u/Effective-Note9686

Hi eveyrone! My name is Sunny and I've been researching land parcels for buyers for a little while now and the amount of stuff that never shows up in listings is genuinely surprising. had someone almost close on a parcel where half the acreage was in a flood zone, nothing in the listing mentioned it. another one had no legal road access despite having a visible path on Google Maps. curious what people here have run into on land deals that caught them off guard, what's the thing buyers most consistently miss when evaluating a parcel?

Researched a lot of rural parcels for tiny home builds. These are the things that actually matter.

Zoning first not all rural land allows tiny homes. Some counties have minimum square footage requirements for permanent structures. Call the county planning office before you make an offer, not after.

Perc testing septic requires passing soil. websoilsurvey.nrcs.usda.gov is free. Clay soil almost always fails.

Flood zones msc.fema.gov. Zone X is minimal risk. Zone AE means you likely can't get a building permit without expensive mitigation.

Road access verify it's a recorded legal easement not just a road on satellite view.

Utilities get a quote from the local utility on grid extension costs before you commit. 'Power nearby' can mean a $30K bill.

Happy to answer questions.