How to properly check a plot of land before purchasing?

Pre-sale preparation of land and documentation for it is carried out by the seller.
But the buyer must also be active. It is recommended to independently inspect the land before purchasing. This can be done for free (or with minimal investment) and without involving a seller.

In the article we will discuss how to check a land plot before purchasing, what exactly should be included in the audit area, what you should pay special attention to, and what ways to carry out the check exist.

On-site check

The best time to buy land is spring.
During this season, you can easily check the quality of the soil and evaluate the general terrain. In addition, the buyer will have the whole summer for fruitful use. This applies to both agricultural land and plots for individual housing construction.

A ground check will give you a clear idea of ​​where the land is and what it looks like . It is not recommended to select a site solely based on its geographic location and checking this information on a map. We need to go to the site.

Soil quality

Soil quality is important not only for agricultural work, but also for construction sites. For example, sandy soil will be a poor choice for a site for a future home. The same applies to the terrain, so the presence of lowlands or hills on the site is not welcome.

To check the quality of the soil, it is recommended to dig a hole 1 meter deep or more . It is advisable to make several holes (4-6) around the perimeter to get an idea of ​​the entire plot.

After an hour, you need to check the dug holes. If there is water in them, then groundwater is located close to the surface. This may be good for agriculture, but when building a house you will have to abandon the cellar. Also, how much the area is flooded can be checked by houses on neighboring plots.

Attention! It is recommended to chat with local residents. They will provide much more useful information about the area than a seller or realtor will.

Communications

The plot for sale does not necessarily have to have communications, but the cost of such land is lower.
After all, the buyer will have to carry out the work, and sometimes it is quite expensive. If the seller claims that electricity is supplied, then there should be power poles and 2 cables that go from it nearby.

You can check whether communications are connected on the site upon request to the local government authorities.

For example, the chairman of SNT. At the same time, here you can find out whether shutdowns were carried out for debts. And if there are no communications, then the management of SNT or another self-government body will suggest the procedure for connecting all systems and recommend a specific contractor who works in the area.

Important! Along with examining the availability of communications, the infrastructure should also be assessed.

You need to pay attention to:

• is there a road to the site;
• Is there public transport nearby?
• are there shops, gas stations and other delights of civilization in the area;

Distance from infrastructure also reduces the cost of the site.

Borders

Land surveying is recommended to be carried out approximately once every 5 years, but this rule is rarely followed. The presence of a fence around the perimeter of the site does not give an idea of ​​​​its real boundaries. There is a possibility that the fence partially encroaches on the neighbor's territory.

If the plot is not fenced, and land surveying was carried out recently, you can use boundary posts as a guide . The seller must order land surveying services. It is advisable that the boundaries be redefined recently (several months ago, maximum 1 year).

A regular GPS navigator will help you check the boundaries of the site. Each plot of land has coordinates; if you enter them into a map, the area will be highlighted on it, and the navigator will help you go around the plot along the actually marked boundaries.

Exclusion zones

Potentially dangerous objects may be located near the land plot.
For example, these include gas pipeline pipes, as well as railway tracks. When building a house, it is necessary to maintain a safe distance, but often the exclusion zone covers a significant portion of the site.

It is not profitable to recoup such plots, so you need to find out about exclusion zones and their radius in advance.

Not all potentially dangerous objects are visible. The same pipes run underground. But there is no need to call surveyors to check. It is enough to contact the chairman of the SNT or another self-government body that deals with this area.

Reference! Information about exclusion zones is provided free of charge.

Analysis of the environmental situation

Only an inspection can conduct a full check of the environmental situation. During the study, a sample of soil, air and water is taken from the nearest body of water. But for an ordinary buyer this is expensive, and the land purchase and sale agreement does not require the results of such examinations even from the current owner.

The only way to check the environmental situation at the site is to go there in person and just look around.

The situation worsens due to the presence of:

1. plants, factories and other manufacturing enterprises;
2. cattle farms;
3. garbage dump.

The condition of the site can also be assessed by its appearance. If it is overgrown with weeds, trees (except fruit and berry trees), has holes in the soil and other shortcomings, this means that the owner did not monitor the environmental situation within his allotment. This means that the cost of the site should be lower, since the buyer will have to spend money on restoration work.

