9 Questions to ask Before Buying Land

9 questions to ask before buying land

9 Questions to ask Before Buying Land

When Buying Land your are making a big decision and a big investment. Go slow, ask questions, and learn everything you can about the property before you buy. Below are some of the important questions to ask.

Should I Use A Realtor when Buying Land?

I believe in most cases you should use a realtor when buying land. The realtor is paid a commission from the seller so there is no charge to you. Why not use an expert for free?

Am I Paying A Fair Price?

Real Estate prices vary and it is hard to calculate an exact value for a piece of land. Be careful, look at similar parcels of land that sold recently to get an idea of the value when you are buying land.

Are There Land Use Limits?

There are many possible limits or restrictions on how you can use a parcel of land. Many restrictions are government regulations. These could include Zoning restrictions and Building Permit Requirements. You should also look for CCR’s (Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions.

Can I Connect To Public Utilities?

If the land is not already connected to electricity, water and sewer there can be significant costs in connecting. You may need to drill a well and install a septic system instead of connecting to water and sewer.

Does The Land Have Title Problems?

You should use a title company to handle the closing and insist on an Owner’s Title Insurance Policy when you buy land. This will insure you against any title problems, including liens, judgments, forged deeds etc. Have the title company explain the policy and any exceptions to coverage at closing.

Do I Have Legal Access To The Land?

Legal access means you have the right to use the roads leading to your land, crossing any property between your land and the nearest public road. The title company should insure access as part of the Owner’s Title Insurance Policy.

Who Owns The Mineral Rights?

The Mineral Rights are often owned by a different person than the surface rights (what we commonly think of as the land). If the mineral rights are owned separately the owners of the mineral rights may have the right to enter your property and set up equipment to extract their minerals.

Do I Like The Neighbors?

Before you buy land, meet the neighbors. While you are getting to know them ask them what they know about the land. They may have information that the realtor doesn’t.

Do I Like The Area?

If you find a parcel of land that you like but dislike the area you will end up disliking the land too. Investigate the local schools, the stores, the community and the roads you will travel.

Don’t forget to find out what the area is like in the winter and the summer. Of course this doesn’t cover everything you should look into when buying land, but it gives you a place to start. Remember caveat emptor (buyer beware), when buying land.

 

6 Reason to use a Real Estate Agent. Buyers and Sellers should find an experienced, trustworthy Real Estate Agent and let them guide you through the land closing process in Utah.

Understanding Mineral Rights. Mineral rights are a cause of controversy among property owners. This is especially true in areas with oil and gas exploration. Owners of these rights have certain rights which are difficult for land owner’s to accept. These rights are often called oil rights or sub-surface rights.

How To Calculate Real Estate Values. The most important step when buying or selling property is to decide the real estate values. I recently observed two land purchases. The two parcels of land were almost identical. Both were 10 acres of vacant land next to one another. The first parcel sold for $5,000.00; the second for $47,000.00. Almost 10 times more!

4 Biggest Mistakes When You Buy Property

buy property

4 Mistakes when You Buy Property

Of the 4 biggest mistakes when you buy property, paying too much for the real estate is the biggest of land buying mistakes. Every parcel of land is unique. You can’t “look up” the value, making it difficult to know the right price. This especially applies in Utah Real Estate as the previous sales price is not disclosed in public records.

You must have an idea of the value before you make an offer to buy property, don’t assume the price you are quoted is even close to the actual value. The seller is telling you what they want to sell it for and that may be 10 times what it is actually worth.

Falling In Love Before You Know Facts

Love at first sight. It might work with romance but it doesn’t work with land. Don’t fall in love with a piece of land until you have all the facts. This is a very dangerous mistake when buying property.

What negatives does the land have? Do you like the area? Do you like the neighbors? How is the road that accesses this property? Will you still like the land in 5 years? Slow down, don’t rush into an offer. Take a deep breath and think about it before you sign the contract.

Don’t Buy Property With Title Problems

There is no reason to buy land with title problems. Use a title company, get a title insurance policy, which will protect you against title problems. I have seen many sad stories of people purchasing land and finding problems later.

Never believe the words, “ I have owned it for years and I know there are no problems.” There could be problems the seller is not even aware of. A Title Insurance Policy will protect you.

