Everything You Need to Know About Utilities for Your Land
Getting Essential Utilities to Your Vacant Land
When looking to buy land, it is important to think about future utility needs. How will you get power/electricity? How will you get water? How will you manage sewage waste? It’s likely that with a vacant land purchase, not all of these things will be in place, and you want to be sure that you know exactly what you'll be responsible for.
When you buy an established home, power, water, and sewer utilities are often already installed. For example buying a home in the city usually means your home is serviced by an electric utility company and is hooked up to the city water and sewer system. All that is required of you is to notify each company to let them know of the change in ownership.
As you move away from the city, homes often still receive their power from an electric utility company, but each homeowner may be responsible for sourcing their own water and managing their own waste - often via a well and septic system, respectively, located on the property.
When buying vacant land, you'll be responsible for setting up every utility you need (if you're using a contractor to build a home, they will help guide you through every step). If you're more of a DIY'er, or are looking to use the land for occasional recreational use (i.e. camping), make sure you take the time to research what, if any, utilities are available in your area. Call the county to learn about any special requirements/restrictions for utilities installed on your property and to see if alternative methods are allowed.
For a more general look at things you should know before purchasing property, check out our ULTIMATE GUIDE TO BUYING LAND ONLINE.
HOW DO I KNOW IF MY LAND HAS UTILITIES ALREADY IN PLACE?
When you're shopping around for property, utility status should be high on your list of questions to ask land sellers. However, it’s always good to double check with a neutral source. Give the county planning and development office a call and ask them if they know of any utilities being present on the property. Be prepared to give them the Assessor's Parcel Number (APN), legal description, or physical address of the lot to identify the property you’re asking about. They will be able to search for permits pulled for that lot, clueing you in to any potential utility sources.
Physically walk the property. If the size of the property is manageable, walk around and search for above ground signs of utilities, such as small sections of piping sticking out of the ground or electrical poles.
We’ve created a couple of Water Well Finder Guides to help you research and locate wells in the area you are looking to buy land. We currently have guides specifically for Colorado and Arizona, but you can download either guide and apply similar steps to any state. Use the free guides to learn important well information, such as location of an existing well, depth of a well, and the company that installed it.
HOW DO I KNOW WHICH TYPE OF UTILITY IS BEST FOR ME?
When it comes to finding the right utility type for your home, it’s important to do your research. For sourcing power, is electrical service available and is that something you want? Would you rather use solar or wind power?
What about water? Is there community water already available? Is a well a possibility or does the area require a cistern tank and water delivery? We’ve created a guide to help you learn the basics between a well and a cistern - you can download it here, for free!
And what about managing sewer waste? Rural land isn’t often hooked up to a community system, but are you wanting to install a traditional septic system or are you looking for an alternative system?
County zoning and other regulations will also help direct you to what is and isn’t allowed on your property. Give the county a call and download our FREE GUIDE TO ZONING to learn more.