Buying Land for Your First House. After years of saving, you are finally in a position to purchase your own land and build a brand new house. In order to make sure that you choose the right real estate, it pays to do some research into any property that catches your eye. Doing so will help prevent any unpleasant surprises later on.
Your first task with any land that seems promising is to conduct a title search. Your goal is to make sure there are no claims or liens on the property in question. This will ensure that a few years down the road, you won't have to worry about issues such as property line disputes or someone claiming that they are the actual owners. Go back at least twenty years and if there are no indications of irregularities in the details of each deed transfer, you can safely submit a bid for the land.
It also helps to find out if there is a need to make arrangements to connect with the local companies offering rural utilities. What you may find is that the land is already partially developed with lines that will provide you with access to electricity and telephone services. If the lines are not present, find out what it would cost to have those lines ran to the section you've set aside for the home construction. You may be able to use that figure as a way to negotiate a lower price for the property and use the difference to cover the expense.