Don’t Buy Property Without Legal Access

It is possible to buy land and have no right to access it. This happens when you must cross other land to access yours, and have no legal right to cross the other land. Make sure the title company is insuring access to the property. If there are problems with access in the future they will fix it.

NOTE: Legal access does not mean there is an actual road to your property; it means that you have a right to access your property which may require you to build a road.

Conclusion

First, make sure you don’t pay too much for the land you choose. Next, take your time and look at everything, weighing the pros and cons, before you decide to buy. Finally, get a Title Policy to protect yourself against any problems, including lack of access. These are land buying mistakes you can avoid.

Do I need title insurance, when buying a Utah home?

buying home

Question: Do I need title insurance, when buying a new home in Utah?

Answer: Construction of a new home raises special title problems for the lender and owner.  You may think you are the first owner when constructing a home on a purchased lot.

However, there were most likely many prior owners of the unimproved land.  A title search will uncover any existing liens and a survey will determine the boundaries of the property being purchased.

In addition, builders occasionally fail to pay subcontractors and suppliers.  This could result in the subcontractor or supplier placing a lien on your property.

Again, lenders want to make sure the property has clear title.  Purchasing owner’s title insurance will protect you against these potential problems and pay for any legal fees involved in defending a claim.

The Eagle Policy offers additional coverage

eagle policy

The Eagle Policy of Title Insurance

The Eagle Policy provides more coverage than any previous policy offered.  Some of the new coverages are completely new and never before offered by any title insurer.

This policy includes the following coverage:

  1. Your Title is lost or taken because of a violation of any covenant, condition or restriction, which occurred before You acquired Your Title, even if the covenant, condition or restriction is excepted in Schedule B.
  2. You are forced to correct or remove an existing violation of any covenant, condition or restriction affecting the Land, even if the covenant,condition or restriction is excepted in Schedule B. However, You are not covered for any violation that relates to:
    1. any obligation to perform maintenance or repair on the Land; or
    2. environmental protection of any kind, including hazardous or toxic conditions or substances

    unless there is a notice recorded in the Public Records, describing any part of the Land, claiming a violation exists. Our liability for this Covered Risk is limited to the extent of the violation stated in that notice.

  3. You do not have actual vehicular and pedestrian access to and from the Land, based upon a legal right.
  4. Someone else claims to have rights affecting Your Title because of fraud, duress, incompetency or incapacity.
  5. Someone else has an encumbrance on Your Title.
  6. Someone else has a lien on Your Title, including a:
    1. lien of real estate taxes or assessments imposed on Your Title by a governmental authority that are due or payable, but unpaid;
    2. Mortgage;
    3. judgment, state or federal tax lien;
    4. charge by a homeowner’s or condominium association; or
    5. lien, occurring before or after the Policy Date, for labor and material furnished before the Policy Date.
  7. Any of Covered Risks 1 through 6 occurring after the Policy Date.
  8. Your Title is defective. Some of these defects are:
    1. Someone else’s failure to have authorized a transfer or conveyance of your Title.
    2. Someone else’s failure to create a valid document by electronic means.
    3. A document upon which Your Title is based is invalid because it was not properly signed, sealed, acknowledged, delivered or recorded.
    4. A document upon which Your Title is based was signed using a falsified, expired, or otherwise invalid power of attorney.
    5. A document upon which Your Title is based was not properly filed, recorded, or indexed in the Public Records.
    6. A defective judicial or administrative proceeding.
  9. Someone else has a right to limit Your use of the Land.
  10. Someone else has an Easement on the Land.
  11. Someone else claims to have rights affecting Your Title because of forgery or impersonation.
  12. Someone else has rights affecting Your Title because of leases, contracts, or options.
  13. Someone else owns an interest in Your Title.
  14. The violation or enforcement of those portions of any law or government regulation concerning:
    1. building;
    2. zoning;
    3. land use;
    4. improvements on the Land;
    5. land division; or
    6. environmental protection,

    if there is a notice recorded in the Public Records, describing any part of the Land, claiming a violation exists or declaring the intention to enforce the law or regulation. Our liability for this Covered Risk is limited to the extent of the violation or enforcement stated in that notice.

