By Chris Ragland

Working with a lot of investors and builders gives me ample experience in dealing with vacant land. Recently, I was discussing ways that buyers could reduce the cost of purchasing a newly constructed home with a co-worker of mine. We came up with a lot of the typical incentives that builders use to lure buyers such as: Rebates, Home Warranties, Preferred Lenders, Free Appliances, and even Golf Memberships. While all of these things are nice, if the bottom dollar is a concern for you, there is an obvious way to save money that a lot of buyers seem to miss; purchasing the land yourself.

One area where a builder makes their money is finding a plot of land to build on, cheap. I see a lot of builders spending considerable amounts of time finding that special lot. But I ask myself, why can’t a buyer do the same thing? The simple answer is they can, it’s really just a matter of knowing what to look for, and having the time do it. While it does take away some of the profit, I have found that very few builders will shy away from an opportunity to build a home for a buyer that brings their own plot of land.

There are many important considerations when buying a plot of land to build on. This is one area that a buyer does not have to worry about when using a full service home builder. For example, certain trees can be restricted and may not be able to be removed. Another problem that builders face is the flood plain. And finally, City code for set back and easements can really restrict your building potential.

Building a home can be a lot of fun, but it can easily turn into a nightmare. If there is a time you value the expected, it would be when building a home. If you are going to purchase land for the purpose of building on it make sure you do your homework, and make sure you are working with a Realtor that has done it before.