Land category

In addition to the documentary, it would also be useful to check the category of land and the type of permitted use, because possible actions with the site will directly depend on this.
This is done using such characteristics as the cadastral number - a unique number assigned to each plot when it is registered.

Using this number you can get the most important information about him, namely:

• location;
• boundaries and dimensions;
• presence of buildings;
• cadastral value;
• owner information;
• soil quality characteristics;
• category of land.

Revision of documents

Documents are requested from the seller. Their verification is carried out to protect the buyer from lawsuits and invalidation of the transaction in the future.

The main way to check documents is to independently order an extract from the Unified State Register on the Rosreestr website. Any person can request it. Some information in the public domain is provided free of charge online.

Cadastral papers

The seller must provide:

• Cadastral passport. In some cases, owners provide an old-style passport (cadastral plan). It is also a document certifier and does not need to be replaced.
• Extract from the Unified State Register of Real Estate. The information in both documents must match.

When checking cadastral papers, you need to pay attention to the following points:

• Owner's name . This must be the seller, if according to the extract there are other owners (shared ownership), their written refusal to buy the land will need to be attached to the contract.
• Land use purpose . The buyer can change the purpose even after signing the contract, but it is very difficult to transfer the land from the agricultural category. Initially, it is recommended to purchase land for specific needs.
• Cadastral number . Using it, you can even check the location of the site and some other information online.

Additionally, the seller can provide a land surveying plan. Information about the boundaries and position of the site must coincide with information from cadastral documents.

Title documents and encumbrances on the site

The USRN extract is the main document that is needed today. It contains information about owners and encumbrances.

If the plot is left under collateral, has debts, etc., all this will be indicated in a special column. The extract has an expiration date (up to 30 days, usually 14), so the information in it is current. If any changes occur, Rosreestr issues the owner a new extract with the appropriate marks.

History of ownership of the plot

A lot of documents are attached to the land purchase and sale agreement. Among them there must be a paper confirming the transfer of ownership to the seller.

It could be:

1. contract of sale;
2. certificate of inheritance;
3. gift agreement;
4. certificate of privatization.

Using these documents you can see who the previous owner was. If you are interested in the entire history of ownership, then it is better to order an extended extract from the Unified State Register of Real Estate.

This is a paid service, but the buyer will be as informed as possible about what happened to the land before. This will help assess the likelihood of receiving claims from previous owners.

Notarization of the seller's power of attorney

The buyer is lucky if the land he is interested in has only 1 owner. This makes the purchase and sale process simple and the set of documents minimal. However, if the land is owned by a family, the purchase becomes more difficult.

The seller is additionally required to have notarized documents:

• consent of the spouse, since the land is in joint use;
• marriage contract, if the spouse does not claim the plot;
• refusal of the remaining shareholders to buy back part of the land if the plot is in shared ownership;
• consent of the remaining owners, if the whole plot is being sold, and not a share (i.e. there are several sellers).

On a note! You can check the authenticity of the power of attorney at the nearest notary office. Such documents receive a number and are registered in the database.

Cadastral number, address and area of ​​land

The next step, after checking the information about the owner, his rights and restrictions or encumbrances, is to move on to the technical characteristics of the site.

And the first thing that needs to be compared is the data from the USRN extract and the data from the owner’s title document:

• cadastral number,
• address,
• square.

If everything is good, we move on.

What is important during the inspection process?

When performing an inspection of land with a fixing boundary, the following nuances require attention:

1. Documents for the object. The entity must have a full package of necessary documentation, which becomes a guarantee that the planned transaction will be carried out within the framework of current legislation. Documents submitted for consideration must fully comply with the data contained in Rosreestr.
2. Compliance with the information presented, which should reflect the real state of the object in question. For example, the certificates indicate that a residential building can be built on the land, but as a result, the plot can only be used for farming and construction on it is prohibited by law.
3. Information. The specified area of ​​the object in question must necessarily comply with the documentation.

For individuals, verification is available using online services or through Rosreestr with a request for an appropriate extract. The necessary documents can be ordered on our website.

Important! The location of the selected land requires attention, since its territory should not be present in a special designated area.

Today the special zone includes:

• main pipelines;
• protected reservoirs;
• gas supply areas.

The site in question should not have any encumbrances.