In this news article, Brandon Mickens – who has been involved in buying and selling land for the past 15 years – looks at mistakes to avoid while buying farmland.
Are you looking to buy some farmland? Before you do that, you want to make sure that you are not going to rush headlong into a mistake that could cost you a lot of money.
There are a few things that you should keep in mind – read on to learn more.
Not Doing Due Diligence
It looks like you have found a great piece of land and the owner is ready to sell it to you.
You need to do some research, though. Otherwise, you could find yourself having the sale yanked out from under your feet at the last minute.
You do not want to find out late in the process that the seller does not have the necessary permits to sell the land.
Get all documents up front so that you can be sure to have them later if you are asked to produce them.
Not knowing the state laws
There are no uniform laws across the country when it comes to buying farmland. Each state has its own set of rules and regulations that you need to follow.
If you do not, then you could wind up having to pay costly fines.
It is a good idea to talk to an experienced realtor who has done this before in the state that you are getting the land.
Then they will be able to give you the best guidance to ensure that you are following the proper steps.
Not testing your soil
The last thing that you want to do is to get farmland that is not fertile or has contamination issues.
That will impact the output of your crops. In some countries, potential buyers hire reputable people to do soil testing and cover yourself before paying your money for land that may not yield the things that you want or make it much more difficult than it should be.
Not having the land properly surveyed
You need to know the boundaries of the farmland that you are getting. Have a well-known surveyor do the job.
This way, you will have a concrete idea of what the true size is and whether a neighbour might be encroaching.
It would not look good to find that you are actually on part of someone else’s property. That could lead to a dispute that can be hard to rectify and could wind up involving the courts. Then you would have to pay a lawyer, and that is money out of your pocket.
Overpaying
Yes, you may be eager to get into the farming business, which may make you a little too quick on the draw when paying.
Do your research and see what the market is for the similar types of land that is in the area.
You might have to pay a tiny bit more if you wind up in a bidding war, but you will have a strong idea of what is an overpay and what is not.
What it all boils down to is that you need to spend time looking at various records and ensuring that the land is what you want. Trust your gut and know when to walk away. There is no harm in self-preservation.
Once you get the land that you want, you will be able to shift into your farming lifestyle. That will make everything worth it in the long run.
Take a look at farms for sale featured on That’s Farming.
