Helpfull hints on land purchase

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Hi,

If i end up buying some land and putting my 5ver on it, i would like to learn what to look for in the land.  It will probably be about a 50x100 lot.

This is the place http://holidayvillages.com/lake-fork/

I have attached an image of the map. It is on the other side of the lake from where i am.  Also i am still checking out areas around lake livingston down in south texas.  I have heard there is a really friendly and nice community just east of lake livingston.

I do plan on trying to find some youtube vids on the subject since i would be a first time land owner.  But any tips will help.

Obviously i do know to look for drainage and be sure its not in a flood zone.

1. drainage - how do you test it or can you tell by eyeballing it (ie looking for ruts and stuff)
2. trees or no trees - they both have advantages and disadvantages expecially around a RV. 
3. concrete pad, level dirt surface, or gravel -  again advantages and disadvantages.
4. position - longways or sideways
5. view of the water - i think this would be a personal choice but there might be some advantages or disadvantages.
6. dirt or grass/weeds - should i blade/strip the lot and start over with grass or do it alittle at a time while im there.
7. underground or above ground utilities - which is better.
8. ROI - is there a return on investment, i have heard that land cannot be used as calateral for a loan unless it has a permanent structure built on it.  So what is the ROI (return on investment) other than the possiblity that the area may become popular and land value increase.
9.  direction - facing N, S, E, or W  what is best in the east texas area.
10. culvert - if i need a culvert between the lot and the road what is the better material, concrete, steel, or galvenized.

im sure i will think of more as i go but this should get it started.  :)
 

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I cannot believe you are going to be happy with all the restrictions the homeowners association can impose and all you need is need a** on the board to make your life miserable.
The architectural control committee decides if your rig is pretty enough to be on the lot.

I do not think you will be happy or able to live by the rule they have or will impose
 
While it is not an ownership site, I would suggest you check out this place just off lake livingston http://www.lakelivingstonrvpark.com/rates.html  I spent a night there while passing through earlier this year and was very impressed with it.  Lots of nice people, though the sites are tightly spaced, and it is not on the lake (a mile or so from the lake).  If nothing else you might consider it for a month or so as a staging area to scout out the lake Livingston area.

Most of the people there are snow birders or retiree long term residents, many of the rv sites have permanent structures (decks, fences, even metal carport rv covers).  The place is well kept, nicely landscaped, etc.  So while not rock bottom pricing, it seems to provide a great value for the money, though not bad at $425 per month with $100 of electricity included, particularly considering it is near if not on a lake.
 
darsben said:
I cannot believe you are going to be happy with all the restrictions the homeowners association can impose and all you need is need a** on the board to make your life miserable.
The architectural control committee decides if your rig is pretty enough to be on the lot.

I do not think you will be happy or able to live by the rule they have or will impose

I am told that they only enforce the really big items in the contract such as delapitated RV's, weeds, garbage, junk cars and that sort of thing.

They dont have silly rules like some places do such as you cant have a garden hose laying in your yard or a flag pole.  I am told its pretty common sense stuff that helps keep the area from becomming an eye sore.  Im sure they had to put all the other stuff in there just in case.  My friend here at this RV park and his GF just bought a house there, he is a pretty smart cookie so that says alot too.

But i have not signed anything yet, still looking.  I do appreciate you bringing up the association topic, that does help. 


Thanks Isaac, ill check it out.  :)
 
If it is a written rule, EXPECT some A****** with nothing better to do than annoy people to try to enforce it one day
 
captsteve said:
If it is a written rule, EXPECT some A****** with nothing better to do than annoy people to try to enforce it one day

Yeah your probably right, i guess maybe i got used to things around here where there are a kazillion written rules that we have to sign but they enforce none of them.

So any kind of association is out then right?
 
I may be missing it but I looked at that link and the sections called Medina ABCDEFG Etc and they keep mentioning minimum 750 square foot building no residential living. So I must have missed the area that allows RV on Lots permanently.

