Questions about buying land

[TheHeavyHand]

I've been browsing real estate websites and thinking about getting out of my lease and buying some land of my own but have a few questions.

I bought my condo a few years back, so I kind of have an idea of the process of buying a home but I don't know the first thing about buying land. Hopefully you guys can help answer some questions for me. Here goes...

1: what are mineral rights?

2: is the process the same as buying a house? ie inspection, hiring a RE lawyer, closing, title search etc.

3: I'm looking at land without any structures on it. I am undecided on whether I want to build a cabin or just park a double wide trailer on it. What are the laws on this? Do I need approval from the county or is it dependent on the type property I buy?

4: what are the laws regarding "squatter's rights" for land?

[nyslowhand]

Silmilar process as buying a home, just different..!?! My suggestion is to walk the specific property numerous times to see if there are any abandoned vehicles, farm equipment, piles of tires, old wells, etc. Removal of these before the sale can be made the seller's responsibility in the purchase offer by your attorney. Any access rights that might get carried over to your ownership can be a PITA. After the sale, you're SOL. Also, if you come across any treestands, that should set an alarm off of potential intruders. I'd find out from the seller who specifically had hunting or general access permission, including names & contact info. Generally a person who has permission to be on a property, whether hunting, snowmobiling, ATV'ing, hiking, horseback riding, etc have no clue of any new ownership!?!

 

Like buying a home, the survey will be the buyer's financial responsibility. Which depending on the property size, habitat &/or time of year (vegetation) it's surveyed, can get expensive. If it's a larger property, you may want to go with a surveyor that does the typical physical staking survey and a GPS option.

 

Each town has their own laws regarding putting structures on a property. Any more, a lot of towns don't allow trailers or modular homes and each town has their own definition of these. Regulations vary from town to town within the county. Town accessor can answer these questions. Parking a RV/camper on a property is NOT a structure & shouldn't impact your taxes...? You should talk to a tax consultant to asnswer any questions about that scenario being considered a "2nd home". The county typically isn't involved in these local ordances, all they want is your property registered so they can tax you. FYI - Any (fixed) structure will increase your taxes, as will improvements like utilities.

 

Good luck!

[First-light]

The above is great. The mineral rights should come with the land. Mineral rights can be held by a third party.

Best that you have them and have control over the land. If you really love the property but don't get the rights have setback rules put into the deed. No drilling within 1000' of primary residence. No storage tanks

on property and so on. In NYS you are talking natural gas. This was really hot a few years back but really has fallen by the wayside since the Gov put a stop to fracking.

Good luck-I bought 56 acres 8 years ago and never looked back. Call the DEC the were very helpful to me answering many questions.

[HectorBuckBuster]

You also want to look for and see if there are and deed restrictions on the property stating that only a certain size house can be built and so on.Also make sure you are getting development rights and agriculture rights.Sometimes when farm land is being sold the original farmer keep the developmental rights and only sell the agriculture rights  Also check to see if there are any right of ways on the property.Also about mineral rights most people don know that NYS kept all the rights to Gold & Silver on every piece of property in NY. Also it is hard to find a bank willing to give a long on property vs a property with a house.

[nyslowhand]

Any good real estate attorney should check these restrictions &/or carry-over provisions. Using a "bargin" attorney isn't always in your best interests. Yeah. your 1st visit probably will be to a bank. Not necessarily to get pre-approved, but more for what they can or can't do for you.

[TheHeavyHand]

Thanks for the help guys.

What exactly are mineral rights? Does that mean that owning the land gives me rights to whatever is in the ground?

[dbHunterNY]

dirt, rock, or minerals basically.  don't think it extends to water and what not but I could be wrong.

[Mustang51js]

I bought land a year ago and the biggest issue was getting financed, no banks want to give you a loan because it's to high risk so ended up getting land with a land company that does it's own financing. Christmas and associates, landandcamps.com

[woodchuck]

Farm credit eat is great for vacant land.

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