A Home is not Just a House

Land is a homeowner's most valuable asset

Your home's real value is in the dirt. When you purchase a home, you actually buy real estate, a combination of dirt (the land) and all the fixtures: your house, garage, a swimming pool, fences, septic tanks and driveways.
Land is real estate's most valuable resource because the planet provides a fixed supply. You can't move it and you can't make more of it. Your house is little more than an improvement upon the land.
Because it is so valuable, the piece of rock has its own legal description and a documented history recorded under a plot number.
Land use: The planning or building department or division of your local government can provide you with the land's legal description, boundaries and perhaps its surveyed dimensions, as well as a copy of the map of your house within a tract or subdivision. Some files include photos.
The file containing your land's description will include the legal specifications or schematics of septic tanks, wells, basements, the floor plan of your home and other evidence of how your land has been used over time.
If you live in a Townhouse, you own land jointly with other homeowner association members, which explains, in part, why Townhouse are less costly than single-family homes. Your Townhouse unit file will, however, describe and map the air space you own within your association's development, including the land beneath it all.
The history of your land could date back hundreds of years to the time of land grants and squatters, but it likely began with your parcel's development as part of a tract in a subdivision. Building and planning departments usually have this information and other activities that affect the land. If you take out a building permit for a home improvement, apply for a zoning variance or run a percolation test for a septic system. The percolation test will determine if the soil will absorb water adequately to use a septic system.
While most government records are complete and accurate, the sheer volume of records leaves ample room for errors and omissions. Whenever there's a question about the boundaries of your land, its use, basements or zoning, you may need to hire a survey company or seek a title company's interpretation. Have a surveyor or a real estate attorney review any documents you receive.
Land ownership. A title search reveals recorded interests, encumbrances, claims of title and other forms of ownership or claims against your land and its components. That can include the owner's mortgage, titles, deeds, judgments and other legal actions, the status of property tax payments and other claims against the property and its use.
The title search doesn't stop at the current owner, however. It examines public records and any other depository holding a record of your property as far back as necessary to be certain you are buying a home with a clear title. That could include the assessor's files, appraisal reports and homeowner association records. A preliminary title report will document what the title search discovers.
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