I would buy according to the rules not according to anything Word of Mouth such as they overlooked things or whatever the bottom line is if they want to enforce it and it's in the rules you maybe the person they start enforcing it on. I've been in an h o a and know how that stuff works. H O A intention is to keep the property maintained people who join them have to sign a paper acknowledging that. 

I've been around that area over there and looked at some different properties we stayed at the escapees park which is east of Livingston.  I'm sure that Park is probably okay but a big issue over on that side of 45 is flooding so maybe not at that Park but if you look at individual privately-held properties I would go to the FEMA flood maps for the area. I have had Realtors take me to properties and never mention that it's in a flood zone and ends up underwater.

For what you were trying to do you are probably better off in a park typesetting for the security of it. I have looked at small parcels in Texas and some areas are what they call unrestricted. It basically means that you can do whatever you want depending on the county Township some areas don't need building permits so you can do anything you want when building a house. The only problem that comes along with it is some of the places look like The Walking Dead.

The problem is with buying something and moving in you don't know what the neighbors are until you been there. We may end up buying something in Texas but I'm picturing more like 5 Acres with no one right next to me. You might also find some towns in Texas more in the city where you'd have possibly a more secure setting that allow RV. Some may have had a mobile home on the site so the wiring water and sewer hookup might already be there. I seem to see properties with old buildings that are sometimes cheaper than buying an empty parcel of land. Older electric and water systems may not be a problem but septic system shirt and they could be. Depending on the area and the setting things I look at when buying property are a survey a perk test if it's going to need a septic system and title insurance to be sure there are no oil liens on the property.

This may be worded strange because I'm talking to text on my phone.
 
If you want to go for a ride for some entertainment go down below the lake on the west side of the Trinity off of Highway 3278 there's a big subdivision area. I noticed cheap property in there and went to check it out and it's pretty scary and it floods out. I stopped and talked to a couple locals there and they say there are places being broken into all the time by crackheads. I noticed one of the Lots the guy look like he had poured about 20 yards of gravel to get his small travel trailer in and he had a BMW parked out there and this is probably a $500 lot. Some of it is sad some of it's also interesting to see how people put big mobile homes 10 feet up off the ground on post. I'd be real careful no matter where you shop. We spend time in magnolia later in the winter so I've looked at property over there and in Anderson, Field store, Bedias, Livingston, Montgomery.

I'm looking for something a little different than you but the thing in Texas that I know is water trains and new highways. Conroe is one of the fastest-growing areas in the country just like Magnolia there are all sorts of roads going in and so we have to be careful where ww shop.

The Realtors will show you a property that ends up 10 feet underwater or might have the super train 800 feet away and not say one word to you about it you are free to buy that property if you don't ask any questions and he doesn't have to say anything to you. Due diligence
 
So when your first post you mentioned land different properties. In Magnolia where my son has when it rains hard in the rainy season the ground becomes saturated when you start to dig its sandy soil but there's a hard pan of clay about 2 feet down so that keeps the water from draining down it all has to drain off.

Things like culverts are sometimes controlled by the county they will say how far it has to be from the center line of the road how wide it has to be how big it has to be and what it's made of. So depending on the property where it's located there can be a lot of things to check out. I've been on other RV sites where people are contemplating buying a property and see that others might have an RV park near there you can't assume because someone else is doing something that it's okay to do it. No matter if in one of those Parks or private property you have to do your due diligence if the county says you can't have an RV there then you can't have an RV. You could stand there and argue that there's an RV right down the road but the problem is it could be that guy's relative that owns it.  That may sound silly but that's the way things work. The smaller community that I own property in now wanted to deal with the blight issues. The people on the board of all live there forever but they wanted a friend of mine to be the blight ordinance special appointee to go around and get a list of all the people in violation. I told him yeah they don't want to do it because it's their relatives that are the ones that are trashing the place after he would make the list and turn it in they would go to enforce it and he would be the bad guy not them. Oh yes, people suck No Doubt. The object of the game is to not make your life miserable.

