What does a MT Land Buyer need to consider?
If you’re looking to purchase land in the Kalispell, Lakeside or Bigfork areas of Montana, there are many things you should consider before making a decision. Some of the considerations follow:
Usage:
What are you going to use the land for? This answer will determine where to look. Do you want a parcel of forested land to use for hunting? Do you want to build a single family home and garage? Would you like a main home and some guest houses? A shop? Will you be raising livestock? Do you dream of land with a lake for fishing? Do you want to start a neighborhood vegetable farm? Will you want to add a stable and training track for your horses? Or walk out your back door into a National Forest for hiking? Once you know how you will be using the land, the next thing to consider is:
How you live:
If you plan to live on the land in a home of some sort, then think about how you want to live. Do you want to be able to go into your backyard and target shoot? Do you want to be close to your neighbors or in the woods out of sight of everyone? Will you want to wander out to the garden to pick plants? Do you have a dog, or five? Do you have cats? Goats? Horses? Do you need to be able to easily get into town in any kind of weather? Do you want to be able to look out at beautiful views every day? Your answers will guide you towards the right property as well. Many parcels have CCRs (covenants, conditions and restrictions) which can constrain some activities. Which leads me to…
Restrictions:
Many developments in the area have CCRs, which are rules that can cover everything from how many pets you can have and what you can park in your driveway to what kinds of outbuildings are allowed and whether you can use firearms on your property. CCRs might also address how big your house needs to be, where on the lot it must be built, whether you can have a metal roof or not, whether you can run a business from your home and put signs in your yard or rent your home. There are also parcels of land with no restrictions at all, which is fantastic if you want to build something unique. It also means your neighbors have no restrictions and can build whatever they want as well. The lack of restrictions is more common in a rural area than the center of town, which is another thing to think about.
Rural life:
If you’re considering buying property in the woods where you can do whatever you’d like and build whatever suits your fancy, there are also some things you might want to consider. For example, how accessible will the property be? Will you be able to easily get all services to your door? Is there anything you might need to consider about agriculture and right to farm rules? What about good old Mother Nature considerations? What about wildlife? Your choice of property will impact what wildlife you will be communing with.
Hiring a buyer agent
Similar to buying a home, it’s in your best interest to hire a buyer agent to assist you with finding the right piece of property. Because there are so many other things that must be considered once you’ve decided where to live. Things like: finding out what the rules for a specific parcel are, determining how to move forward with getting well and septic estimates, understanding the permitting process (or not), obtaining access to parcels to walk the land, understanding local history or activity that might be happening in the future, getting information on available services, getting a good handle on proper pricing for parcels, understanding your options, getting expertise to help you write your offer, and more.
On a final note, if you are a out-of-town buyer and you need a buyer agent who will also walk property to answer additional questions you may have, call me! 406-270-3667 or kat@thehousekat.com. As long as I can access the property, I’d be happy to put my hiking boots on, grab my bear spray, and head on out to get your questions answered and shoot some video for you.