Who owns vacant land

Would you know why they remove the house number from the online Allegheny County real estate record when the house is torn down? Your email address will not be published. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed. Search for: Search. Skip to content Have you ever wondered who actually owns all of the vacant land around Pittsburgh?

Click on it, and a box will pop up on the right side of the screen with information about the owner, tax status, and parcel ID. Leave a Reply Cancel reply Your email address will not be published. Land destined to be built on or sold is typically carved up into smaller parcels that make up subdivisions. The land in a subdivision likely already has some restrictions placed upon it that you'll want to know about before buying.

If the vacant lot you're eying is in the middle of an already developed community, chances are good that a homeowner's association governs that area. Homeowner's associations command membership fees and set the rules for behavior and decorum in the area. Following their rules could dictate how frequently you cut your grass , where you park your car or even what kind of pets you have [source: Christensen ]. On a more general level, subdivisions may have covenants in place that lay down specific rules for the use of the property in question.

These covenants — or deed restrictions — are private agreements between the landowner and the buyer, which is what separates them from the zoning restrictions we covered last page. Within city limits, you may also be held to city ordinances that govern certain behaviors or land uses, such as the way you handle garbage removal [source: Delich ]. All those restrictions may sound like a real headache, and they can be. But they can also be a blessing. After all, the rules apply to everyone else, too.

If you find a piece of land you like with covenants you can live with, you'll know everyone else in the area is bound to the same standards. Those of you looking to invest in property and keep it pristine and unaltered won't have much use for utilities.

For everyone else, they're a vital element of the equation. Any vacant lot you're eyeing for a home or business will need utility access. That includes electricity for power, gas for heat, and lines for internet , television and phone. You'll want some or all of those piped into your property when construction begins. One way to bypass this concern entirely is to purchase vacant land that already has utilities installed. If you don't luck into such a purchase, you'll have a few things to take care of, and they're all going to cost money.

You'll have to deal with the power company to have your property connected to the nearest power lines. Same goes for the phone company, and with gas you'll have to do some research to choose between installing a tank on your property and connecting to local gas services.

Water and sewage could potentially be more work. Vacant lots that aren't close enough to water and sewage lines will need wells and septic systems to gain access to these two utilities.

That means added expenses and added hassle, as you'll need permits for drilling a well and installing a septic system. Assuming you're close enough to local resources to run in some or all of your utilities, the next issue to tackle is road access.

Road access might sound like a no-brainer, but it's a surprisingly complex issue when you're purchasing a vacant lot. In urban areas, it's rarely a problem — but in the countryside, rural land for sale could potentially be cut off from a major road and be available only via private access.

This can introduce a number of problems. If land truly isn't accessible via public roadways, it might not have access to city water or sewage. You could end up requiring a septic system and a well to handle those basic utilities, which will add to the construction costs.

More important, however, is the issue of access. A public road obviously guarantees a route to a vacant lot at all times. But when private roads enter into the equation, things get complicated. If your property is landlocked, the typical solution is to make an arrangement with a neighbor for guaranteed access via a private road through their land, known as an easement.

We'll discuss this next. With easements, we delve into the world of real estate law. According to Merriam-Webster, an easement is "an interest in land owned by another that entitles its holder to a specific limited use or enjoyment" [source: Merriam-Webster ]. Imagine you find that perfect piece of property. It has everything you're looking for: a lush, dense forest, a babbling brook and a clearing with an amazing view perfect for your dream house.

But there's a problem. There's no public road with direct access to the property, and the only way to access it is via a private road owned by your would-be neighbor. That's where easements come in. With some luck, you'll be able to establish an easement on a neighbor's property through friendly discussion. The nature of your easement will vary by situation. Maybe you need to run a power line across a corner of a neighbor's property, or perhaps you want to install a driveway running to their private road.

In most cases, it's smart to consult a real estate lawyer when negotiating an easement. Even if you get along well with your neighbor, drawing up official documentation will allow you to lay out the terms of the agreement and protect yourself from liability [source: Schleiffarth ].

If your neighbor isn't too agreeable about negotiating an easement, things can get tricky. You may be able to sue to establish a "way of necessity," meaning you'll have to prove in court that you require an easement on a neighbor's property for access. You may also be able to sue for an easement based on prior use, if it's clear that the previous owners had access to a neighbor's property before you purchased the land [source: VacantLandInfo ]. If there's any legal involvement, be smart and hire a real estate lawyer.

Finally, we're back to good old surveying after mentioning it as a potential basic cost in the lot-buying process. When you look at property boundaries on a map in real estate, often called a plat it won't be immediately evident how those boundaries line up with the land itself. That's where surveying comes in. Professional surveyors research your property and use a plat to determine and mark the exact property boundaries of your vacant lot.

When you look into buying a piece of property , it's possible a survey has been done recently. The evidence of a survey should be visible on the property with markers identifying the corner boundaries. You may even come across evidence of a survey when investigating the paperwork of a vacant lot yourself. Even if a survey's been done, it could be old and outdated. Getting a new survey will clearly define your property line — quite important when you delve into legal matters like easements.

And surveys can serve purposes beyond plotting out property boundaries. For example, a construction survey can help you make precise elevation determinations and plan out the dimensions of a house. And floodplain surveys more on that next provide critical information about the chance of flooding on your lot. This can happen for any number of reasons, including complicated ownership histories, the loss of records through the years, or simply human data entry error.

Usually, once they know your intentions, neighbors will gladly give you what info they can. You can just say that you live nearby and are interested in the possibility of turning the lot into a green space for the community. Those are some of the top ways to find information about land ownership. Now, what kinds of owners might you be trying to contact?

Other times, the owner is ill or has passed away, and their next of kin has been left with the lot. There are as many different personal scenarios as there are vacant lots! If a bank is involved, try contacting their REO real estate owned department or asset management department and explaining your interest in the property.