Sorry if a lot of this sounds negative but it's the way it is it's business and rules and people. I have kind of watched over a neighbor's property just kind of pay attention when they aren't around for a long time and yet in the end the same people were caught by us stealing landscape plants off our property. Did I mentioned previously that people suck.
 
Gray's landing has sites for 275 a month plus electricity. If you buy a site in one of these places how much is a monthly fee I assume there still has to be some monthly expense besides the utilities?

I believe that if I was in a position of being in those types of parks around other people I would want to remain in a position that I'm able to pack up and leave even if I gave up some days or weeks of paid for rental time.

If I was going to put thousands or tens of thousands of dollars into the land I want to be sure that I'm not sitting close to someone. But then style at this time would also be leave the heat of Texas in the summer so now I have the issue of leaving some of my belongings or a pole barn or garage or whatever on the property when I'm gone. So being in a park setting where you wouldn't necessarily have pole barn garage whatever you would have a more secure setting if you were to leave your rig there and travel off for whatever amount of time.
 
Thanks so much QZ, really information.. alot to think about for sure, really excellent points.

I was watching some land videos last night and one thing i never thought of is land forclosures.  Some states and counties have special rules especially for land they cant get rid of in auction, and its not all bad land.  One of the special rules is that if the land is over $10,000 the county will finance it with 10% down. 

I dont know if texas or my county has this rule or not but its worth some research. 
 
Yes, auction is a possibility and you are local so that makes it easier. Learn about auctions because I think they can be handled in different ways I believe some give the person a certain amount of time that they can come in and pay for the property and pay you a certain amount a small amount of money and they get the property back.

So it's like anything else you step into another area where you have to know what you're dealing with.
 
Not to be negative but realistic. Another thing about buying at auction that I would wonder about is dealing with it afterwards if you have a hostile person who lost the property.

I would want to know if the property is vacant or how the tenant or the owner is removed after the sale. I bought a foreclosed house that needed major repair and once I was in it I noticed that trash kept getting thrown on the front lawn. No one in the area new me the two Neighbors on both sides were extremely friendly worked with them and help each other out but kept getting trash on the front lawn no one else did. No big deal and it ended after a year or so.

There is a lot to be cautious about when dealing with real estate. There are so many times that it ends up being an ugly situation and it often centers around not getting surveys or title insurance. I'm not saying you need a survey in some of those RV parks
 
One thing that would worry me about buying a small rv sized plot of land near a lake is how will it look in 10, 20, 30 years.  There have been a lot of these developments over the years that end up going no where.  People buy up lots often in a frenzy with the idea of one day building a vacation home / lake front camp, etc. then never do, or in this case bring the RV up seasonally for a few years then abandon it.

I can think of two separate examples of this that I have seen on Lake Sam Rayburn near Lufkin TX (it is the largest man made lake in Texas, and was built in the 1960's).  Back in the 70's and even the early 80's there was a major push to develop the area, and much of it went nowhere, even today that is a lot of undeveloped land around this lake.  I had a relative that bought one of these cleared lake front lots with the idea of eventually building on it, he lived a hundred or so miles away, and it just sat there.  I forget the exact details, but I was with him on some type of family outing in the area in the mid 1990's, and he wanted to make a side trip to look at this lot he owned, that he had not seen in 10-15 years.  We find the subdivision with 3 or 4 blocks worth of streets leading off a secondary highway, the pavement was deteriorating and few houses had ever been built.  We found the block where his lot was located, maybe a 1/2 mile long street with 2 or 3 houses, and the rest of the lots, including his were grown up in pine trees to the point where the lake could not be seen even though it was only about a hundred yards away.
 
Not negative QZ good points... it can be risky.

