Property purchase questions ?

bigdog · 07-19-2021, 08:01 AM

Contemplating purchasing land for investment, and have questions....
Looking at residential land.

What type of concerns should I be aware about ?
If I want to have land 'perched', how much is that cost ?
If I want to have a 'septic' design, how much is that cost ?
Is there a test that can be performed, to determine, how deep a Well
one has to dig ? Thinking some type of electronic sub-terrain sonar scanning could be performed ?

Thanks for your feedback !

burgerunh · 07-19-2021, 08:08 AM

Ledge, steep slopes, wetlands, access to utilities, zoning regulations.

Biggd · 07-19-2021, 08:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigdog

Contemplating purchasing land for investment, and have questions....
Looking at residential land.

What type of concerns should I be aware about ?
If I want to have land 'perched', how much is that cost ?
If I want to have a 'septic' design, how much is that cost ?
Is there a test that can be performed, to determine, how deep a Well
one has to dig ? Thinking some type of electronic sub-terrain sonar scanning could be performed ?

Thanks for your feedback !

As far as a well is concerned I don't think anyone can honestly tell you how deep you have to go. You drill until you get a minimum amount of gallons per minute. If you happen to hit an under ground spring you're in luck. Otherwise, keep drilling.
This is a good time to walk the land. With all this rain you can see if it holds the water or if there is good drainage.
If it stayed dry through this deluge of rain it will probably perk very well.

garysanfran · 07-19-2021, 09:18 AM

If the neighbors have wells, the depth of their wells, which is recorded, my give you some idea.

Slickcraft · 07-19-2021, 09:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by garysanfran

If the neighbors have wells, the depth of their wells, which is recorded, my give you some idea.

DES well data:
https://www.des.nh.gov/water/groundw...well-inventory

Septic design and perc test: maybe in the $2k to $3K range.

As they say in the stock market "buy low, sell high". Right now you would be buying high with almost no inventory. Most all good lots are gone.

NH.Solar · 07-19-2021, 09:42 AM

How big a lot is it? and if over ten acres is it all in current use? Taking property out of current use can be very expensive, 10% x ad valorum (average recent selling price of a buildable lot). So if you buy 12 acres of current use land and wish to take just one out to build on, and the average selling price for a one acre lot in your town is $100,000, you will need to pay $10K as the current use penalty.
I'd also suggest being very aware of any existing or proposed 501c3 developments as they adversely affect the town tax rate. In New Hampton for example two of the larger land owners are the State of NH and New Hampton school, and neither contribute to the towns tax revenue, but both add a fair amount of expense.
I was told by my last well installer that the push of the glaciers can have some bearing on well depth. As the glaciers pushed down from the northwest they would scrape till from the NW slopes of the hills and drop quite a bit on the SE downsides. So if you are going to be on the NW slope of a hill your well might prove be much shallower than your neighbors on the other side of the hill. Makes sense to me because my lot has a southwest slope and my well needed 170 feet of expensive casing before the bit hit solid granite. My neighbor only a few hundred feet away across a ravine and on a NW slope hit ledge almost immediately and only needed a 60 foot well as opposed to my 270 foot well.

Onshore · 07-19-2021, 09:42 AM

You might find the information available through the NHDES Data Mapper helpful. https://nh-department-of-environment...ub.arcgis.com/

Asloren1 · 07-20-2021, 06:10 AM

Strongly suggest you hire a survey engineer. They will be able to assess the full piece of land for things like wetlands, setbacks, potential septic and well locations, potential ledge, and most importantly potential building envelopes based on the size of the property and those factors.

We purchased a large piece of land on the lake last year and went through a 6 month Pre-close process to confirm we could do what we wanted - including subdividing the land and getting through town approvals for that.

You definitely want to confirm you are not buying a “turkey” that you will be stuck with and not be able to do what you intend with the land

07-19-2021, 08:01 AM	#1
bigdog Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Central MA-Gilford Posts: 1,443 Thanks: 338 Thanked 117 Times in 94 Posts	Property purchase questions ? Contemplating purchasing land for investment, and have questions.... Looking at residential land. What type of concerns should I be aware about ? If I want to have land 'perched', how much is that cost ? If I want to have a 'septic' design, how much is that cost ? Is there a test that can be performed, to determine, how deep a Well one has to dig ? Thinking some type of electronic sub-terrain sonar scanning could be performed ? Thanks for your feedback !

07-19-2021, 09:18 AM	#4
garysanfran Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: San Francisco/Meredith Posts: 1,541 Thanks: 651 Thanked 666 Times in 340 Posts	If the neighbors have wells, the depth of their wells, which is recorded, my give you some idea. __________________ Gary ~~~~_/) ~~~ ~~~~~~~~

07-19-2021, 09:42 AM	#6
NH.Solar Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2017 Location: Jackson Pond, New Hampton Posts: 227 Thanks: 40 Thanked 139 Times in 77 Posts	How big a lot is it? and if over ten acres is it all in current use? Taking property out of current use can be very expensive, 10% x ad valorum (average recent selling price of a buildable lot). So if you buy 12 acres of current use land and wish to take just one out to build on, and the average selling price for a one acre lot in your town is $100,000, you will need to pay $10K as the current use penalty. I'd also suggest being very aware of any existing or proposed 501c3 developments as they adversely affect the town tax rate. In New Hampton for example two of the larger land owners are the State of NH and New Hampton school, and neither contribute to the towns tax revenue, but both add a fair amount of expense. I was told by my last well installer that the push of the glaciers can have some bearing on well depth. As the glaciers pushed down from the northwest they would scrape till from the NW slopes of the hills and drop quite a bit on the SE downsides. So if you are going to be on the NW slope of a hill your well might prove be much shallower than your neighbors on the other side of the hill. Makes sense to me because my lot has a southwest slope and my well needed 170 feet of expensive casing before the bit hit solid granite. My neighbor only a few hundred feet away across a ravine and on a NW slope hit ledge almost immediately and only needed a 60 foot well as opposed to my 270 foot well. __________________ Peter NH Solar

07-20-2021, 06:10 AM	#8
Asloren1 Junior Member Join Date: Sep 2020 Posts: 14 Thanks: 15 Thanked 7 Times in 5 Posts	Hire a Survey Engineer Strongly suggest you hire a survey engineer. They will be able to assess the full piece of land for things like wetlands, setbacks, potential septic and well locations, potential ledge, and most importantly potential building envelopes based on the size of the property and those factors. We purchased a large piece of land on the lake last year and went through a 6 month Pre-close process to confirm we could do what we wanted - including subdividing the land and getting through town approvals for that. You definitely want to confirm you are not buying a “turkey” that you will be stuck with and not be able to do what you intend with the land

07-19-2021, 08:08 AM	#2
burgerunh Senior Member Join Date: May 2016 Posts: 100 Thanks: 7 Thanked 32 Times in 22 Posts	Ledge, steep slopes, wetlands, access to utilities, zoning regulations.

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bigdog (07-19-2021)

07-19-2021, 09:42 AM	#7
Onshore Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 502 Thanks: 12 Thanked 423 Times in 145 Posts	You might find the information available through the NHDES Data Mapper helpful. https://nh-department-of-environment...ub.arcgis.com/

The Following User Says Thank You to Asloren1 For This Useful Post:
bigdog (07-20-2021)