  15. An enforcement action based on the exercise of a governmental police power not covered by Covered Risk 14 if there is a notice recorded in the Public Records, describing any part of the Land, of the enforcement action or intention to bring an enforcement action. Our liability for this Covered Risk is limited to the extent of the enforcement action stated in that notice.
  16. Because of an existing violation of a subdivision law or regulation affecting the Land:
    1. You are unable to obtain a building permit;
    2. You are required to correct or remove the violation; or
    3. someone else has a legal right to, and does, refuse to perform a contract to purchase the Land, lease it or make a Mortgage loan on it.

    The amount of Your insurance for this Covered Risk is subject to Your Deductible Amount and Our Maximum Dollar Limit of Liability shown in Schedule A.

  17. You lose Your Title to any part of the Land because of the right to take the Land by condemning it, if:
    1. there is a notice of the exercise of the right recorded in the Public Records and the notice describes any part of the Land; or
    2. the taking happened before the Policy Date and is binding on You if You bought the Land without Knowing of the taking.
  18. You are forced to remove or remedy Your existing structures, or any part of them – other than boundary walls or fences – because any portion was built without obtaining a building permit from the proper government office. The amount of Your insurance for this Covered Risk is subject to Your Deductible Amount and Our Maximum Dollar Limit of Liability shown in Schedule A.
  19. You are forced to remove or remedy Your existing structures, or any part of them, because they violate an existing zoning law or zoning regulation. If You are required to remedy any portion of Your existing structures, the amount of Your insurance for this Covered Risk is subject to Your Deductible Amount and Our Maximum Dollar Limit of Liability shown in Schedule A.
  20. You cannot use the Land because use as a single-family residence violates an existing zoning law or zoning regulation.
  21. You are forced to remove Your existing structures because they encroach onto Your neighbor’s land. If the encroaching structures are boundary walls or fences, the amount of Your insurance for this Covered Risk is subject to Your Deductible Amount and Our Maximum Dollar Limit of Liability shown in Schedule A.
  22. Someone else has a legal right to, and does, refuse to perform a contract to purchase the Land, lease it or make a Mortgage loan on it because Your neighbor’s existing structures encroach onto the Land.
  23. You are forced to remove Your existing structures which encroach onto an Easement or over a building set-back line, even if the Easement orbuilding set-back line is excepted in Schedule B.
  24. Your existing structures are damaged because of the exercise of a right to maintain or use any Easement affecting the Land, even if the Easement isexcepted in Schedule B.
  25. Your existing improvements (or a replacement or modification made to them after the Policy Date), including lawns, shrubbery or trees, are damagedbecause of the future exercise of a right to use the surface of the Land for the extraction or development of minerals, water or any other substance,even if those rights are excepted or reserved from the description of the Land or excepted in Schedule B.
  26. Someone else tries to enforce a discriminatory covenant, condition or restriction that they claim affects Your Title which is based upon race, color,religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin.
  27. A taxing authority assesses supplemental real estate taxes not previously assessed against the Land for any period before the Policy Date becauseof construction or a change of ownership or use that occurred before the Policy Date.
  28. Your neighbor builds any structures after the Policy Date — other than boundary walls or fences — which encroach onto the Land.
  29. Your Title is unmarketable, which allows someone else to refuse to perform a contract to purchase the Land, lease it or make a Mortgage loan on it.
  30. Someone else owns an interest in Your Title because a court order invalidates a prior transfer of the title under federal bankruptcy, state insolvency,or similar creditors’ rights laws.
  31. The residence with the address shown in Schedule A is not located on the Land at the Policy Date.
  32. The map, if any, attached to this Policy does not show the correct location of the Land according to the Public Records.

What does Title Insurance Cover?

what does title insurance cover

Question: What are some possible title problems covered by a standard Owner’s Title Policy?

Fraud and Forgery

Those involved in real estate fraud and forgery can be clever and persistent, which can spell trouble for your home purchase.

In a western state, an innocent buyer purchased an attractive home site through a realty company, accepting a notarized deed from the seller, as well as receiving an Owner’s Title Policy.  Then another couple, the true owners of the property (who lived in another locale) suddenly appeared and initiated legal action to prove their interest in the real estate was valid.

