1. Not getting pre qualified/approved for financing thier dream property. Who would go out and home shop without knowing what the bank will lend them? Not many folks, yet it is amazing at how often they will do this with vacant land. Especially since vacant land financing is different in regards to length of loan, interest rates and down payment. The last thing you want to do is fall in love with a property only to find out that the required down payment is $20,000.00 more than you had in mind.

2. Not being clear on what they are willing to compromise on. For some that may be access to schools and utilities, and for others it may well be views and trees, or the bottom line..money. When you have made your list ahead of time of “must haves”, ” always wanted to have” and “be nice to haves, but can live with outs”  you can go into your search for that perfect Colorado property and act quickly enough to make a decision before someone else snatches up your dream land.

3. Not realizing inexpensive land is not always the best value. You could run the risk of buying land thinking what a great deal, and then you find it costs thousands of dollars to excavate, or run the utilities, or even get a driveway cut to a nice camp site!  Time and again I have seen folks buy land just because it was cheap, and not because they love it.  Cheap today = cheap tomorrow . Best to leave the investing to the investors and spend your time and energy on accomplishing your goal of finding land that meats your criteria.

4. Not making their very best offer the first time. Even when the market is booming here in Colorado and vacant land is selling like hotcakes, folks still don’t do enough to make their offer look appealing to a seller! Things like getting the financing arranged, doing some research in regards to use and zoning so you can eliminate contingencies, as well as offering a fair price..and doing it in writing! A written offer is so much more powerful to a seller.  

5. Not allowing the professionals to do thier job. Land looks attractive on the internet because it is marketed to appeal to the broadest audience as possible. A good agent knows thier market, especially if it is something they do all day every day!  They should be willing to spend time with you getting to know your criteria, and answering your questions, even referring you to resources to get informed and educated. 

 

If you are planning on looking at more than two or three properties in one day…then you are not being listened to! Most folks don’t realize how exhausting that can be, especially if you have kids that are rightfully coming along, or plan on looking in more than one particular area. Do yourself a favor and find someone who will do the eliminating for you so you can spend time actually exploring and enjoying your new found dream :)

Happy Trails~