Knowing what questions to ask before buying land is the key to avoiding pitfalls. Land is a valuable asset, but no investment is risk-free. However, proper research and asking the right questions can really help to mitigate downsides. If you’re thinking about buying land in Central Florida, it’s important to do your due diligence first.
Before you buy, you should always ask if the property is subject to conservation easements. We’ll tell you why this question is highly important and how you can ensure you’re not buying restricted land.
What Are Conservation Easements?
A conservation easement is a legal agreement that permanently limits the use of land in order to conserve its value and protect the property for future generations. These agreements are established between landowners and government agencies or land trusts for the purposes of maintaining water quality, promoting healthy forest growth, maintaining wildlife habitats, and many other natural benefits.
With its beautiful landscapes and natural habitats, it’s no surprise Florida land has a lot of conservation easements. In fact, there are more than 2,800 federal, state, local, and privately managed conservation areas across the state today.
How Conservation Easements Can Impact Land Value
Conversation easements are 100% voluntary and are initiated by landowners. However, once they’re in place they exist in perpetuity. This means future landowners will be forced to comply with the same restrictions established in the easement. Once in place, the easement owner (land agency or government) will conduct regular inspections to ensure the restrictions in the easement are followed.
Landowners can benefit from federal tax advantages for establishing conservation easements, so there are some minor short term financial incentives for doing so. However, the restrictions imposed by easements can dramatically reduce the value of a property.
How Do I Know If Land Is Subject To A Conservation Easement?
If you’re planning to develop land, then it’s important to watch out for conservation easements. Not only will they restrict what you can do with the property, you can also expect to have easement inspectors show-up every year to ensure you’re complying with the restrictions. These agents are also able to assess fines for non-compliance.
Information pertaining to conservation easements should be published with the listing; however, this isn’t always the case. The good news is conservation easement information is publicly available. The National Conservation Easement Database (NCED) contains records on all easements across the United States. However, a bit of research is required to identify restrictions. This is where a qualified land agent can help.
Zoning restrictions, bundle of rights, conservation easements – there are many potential pitfalls you can face when buying land, which is why it’s so important to partner with a good land agent. Your agent can thoroughly research any property to determine what easements or other restrictions exist before you buy it. The last thing you want is to sink money into a property that can’t be developed. However, land transactions are tricky and restrictions aren’t always apparent.
If buying land in Central Florida is one of your goals this year, turn to Palmetto Realty to help you evaluate restrictions on any potential property. Our team of qualified land agents help buyers find the perfect property every day. Give us a call at 386-200-1860.