Buying land is not buying a house with the house removed. The questions are different, and most of them have to be answered before you go under contract.

Septic and soil. A perc test tells you whether — and where — you can build. Make it a contingency, not a hope.

Access. A parcel touching a road is not the same as a parcel with legal access to it. Look for a recorded easement, and read what it actually permits.

Water, zoning, and the deed itself round out the list. Chatham County deeds can be a century old, with calls to trees that no longer stand. A survey costs less than a boundary dispute, and we have handled enough of both to say that with confidence.