Page 7 - Nov-Dec 2022_DH

What to Consider When Buying Land

Cassie Apperloo courtesy REALTOR.ca
ow would you describe your dream home? You know, the one with every amenity and design feature you’ve
been looking for? But finding that dream home already built and available on the market isn’t always possible.
HWhether it’s because of the location, size, price, or available features, it can be difficult to find this dream space
without compromise.
Rather than struggling to find something that checks all the boxes, some choose to buy land and build their own
home. The process is different from buying in the resale market and can get a little complicated, so it’s best to let a
REALTOR® guide you through the process, but we’re going to break things down a bit for you here first.

Why buy land?
According to REALTOR® and salesperson Peter Vandendool in Hamilton, Ontario, having the freedom to customize
your home from top to bottom is the most common reason why people opt to buy land.
“When you buy a home on the resale market, you’re buying someone else’s dream,” he said. “When you build your
own home, you get exactly what you want.”
Another motive as to why some home buyers purchase land is to save money. While building a larger custom home
on an urban lot is typically more expensive than buying an existing home, building smaller homes on rural lots has
become a popular option.
Before you begin searching for the perfect piece of land, there are a few key things to consider.

Three things to consider before purchasing land

1. Zoning bylaws
Zoning bylaws are one of the most important things you’ll need to think about when looking at land. They vary
by location and outline how land can be used. Zoning is especially important to consider when looking at rural
properties.

“A lot of land in rural areas has been zoned as agricultural land,” said Vandendool. “If an individual or a builder

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