conveyed via warranty deed.

If there is a mortgage on it and/or you don't feel like doing anything but writing a check, contact a closing company to handle it.

Yep, Warranty deed. And have it surveyed to make sure you're getting what you're paying for. You can use the survey as the "Exhibit A" as well for title transfer.

 

[Roy14]

A realtor isn’t necessary but as stated above, a closing company/title insurance is very important. Really if you know an attorney who specializes in this area it’s good to let them handle it. He could only own a portion of the land and be selling it as it’s all his- this happened to my dad, and it was a mess. Thankfully his attorney was able to mitigate the issues because he found the issue and went to work on contingencies immediately. It was still an expensive mess, and caused other issues as well since it was a “friend” who he was purchasing it from.

 

[Roy14]

Yep, Warranty deed. And have it surveyed to make sure you're getting what you're paying for. You can use the survey as the "Exhibit A" as well for title transfer.

Yes, absolutely have it surveyed!

 

[John6185]

I wouldn't think you'd need a lawyer to read over the abstract to make sure it looks ok, they'll charge upward to $500 to do that and it's something virtually anyone can do it they can read.

 

[Bigdawg90]

Awesome. Thanks guys. Reached out to a title company and surveyor. This will allow us to have cows so jacked!!

He’s a cool guy. I don’t think there’s any issues. He just purchased it about 3 years ago right before I bought our house.