Land Purchases can be attractive for many different reasons. The initial purchase price is obviously lower than purchasing an existing house. You also might be able to create exactly the house that you would want rather deal with an existing structure. However, being in a rural area and within the NYC Watershed, creates a few additional steps and expenses to be budgeted into the building process. Some of these are important enough to research and/or verify and/or include as contingency in the process of purchasing the property. Let's take a look at these steps:

The Septic System

If your property is outside of an established village or hamlet, most likely you will have no municipal sewer hook-up. This means you will have to install a septic system. In the NYC watershed, the NYC Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has permitting power over the installation of septic systems. They will have to approve the plans. Without that, a local building inspector cannot issue a building permit. The plans have to be drawn up by a certified engineer. The installation is usually handled by an excavator. Let's look at a few possible scenarios:

- The parcel has a septic system installed already.
This doesn't happen often, and obviously is priced a bit higher than just raw land. You would need to confirm which size house this was designed for, and whether there is any expiration date on the use/hook-up of that system. And, as the septic system has been installed, the proposed building site has been determined to some degree. The site must be a bit elevated above the septic system as liquids run downhill.

- The parcel that you are interested in comes with a DEP approved plan.
This is a pretty ideal situation. You do not have to spend any funds on discovery and you have peace of mind. Just be aware that the approved plans are valid for two years from the date of issue. And then have to be recertified. And the location of the septic system has been determined and with that, the location of the proposed building site, again liquids run downhill - the gravity factor.

- A percolation test has been performed on the parcel and the property has "perc'd".
Good news here too, this means that a septic system can be installed on the property and no initial outlay of funds from you is required at this time. The results of a 'perc' test are valid for two years and then it has be re-done. So here you would need to budget the cost of an engineer designed plans before you can obtain a building permit.

- An engineer's opinion that a septic system can be installed has been issued.
This should be in writing and on the licensed engineer's firm letterhead. Now you need to decide whether this sufficient for you at this time or whether you would want to perform a 'perc' test to be certain that this property would support the installation of a septic system.

- No information about the installation of a septic system is available.
This basically means that it is up to you to perform the due diligence on this and again it is up to you to decide which level of information you would need to proceed. Is an engineer's opinion sufficient, do you need to perform a 'perc' test or would you want to have approved plans for septic system before you go ahead with the purchase? In most cases a 'perc' test contingency is written into the contract that allows the buyer to perform a 'perc' test within in a certain time frame on the subject property at his/her expense.

Electric Service

Does the property have electric service or is it available?
Where is the nearest pole that is owned by the utility? The seller will have provided a disclosure stating whether or not the parcel has service available to it. It is a good thing to check with the utility and confirm the seller's statement. And get an idea how much it would cost you to bring electric service to the building site.

Driveway and Access into the Parcel:
In most cases the parcel will be located on a public road. And sometimes there is a driveway into it already. In cases that no driveway exists it is important to check with the local code enforcement officer to confirm whether and where a driveway can be installed. If the parcel is located on a private road, with a deeded right-of-way, the right-of-way should be checked. Also important here is whether that private road has a maintenance agreement among its adjoiners. Private roads are not maintained or
snowplowed by the town or county.