Buying Vegas Land
I’m not going to tell you all of the things you already know about buying and selling land, if you are reading this article you probably already know enough about the process. What everyone in the land market wants to know about is timing, information and enhancement.
If you buy at the right time, because of general market conditions or because of something that will specifically affect the neighborhood or the property that you select, you win. Other buyers enter the market after you and you can cash in you chips and move to the next deal.
Having superior information about what is going to happen is another way to beat the vacant real estate market. If you know when utilities, major developments, roadways or other factors are going affect a neighborhood or a particular property, you can act before the improvements occur and then benefit from the upward movement in prices.
Most land buyers realize that changing the zoning of a parcel can often increase its value. Not because a property will ultimately be developed for a commercial use, but because the zoning provides the buyer with the flexibility to develop it for a more intensive purpose. Thus, hard zoning is often a factor that increases value.
Buyers must remember, however, that just because someone had found a way to zone a property for a specific use, like general commercial, does not mean that its physical and economic characteristics make it best suited to a commercial use. It could be that a commercial zoned property is best suited to a single-family residential use.
In Las Vegas, water rights can become a significant factor affecting value. While most of metropolitan Las Vegas has water service, water rights in outlying areas can make a significant impact on value. While approval for a single home site on a site is not difficult to obtain, the development of a parcel with multiple dwellings is at times dependant on water rights.
There are times when subdivision “paper lots,” architectural drawings, special building approvals and other “entitlements” can add value to vacant land. Often, however, a great deal of money can be spent by someone with an idea or a dream that does not add value to the site.
Once you know what you are looking for, finding the best land deal often has to do with your contacts. The more people (usually agents) who know you are a real buyer, the more properties you will be offered for evaluation.
Copyright 2008, Glenn Rigdon, Horizon Village Realty
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