Under the owner’s title insurance policy of the innocent buyer, the title company provided a money settlement to protect against financial loss.

As it turned out the forger spent time in advance at the local court house, searching the public records to locate property with out of town owners, who had been in possession for an extended period of time.  The individual involved, then forged and recorded a deed to a fictitious person and assumed the identity of that person before listing the property for sale to an innocent purchaser, handling moot contracts through an answering service.

Fraud and forgery are examples of hidden title hazards that can remain undetected until after a closing, despite the most careful precautions.  Although emphasizing risk elimination, an Owner’s Title Insurance Policy protects financially through negotiation by the insurer with third parties, payment for defending agains an attack on the title as insured, and payment of valid claims.

Conflicting Wills

Conflicts over a will from a deceased former owner may suggest a study topic for law school, but the subject can take on a reality dimension and all too quickly your home ownership is at stake.

After purchasing a residence, the new owner was startled when a brother of the seller claimed an ownership interest and sought a substantial amount of money as his share.  It seemed that their late mother had given the house to the son, who placed the deed in his drawer without recording it at the court house.

Some 20 years later, after the death of the mother, the deed was discovered and then filed.  Permission was granted in probate court to remove the property from the late mother’s estate, and the brother to who the residence initially was given sold the house.  But the other brother appealed the probate court decision, claiming their mother really did not intend to give the house to his sibling.

Ultimately, the appeal was upheld and the new owner faced a significant financial loss.  Since the new owner had acquired owner’s title insurance upon purchasing the real estate, the title company paid the claim, along with an additional amount in legal fees incurred during the defense.

Missing Heirs

When buying a home, it’s important to remember what you don’t know can cost you.

As an example illustrating the need for precautions, the American Land Title Association pointed to a couple who purchased a residence from a widow and her daughter, the only known heirs of the husband and father who died whitout leaving a will.

Soon after the sale, a man appeared – claiming he was the son of the late owner by a former marriage.  As it turned out, he indeed was the son of the deceased man.  This legal heir disapproved of his father’s remarriage and had vanished when the wedding took place.  Nonetheless, the son was entitled to a share of the value of the home, which meant an expensive problem for the unwary couple purchasing the property.

Although the absence of a will hindered discovery of the missing heir in a title search, ALTA said that owner’s title insurance issued at the time of the real estate transaction would have financially protected the couple from the claim by the missing heir.  For a one-time charge at closing, owner’s title insurance will safeguard against problems, including those even an exhaustive search may not reveal.

ALTA reminded that owner’s title insurance is necessary to fully protect a home buyer.  Lender’s title insurance, which is usually required by the mortgage lender, serves as protection only for the lending institution.

Why Buy Title Insurance.

Question: Why Buy Title Insurance?

Answer: In order to issue title insurance, the title company must search public land records for matters affecting that title.  Many search the “chain of title” back 50 years.  Twenty-five percent of title searches find a title problem that is fixed before the insurance is issued. Some examples of items that can cause a problem are: deeds, wills and trusts that contain improper information, outstanding judgments or tax liens against the property, and easements.  Title companies fix the problems then issue the title insurance

Occasionally, in spite of an exhaustive title search, hidden hazards can emerge after closing.  Things such as mistakes in the public record, previously undisclosed heirs claiming to own the property, or forged deeds could cloud the title.  Owner’s title insurance offers financial protection against these by negotiating with third parties and paying claims and legal fees involved in defending the title.
For more information on reasons why you need title insurance, click here.

Types of Title Insurance

Question: Are there different types of title insurance?

Answer: There are two basic types of title insurance: Lender’s title insurance, also called a Loan Policy, and Owner’s title insurance. Most lenders require a Loan Policy when they issue you a loan.  The Loan Policy is based on the dollar amount of your loan.  It protects the lender’s interests in the property should a problem with the title arise.  The policy amount decreases each year and eventually disappears as the loan is paid off.

Owner’s title insurance is usually issued in the amount of the real estate purchase amount.  It is purchased for a one-time fee at closing and lasts as long as you have and interest in the property.  This may even be after the insured has sold the property.  Only Owner’s title insurance fully protects the buyers should a problem arise with the title that was not uncovered during the title search.  Owner’s title insurance also pays for any legal fees involved in defending a claim to your title.

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