Land Purchase Question


bfletch7441

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JaLynn and I are buying 80 ac. down around Morris OK. It will be a hunting/weekend spot for several years until we're able to build a house. There is a 24'x30' insulated metal pole building (the white square in the SE corner) on it that we will finish out to accomodate us until we build. My question is this:

Since we are getting a loan, and there is no realtor involved, what advice would you guy's give me to ensure that the purchasing process goes smoothly?

Thanks up front guy's. Here it is:

morris.JPG

Ben

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Re: Land Purchase Question

Good attorney and user-friendly bank. wink.gif

I bought my property about 10 years ago under the same circumstances as you. The bank was my usual one & they worked well for me. The first attorney was a procrastinating numbskull and nearly cost me the deal. His butt was summarily fired (almost made me feel warm & fuzzy inside to tell him so smirk.gif). The next guy really kicked it for me and the deal was smooth from there on out.

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Re: Land Purchase Question

get a lawer to do a back ground check for leans and loans aginst the property also check the deed for stipulations and right aways etc there are things wyou couldnt even dream of on some deds it will be well worth youre money to check with a lawer trust me ive learned the lesson the hard way one good luck looks like a fine tract of land

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Re: Land Purchase Question

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I would have an attoryney handle the whole thing! Then make sure you get a title company involved and do a title search!

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Get an attorney to do all the paper work for you, this should include the title search! This is important you want to make sure there are no leans against the property etc!!!

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Re: Land Purchase Question

First and foremost....get the land surveyed. Then take that survey to a title company, have them run a search then let them handle the closing for you.

NEVER EVER EVER buy a piece of property without a land survey. Trust me, it's what we do for a living. And I have witnessed TOO MANY heartaches from people who thought they were buying something and got something totally different.

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Re: Land Purchase Question

Get an ATTORNEY.....GET AN ATTORNEY.....GET AN ATTORNEY.....GET AN ATTORNEY. In case I am not clear, GET AN ATTORNEY.

A shared attorney is not adequate either. If he/she selling wants an attorney of their own, fine. But don't share an attorney. You hire him/her and make sure you get a survey and title search.

Congrats!

New

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Re: Land Purchase Question

I would imagine that the lender will require a title search and make sure there are no liens against the property. They won't loan you money on a purchase that hasn't been researched. This can be done without a lawyer. But it's best advised that you hire one. There are a lot of attorneys that have title companies as part of their firm. This will save you some money in lawyer fees.

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Re: Land Purchase Question

First find out when the last survey was done. It could be recent and you won't have to do one yourself.

Then find out when the last time the abstract was brought up to date, that is if there is an abstract. If there's not, be prepared to shell out a couple grand to get one.

I will tell you this, if you're going through a bank, they will make sure that the purchase goes smoothly. It will benefit you and them.

If you have any specific questions, PM me. I work up a lot of real estate loans and know what Oklahoma requires.

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Re: Land Purchase Question

Also, if you've already secured financing, the bank will ask you if you have an attorney you would prefer to do the title work. If you don't, just tell them you want the fastest one you can get. A lot of attorneys in this area will throw title work to the back of their work pile. Most banks will know who can spit them out the fastest.

Also, another thing to think about is the deed prep. If you haven't already prepared one, the bank may have a generic one that will work just as good as an attorney prepared one.

And one last thing, if you're planning on building in say 5 years, find out if the bank will let you do a 5 year, 20 year amortization type loan. That way it when it matures you can flip it over into a construction type loan.

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Re: Land Purchase Question

I would not pay to have an attorney , as a matter of fact , I have never closed a deal using an attorney and my bank nor any lending agency has ever asked or advised me to get one. I am not quit sure what an attorney can tell you that the title company does'nt already tell you. A survey, appraisal , and clear title should be all you need.

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Re: Land Purchase Question

Besides the above noted title search headaches that require a lawyer.

It's absolutely worth it to get the property professionally appraised and a CMA (competitive market analysis).

Folks get ripped off all the time by ignoring an appraisal and CMA. It's happens so often, the joke is FSBO stands for For Sale But Overpriced. Typically the bank won't lend you anymore than the property appraises for. But just that doesn't make it a safe price either. If it appraises for higher than a competitive market analysis says its worth that's big trouble. Rule of thumb don't pay more than whichever comes out the least.

On land purchases Access Rights are very important. Find out if you have full access rights and if anyone needs to go thru your land to access theirs.

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Re: Land Purchase Question

Make sure that you have an Environmental Survey done on the land as well, to make sure that there are no contaminents that would prevent/delay the building process. Then have the land surveyed and tested to make sure it will perk. Other than that, I would suggest taking out an intrest only loan on the land unless you are going to start building right away. It will keep your payments lower until you decide to start building, then you can roll the land loan over into a construction loan that will go 30 years. Just went through this process about 6 months ago when I bought some land. Good luck!

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Re: Land Purchase Question

[ QUOTE ]

I would not pay to have an attorney , as a matter of fact , I have never closed a deal using an attorney and my bank nor any lending agency has ever asked or advised me to get one. I am not quit sure what an attorney can tell you that the title company does'nt already tell you. A survey, appraisal , and clear title should be all you need.

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Not sure about his area of Oklahoma, but we very seldom do loans with title insurance. Sometimes with out of state loans we will have it if we're the closing agent.

I would guess that 99% of our real estate loans involve a lawyer in one form or fashion. A title opinion performed by a practicing attorney is almost as reliable as title insurance. And the most I've seen a title opinion run is in the neighborhood of 150.

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Re: Land Purchase Question

Our real estate laws my be different here, I am not certain why you would need an attorney. Here we usually perform an appraisal, our title company completes a title search and provides a policy, and then a survey is done. The survey will indicate and type of violations to build lines or easement encroachments, as well as show all PUE's. And the seller has to provide a disclosure which is a binding document. As mentioned before, dealing with a reputable title co, surveyor, and lender are a must.

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Re: Land Purchase Question

I have often said, " if it wasn't for lawyers you would never need one ". However in this case I think you would be well advised to have one help you. At least if something goes wrong, you will have someone to hold accountable.

Shop around though. Ask your bank for their advice. I am sure they know which attorneys are good and which ones to shy away from.

Better to pay a little more and get it right the first time. Good luck.

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Re: Land Purchase Question

My brother and I just purchased a small chunk of land in MN, and there was no need for an attorney as far as the purchase went. The attorney only came into account when we started talking about "what ifs" Here, as long as the land is surveyed, you know what you are buying and you have the money, it is a done deal. The attorneys are not needed for a land purchase at all. We consulted an attorney, simply because we were buying land together and we both have a wife. So, we actually look at the land as 2 "lots" instead of one: Just in case something ever happened to one of us. IF you are buying the land alone you shouldn't need to pay the attorney fees. JMHO.

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