Land analyzer
Evaluate land before you make an offer
Cheap land becomes expensive land when access, septic, water or power do not work out. Score the parcel first.
Parcel details
Site factors
Check what is confirmed. Mark anything you have not verified as unknown.
Preliminary land score
0Preliminary: high risk
Red-flag warnings
- • Unresolved high-impact item: Legal, recorded road access
- • Unresolved high-impact item: Zoning allows my planned home
- • Unresolved high-impact item: Outside a mapped flood zone
- • Unresolved high-impact item: Perc test passed or septic approved
- • Unresolved high-impact item: Public water or proven well feasibility
Questions for the seller
- Why are you selling and how long have you owned it?
- Has a perc test or soil test ever been performed?
- Are there any easements, leases, or shared driveways?
- Are mineral, timber or water rights included?
- Have utilities ever been run to the parcel?
- Are there unpaid taxes, liens, or assessments?
Questions for the county
- What zoning applies and what can be built?
- What are the setback and minimum house size rules?
- Is a driveway or culvert permit required?
- What permits and impact fees apply to new construction?
- Is the parcel in a flood zone or wetlands overlay?
Questions for surveyors, septic and builders
- What will clearing, grading and a building pad cost here?
- What septic system does this soil require?
- What depth are wells in this area and what do they cost?
- How far must power be extended and who pays?
What this means
- A parcel is only as good as its access, water, waste and power. Every unknown on this page is a future cost or a future dead end.
What to do next
- Put perc-test and survey contingencies in your offer.
- Get written quotes for well, septic, driveway and power extension.
- Run the land + site cost calculator with those quotes.
Questions to ask
- Why are you selling and how long have you owned it?
- Has a perc test or soil test ever been performed?
- Are there any easements, leases, or shared driveways?
Documents to gather
- Survey
- Seller disclosures
- Perc test results
- Zoning letter
- Title commitment