Buying Vacant Land in Lake Chelan ~ Jennifer Roberts

It is a seller’s market right now which makes it very competitive to buy a home. As a result, many buyers have started to consider buying Vacant Land in Lake Chelan and building their dream home instead. However, buying land is a whole different ball game.

First, make sure you build in time to do a feasibility study in your contract. This allows you to make sure you will be able to use the property as you intend to. There are many things that can affect what you can do with your property. If you or your agent do not have experience researching vacant land, you should hire a professional to do the feasibility study for you. But to get you started, below are some things you can investigate during your feasibly time to make sure the land meets your need.

Septic Availability

One thing that you need to know is what type of septic system will serve the property. Will you be able to connect to a shared sewer system or will you need to put in a septic system? If it needs its own system, you need to discover if the property perks for a system or if it has access for an offsite drain field. If there is no site registration recorded showing that the property perks, you may have to pay for this to be done yourself. A property that does not perk or have access to neighboring perk cannot be developed with a home.

Water Availability

How will you get water on the property? Is there access to community/public water system, or will you need to have a well drilled? You can call a well driller and find out about the area, the depths of neighboring wells, and possible water quality issues. Also, there are restrictions on what you can do within 100’ of wells. Is your property big enough to support a 100’ radius or does that radius encroach on your neighbors’ property? There are many things to consider and a well driller can educate you on those issues. If you have access to a community well, you will want to find out the hook-up fee and if it has already been paid.

Critical Areas

Chelan County has maps where you can see if there are critical/hazardous areas on the property. Critical areas can be streams, ponds, marsh areas, etc. The county regulates what you can do near these areas. If there are critical areas, you will have to hire a professional who will evaluate the areas and tell how that might affect your plans. This person will help you mediation any issues so you can develop your property.

There are areas in Chelan County that are considered archeological sensitive areas. If you buy property in one of these areas, you will be required to hire a professional to perform a study on the land. Additional regulations may be put in place depending on what this professional discovers.

Waterfront Property

The idea of buying waterfront property is quite appealing to a lot of people. However, you will have setbacks for building just like other critical areas. Also, if there are trees on the property, you will be limited on how many trees you can cut down. You must consider this and how it will affect your view. (Vegetation and trees are an important part of preserving soil stability and are also home to much wildlife). You also need to be aware if the property is in a flood plain. That may determine your building style and insurance rates.

There are many more things that one must consider when buying vacant land in Lake Chelan. Make sure you use an experienced agent helping you. If you are not already working with an agent, I would be happy to help. Give me a call 509-668-2053 or Contact Me.

To learn more about septic systems in Chelan County click here.