What inspections do I need for a land purchase?

Instead of buying an existing Albemarle County country home or Central Virginia farm you may want to find a parcel of land and start from scratch building things exactly to your taste.  You may think that all yyou need to do is to find a pretty property and put it under contract…Not so fast, you may want to do your due diligence before closing.

When writing the contract, you should ask for a study period.  Think of it as a home innspection for the land.  This will give you time to make sure that the property will be suitable for your intended use.  

The first thing that you may want to have is an environmental study.  In this study the environmental expert will look at old aerials and satelite pictures of the parcel as well as property records.  They may see an old hole on the property, that they will want to examine to make sure that nothing toxic was buried there.  Or they may see an old dwelling on the property and will want to look for the existence of buried fuel tanks.  Or they could find an old apple orchard and would want to test the soil for chemicals.

Next you will want to do a soil and perk test, just like you would need if you were buying a building lot.  It is important to know that the land around your prospective house site will support a septic field.

Finally you might want to actually drill a well before you purchase the property.  That way you make sure that you are satisfied with the water availability.  You might spend $10,000 drilling a well, but this is a lot less than the thousands of dollars you will spend to purchase your future farm.

When you are investing in a future Virginia farm it pays to have a study period.

If you are looking for land to turn into a Central Virginia farm, Charlottesville horse farm, or a private country home there are some lovely large parcels of land offered for sale in our Central Virginia counties.

Copyright 2013 by Pam Dent all rights reserved “What Inspections do I need during a land purchase?“

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Five Tips To Make Moving To Your New Charlottesville Home Go Smoothly

I have spent the past couple of days helping a friend move. She was lucky to have the help another friend to organize every step of the move. These are some of the things that they did which made this move go smoothly.

1. Make lists – There were to do lists for everyone involved with helping with the move. The lists were organized with things to do each day.
2. Plan where the furniture is to go ahead of time. This step made everything go faster. If you are able to go over to the home and measure before the furniture arrives.
3. Have your boxes labeled with the name of the room where the items will go on the box. We often just label boxes with something like glasses, then when someone is carrying the box in they don’t know if that box is going in the kitchen or the dining room.
4. Declutter and sort through your belongings ahead of time. Then when you are ready to move you will only have to deal with the items that you are taking with you.
5. Have a plan for the animals. This is a stressful time for your pets. Provide them with a safe, quiet place to be away from the confusion of the move.

With a little bit of planning, your move can go smoothly.

Copyright 2021 by Pam Dent all rights reserved “Five Tips To Make Moving To Your Charlottesville Home Go Smoothly“.

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Does “As Is” Mean I Can’t Have A Home Inspection?

Most foreclosures and short sales are sold “as is”.  Many homebuyers are confused as to what this means for them.  I am often asked whether this means that they won’t be allowed to have the home inspected.

You will be able to have a home inspection but it will be for informational purposes only.  This means that the seller will not perform any repairs if something shows up in the inspection.  However it is important for you to have the home inspected anyway so that you will know what problems you might have to deal with.   Also, I like to write into the offer that the contract will be contingent on a satisfactory home inspection.  That way if something is found that the buyers are not prepared to accept, they will have the opportunity to declare the contract null and void without penalty and their earnest money deposit will be returned.  Some banks have similar terms written into their addenda.

In addition the home inspector may find something that needs to be repaired that the lender such as FHA will not accept.  In this case the loan will not be approved unless the repair is performed by the seller before closing.  Sometimes the bank will agree to perform the repair, but other times they won’t and the contract will fall through.  Homes that will obviously need a lot of work are good candidates for FHA 203K loans, in which the cost of the repairs is rolled into the mortgage up to a specified amount. 

When you are considering the purchase of a distressed property, a home inspection is especially important.  Remember the owners of these properties have been struggling for sometime to be able to hang on to their homes.  It was all that they could do to make the mortgage payments, and their was no extra money for repairs.   Routine maintenance has been deferred.  Even the rare foreclosure that appears to be in move in condition may have unseen issues.

There are some great deals on short sales and foreclosures in our area, email me if you would like a list of distressed property listings in any of the central Virginia areas.

Buying A Charlottesville Foreclosure Multiple Offers

Buying A Foreclosure In Charlottesville – How Much Should I Offer

Buying A Charlottesville Foreclosure 

Copyright 2012 by Pam Dent, all rights reserved “Does “As Is” Mean I Can’t Have A Home Inspection?“

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Why You Should Use A Horse Property Specialist To Buy A Charlottesville Horse Farm

There is a wide range of Charlottesville horse farms for equestrian buyers to choose from.  Sorting through all of the Central Virginia farms that are currently on the market requires more than being able to evaluate the homes.  There are so many factors that go into the make up of the perfect equestrian estate.  What may be the ideal property for a pleasure rider may not meet the needs of a hunter/jumper professional.  It is helpful to have the guidance of a real estate agent who can combine the knowledge of real estate with the experience of the professional horseman.

First Published at Charlottesville Horse Farms.   Written by Pam Dent.

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A Charlottesville Seniors Real Estate Specialist Can Assist Equestrians

You may have heard of using the services of a seniors real estate specialist to help seniors with their transition as they downsize or move to an age restricted home.  However an equestrian may not feel that a real estate agent with a SRES designation would be a good choice to help them.  But  what about if you could find a seniors residential specialist who was also a horse property specialist?

Helping Equestrian Seniors Move

Downsizing with horses has its own challenges.  It may be a difficult transition if you are used to totally caring for your horses yourself.   Or you may be used to having a large farm with many horses and are faced with whittling down the numbers to just a few.  Your seniors real estate specialist – horse property specialist will guide you through your options.  He will be able to assist you with the sale of your farm and find professionals who can help with packing and also the sale or donation of extra farm equipment.

Equestrian seniors may still wish to maintain their equestrian activity at some level.  They may just wish to find a smaller farm with less acreage to take care of and an easier barn to work out of.  Or a home in an equestrian community could be a good choice.  Another option would be boarding your horses and letting someone else be responsible for the care.  If you are from out of the area, a horse property specialist can help you find the barn that is closest to where you want to live that would be a good fit for you and your horses.

Downsizing with horses is a transition in an equestrian’s life and a Charlottesville seniors real estate specialist can help, especially if they are an equestrian property specialist as well.

Copyright 2011 all rights reserved by Pam Dent  “A Charlottesville Seniors Real Estate Specialist Can Assist Equestrians“.   Written by Pam Dent.

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