What are good places to look for information/listings when trying to buy land?

Question

I am looking at purchasing land both as an investment and as a place to live, farm, camp, and retreat in the future.

What are things from an investment standpoint that I should keep an eye on when purchasing land (for example, property taxes are an important thing to be aware of)? And what are sites that I can go to find land listings? Like realtor.com is to buying a house, is there an equivalent for buying property?

States interested in (if it matters): Colorado, Montana, Tennessee, Indiana, Michigan, New Hampshire, Texas, and Alaska.

Answer 1

Acreage is often listed in multilist services, but occasionally it won't be listed with a realtor or the realtor won't bother to put it in a multilist system. You can check with local realtor web sites and real estate auction houses. Sometimes it's possible to buy old mineral claims at a good price.

There are several important things to consider when buying land. I'm sure I forgot some important ones:

• Water Rights (in Colorado especially)
• Access -- does the land have a road to it?
• Zoning -- many places have countywide zoning. Is it zoned for what you want to use it for? It might be worth more if you can build a house on the property.
• Liability -- are there dangerous chemicals, industrial sites, or closed mines?
• Mineral Rights -- do the mineral rights sell with the property?
• Easements -- are there inconvenient easements limiting property use?
• View -- is it pretty? This can be very important.
• Distance from town and road quality,
• Can you get electricity, water, internet, etc.? How much will it cost?
• Can you rent it for livestock, hunting, or crops until you sell it?
• How much are the annual taxes?