What land issue caught you completely off guard?

Question

I work with property research and land analysis, and I’m curious what investors here have run into that wasn’t obvious when they first looked at a property.

Things like floodplain issues, wetlands, access problems, unexpected terrain, drainage, neighboring land uses, utility limitations, zoning, etc.

What’s something you wish you had known before buying a parcel?

Jay Toluganti · Answer

In florida, it was the Gopher Tortoise nests that caught us off guard in our deals. In some areas, they were everywhere.

Amanda Riggs · Answer

That makes sense. One expected issue is one thing, but multiple nests could change the usable portion of a parcel pretty quickly. That’s such a good example of why “acreage” and “actually usable acreage” aren’t always the same thing. Appreciate you sharing that!

Jay Toluganti · Answer

i was wholesaling to builders and they expected them. But sometimes, there will be more than one nest and would kill the deal.

Amanda Riggs · Answer

Oh wow, that’s a good one. I can definitely see how that could catch someone off guard. Did you find the tortoise nests during due diligence, or were you already pretty far into the deal before they became an issue?

What land issue caught you completely off guard?

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