Bare ground/building from scratch

12-26-19  by Larry Coelho

One of the great things about Southern Idaho is that despite the run up in values over the past few years, it is still possible to find good acreage property in sizes like 1, 2, and 5-acre parcels.

Buyers have a couple of options when searching for acreage-developed or undeveloped. However, unless you know exactly what you want and have a strong balance sheet, I do not recommend buying an undeveloped parcel.

Undeveloped acreage is not as common as it once was in Idaho. In the age area, for example, raw land is in fairly short supply. Restrictive zoning and demand have resulted in a fairly thin market for lots in the 1, 2, and 5-acre segments.

It is simply too expensive and fraught with expensive pitfalls. I’ve done it and watched my clients do it. The problem is that there are too many expensive surprises to name a few:

Power lines, Septic systems, Wells, Geotechnical, Bans, Shops, Fences, Irrigation systems for land, Driveways, Fire truck access.

Now, one does not have to do all of this at once. For example, fences are not essential, but you won’t get too far unless you have: power lines, septic systems, geotechnical and well.

Oh yes, don’t forget the house! Tis a mixed bag. My wife and I worked with an architect for over a year. It was expensive but I’ve lived in the house for nearly 30 years and for me at least, it was worth the cost and hassle.

A big plus with existing houses is that the seller frequently does not recover the costs of his improvements. That beautiful shop which cost the seller, say, $50 per square foot, may only appraise at $37 per square foot. A boon to for the buyer…