Buying or Selling Undeveloped Land in Chatham County, Part 1.

Part 1:  The Perk Test

In this installment I'm going to spend some time on the process for buying or selling undeveloped land in Chatham County.  This process is for undeveloped land and not improved lots that you typically find in a developed subdivision.  With the case of improved lots, the developer or builder has done most of the work for you.  But it is always a good idea to check with the County planning department or better yet, your Realtor to make sure all the requirements to build on the lot have been met.  You may also find the process is very similar in other Counties.

The first and most basic thing is to determine if the current zoning of the property is applicable for what you plan to use the property for.  As we are talking about mostly residential readers here we are going to limit the discussion to residential purposes and not talk about rezoning, special uses, or business zoning.

For the most part, most rural land will be zoned single family residential and agriculture.  This means using the land for farming or to build a single family house on is permitted.  Check to make sure the land around you is also zoned the same way or you could find a business going up nearby that may affect your value or at least you quality of life.  Again the local county planning department or your Realtor can check on the zoning for you.

Once you are sure the land is zoned for the use you want, the next thing to check on is whether or not the property is a buildable lot.  Many factors go into this, but the most important and basic factor is water and sewer.  Unlike many surrounding Counties, Chatham for the most part does not have County wide water or sewer.  There are pockets of areas in Chatham where County water may be available, but no where in the County is waste water treatment service available.  While it is true that within the town limits of towns in Chatham there may be sewage service available, for this discussion we focusing on rural undeveloped land out in the County.  Private sewage service is available in some developments in the County and in rare instances may be made available to an adjoining property.  But again we are focusing this discussion on rural undeveloped land and not lots in a subdivision.

This means that for most of us interested in buying or selling land in the County, we must then obtain water and sewer permits from the County.  Sewage permits, more commonly known as improvement permits are usually the one most coveted as it is dependent upon soil quality and soil types found on the land.  The process of testing the soils by a County Soil Engineer for a septic system is called Perking or a Perk Test.  I have heard in the past that only about 32% of Chatham County is suitable for a conventional type of septic (sewage) system.  While given enough well depth, water can usually be found but not always.  It is the soil quality on the property and not the absence of water that usually makes the property unbuildable or at least much more expensive to build on due to the requirement of a more complex septic system for poor soils.

The County information for application and fees associated with obtaining a perk test can be found at this link:  http://www.chathamnc.org/Index.aspx?page=1054.