Most pre-purchase checks can be done yourself, without waiting for a lawyer. What to check, where to check it, and the findings that mean stop.
Due diligence sounds like a lawyer's job. Most of it is not. It is work the person putting up the money can do, and probably should, since they are the one carrying the whole risk.
Take a copy of the title to the local Land Office and ask to see:
The copy an owner shows you may be out of date. Checking at source is the only way to be sure.
Ask to see the town plan at the provincial Public Works and Town Planning office, or the local municipality.
The zoning colour decides what can be built. Green zones — rural and agricultural — do not permit commercial buildings or hotels, however clean the title is.
If the plan is a resort or a homestay, check this before any deposit moves.
Go to the plot with the deed in hand and check:
The checks above are yours to do. Use a lawyer when:
State who pays each fee and tax. Set the transfer date. Set the conditions under which the deposit is returned if a problem is found. State the condition the land must be handed over in — vacant, and free of encumbrances.
An agreement that leaves these vague is what becomes an argument on transfer day, which is the day a buyer has least leverage.
Waterfront land carries building restrictions ordinary land does not: setbacks from the water, Marine Department permits, and zoning. What to establish before paying for a design.
Two riverside plots of identical area can be worth very different amounts, because of how much of each touches the water. Why that is, and how to compare them properly.
A single plot carries at least two prices. The Land Department's assessed value sets the taxes; the market price is what it changes hands for. Knowing which is which keeps the sums right.