So true Amanda  :)


Isaac Yeah this concerns me as well.  They are selling the lots 50x100 feet for $1500 down, $171 per month for 10 years (they hold the note) plus $45 a month for Assoc fees, plus utilities.  He laid it all out for me and it would come to about $420 per month adding up everything.

When i took the tour, they did tell me i could put my RV there and it could be my perm residence i dont have to build.  But i think someone here said they could not find that in the papers and its only by mouth, so its not binding... So i will need to confirm that in writing. 

I know they are selling alot of the lots and they do seem to keep out the rif raff, but i am also concerned what happens if they fold.  I mean i supposed i would still own the land because i would have a deed, but who would i pay. The bank?

I dont know if i could ever find another deal like that anywhere and with my limited income of $1345 a month i dont have much to work with.  I dont even know if i can find a lease anywhere else for $1500 a year like i have here. 

If i sell it all ill have to already have something planned because once im in the uhaul then i cant keep it forever.  If i just sell the lot  improvements and keep the RV, i can just go right accross the lake, buy it and move right in.    They said they would level off a place for me, put in utilities if i needed them, and put in a culvert too.  And i did speak with the county and they do not charge taxes on the RV, so it would be about $400 a year in taxes.  Thats another expense i have to consider.

I will post my ad here but i do plan on posting it in the for sale section too.

https://easttexas.craigslist.org/rvs/d/lake-fork-lot-including-rv/6671398602.html

The man next to me with the class A said i may not be asking enough for this area, at that price i should sell quick.  So i have no clue if i should ask more or not...  Ill talk to my dad today as well.

 
That's a nice looking lot and RV. Let the dust settle and just stay away from the bad food. They can only survive for so long if they don't pull enough business.

I'd try to back pedal and avoid a lot of hassle. Find something to do. Get a girlfriend that knows how to cook. Win win. Lol
 
I looked at your pics again. Your rig is nice, the grass is beautiful. GO BUY A FISHING ROD. LOL

Edit: While you are out buying the fishing gear drive over to the place I told you about below the lever. You will have a new appreciation for your set up. Lol
 
QZ said:
I looked at your pics again. Your rig is nice, the grass is beautiful. GO BUY A FISHING ROD. LOL

Edit: While you are out buying the fishing gear drive over to the place I told you about below the lever. You will have a new appreciation for your set up. Lol

Thanks i appreciate that, i have alot of people stop and say hey nice yard and setup, it makes me feel good.  The grass was and is still a challenge.  One part of the yard must have some kind of substance in it because Texas bermuda wont grow there, just weeds.  One bag of Texas bermuda should cover this whole yard, i have tossed down 3 bags trying to get it to take.  Most of the areas have taken and they look really nice and thick now, but it took forever for those areas to finally kick in.  Im sure i needed some fertilizer, nitrogen as i think the soil here is very acidic but i did not know what to use so i just didnt do anything.

Gravel is cheap so its just mostly labor, i did a tiny bit each time i could and then take a day off or two and then back at it again.  Took awhile but got it done.

And i swear i think crab grass and sticky weeds can live through fire, what tough plants those are. 

I already have two fishing poles but i didnt go fishing this year as i didnt want to pay $65 for a license.  I wanted to wait till i got my Texas ID, plus the license is only good until the end of august so it would be $65 for a few weeks.  I dont think i will get one this next season either.  I would rather wait till im settled, and have a boat, im tired of fishing from the shore.

If i dont sell i will end up taking it all with me, gravel, trees, deck, fence, shed, everything i added, ill just pack it up and take it to the new property and leave them with just what i got when i came here, nothing.
 
I don't know if this would be of interest to you, or if RV living is allowed in this location, but by random chance I just saw this listing for a lot for sale at Toledo Bend on the Louisiana side.  http://polk.bookoo.com/i/68140766

p.s. also keep in mind any boat beats no boat http://polk.bookoo.com/i/67937816
 

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