Buyers' Checklist
This is the order I work through on every land purchase in the Wasatch Back, and the order you should work through too. Water first, access second, everything else after. Check the boxes in the Jeep with me, and you'll know your land better than most owners know theirs.
Water
- Water right on file: source, quantity, priority date
- Kept in beneficial use, or protected by a nonuse filing
- Irrigation shares and the company ledger, if canal water
- Well permit status and basin open or closed
Access
- Recorded access easement tied to the parcel
- Road maintenance agreement, if shared
- Winter access: who plows, and who pays
- Survey lines walked, not just looked at
Septic & Utilities
- Perc test and soil evaluation, current
- County wastewater permit path
- Power at the lot line, or a real quote to get it there
- Internet, propane, and water delivery reality
Zoning
- County zone and minimum lot size
- Density: how many homes, and can it be split
- Barns, arenas, animals, and what the code allows
- Right to farm and what your neighbors actually do
Title & Rights
- Mineral rights severed or intact
- Encroachments: fences, drives, structures
- Liens, judgments, and the quiet part of the chain
- Conservation easements or open space restrictions
The Land Itself
- Flood, fire, avalanche, and wetland maps
- Soil quality and what's actually growing
- Views that hold, and neighbors who might block them
- The picnic spot: cell signal, sun, and wind
The honest fine print
This checklist keeps you out of the expensive mistakes, but it doesn't replace the professionals: an attorney for the title, a water rights specialist for the water, and a county planner for the zone. I coordinate all three on every deal. That's the job.
Check it in the field
A checklist is only as good as the ground it's checked on. Book the Jeep and we'll run this list on a real parcel, in order: water, access, soil, zone, title, and the view. Thirty minutes, and you'll know exactly where you stand.