DirtFlight / Land due diligence checklist

Guide

Land due diligence checklist: 14 things to check before you buy.

Buying vacant land means checking what you cannot see. Use this list, and see which items a screening pack covers and which need a professional.

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Aerial 3D view of a 92 acre farm parcel in Carver County, Minnesota, with scattered wetlands and the boundary outlined

Short answer

Land due diligence is the checking you do before closing: title and ownership, legal access, easements, zoning, taxes, utilities, soils and septic, flood and wetlands, slope and buildability, boundary and survey, mineral and water rights, covenants and environmental issues. A DirtFlight Paydirt pack screens the ground items in about ten minutes: slope, flood, wetland, soils and septic, water, power lines and road frontage. Title, survey, zoning, easements, minerals and percolation need a title company, surveyor, the county or an engineer. Buildable: ground outside mapped slope, flood and wetland areas. A screen, not a zoning, septic or permit approval.

The checklist, and who checks each item.

Land due diligence checklist
Item	What to check	How it is covered
1. Title and ownership	Clear title, liens, who must sign	Title company
2. Legal access	Frontage on a public road or a recorded easement	Frontage is measured in Paydirt. Easements: deed and title search
3. Boundary and survey	Where the lines are, encroachments	Approximate in DirtFlight. Surveyor for exact lines
4. Zoning and land use	Allowed uses, minimum lot size, setbacks	County planning office
5. Taxes	Current bill, any special assessments or rollback	County treasurer
6. Utilities	Power, water, sewer or septic, internet	Power lines with voltage and distance are in Paydirt. Others: providers
7. Soils and septic	Soil limitations for a drain field	Screened per soil map unit in Paydirt. Percolation test: licensed professional
8. Flood	Flood zone, how many acres	Measured in acres in Paydirt
9. Wetlands	Mapped wetland, permits to build near it	Mapped wetland acres in Paydirt. Delineation: specialist
10. Slope and buildability	Flat ground for a home, drive or pad	Buildability by slope in Paydirt, plus the contour map
11. Water features	Streams, ponds, perennial or not	Streams and ponds drawn in Paydirt
12. Mineral, timber and water rights	What conveys with the land	Title company and deed
13. Covenants and HOA	Restrictions, fees, architectural rules	Deed, recorded covenants
14. Environmental	Past dumping, tanks, contamination	Environmental assessment if there is a concern

Screening example

A parcel with real constraints.

This 92 acre farm looks like open, flat pasture. The screening says otherwise: about 20 acres of mapped wetland, the nearest public water and sewer about three miles away, and soils rated very limited for a conventional septic field. That is the kind of answer to get before an offer.

Buildable ground map of a Minnesota farm parcel with mapped wetlands in blue and 71.8 buildable acres — 92 acres, Carver County, Minnesota. Buildable ground: 71.8 acres after 19.9 acres of mapped wetland. Buildable: ground outside mapped slope, flood and wetland areas. A screen, not a zoning, septic or permit approval.

Soils and septic limitations map and table for a Minnesota farm parcel rated very limited for a septic drainfield — 92 acres, Carver County, Minnesota. Soils and septic limitations by soil map unit.

What You're Buying panel on an aerial of a Minnesota farm parcel with wetland, buildable acres, road frontage and fiber callouts — 92 acres, Carver County, Minnesota. What You're Buying: buildable, wetland, frontage and fiber. Buildable: ground outside mapped slope, flood and wetland areas. A screen, not a zoning, septic or permit approval.

Why screen the ground first.

The cheap, fast checks come first. If a parcel is mostly floodplain or steep, you can walk away before paying for a survey or a title search. A pack takes ten minutes and is free for a limited time, then $29 or $79 a parcel. Deal makers who look at many parcels use PayDirt Pro at $199 a month for 20 packs.

Utilities, mapped.

The utilities panel shows the nearest public water and sewer service areas, power lines with voltage and distance, gas, and internet, with the distance to each from the parcel. Where a service area does not reach, it says so, and the answer is a well and a septic system.

Service areas are estimates. Confirm with each utility.

Utilities map and panel for a Minnesota farm parcel showing the nearest water and sewer, power line and gas line distances — 92 acres, Carver County, Minnesota. Utilities: nearest water, sewer, power, gas and internet.

Pop-out 3D photo of a Minnesota farm parcel lifted off the landscape with dirt walls — 92 acres, Carver County, Minnesota. The pop-out of the same tract.

Buildable ground map of a Colorado mountain parcel with slopes over 25 percent in red covering much of the boundary — A slope example: 122.6 acres over 25 percent on a Colorado mountain parcel (298 acres, San Miguel County). Buildable: ground outside mapped slope, flood and wetland areas. A screen, not a zoning, septic or permit approval.

Enterprise

Enterprise: Site Diligence Report.

coming soon, screening only

The 14 items above are the buyer's list. The Enterprise Site Diligence Report is a longer screening, for land buyers and lenders who want the flags before they spend on professionals. It is not a survey, an environmental assessment, an engineering study or a legal opinion, and it does not replace any of them. It is not built yet, and the plan is priced by quote; write to support@dirtflight.com.

What the report is planned to screen:

Flood zone detail and base flood elevation
Superfund, brownfield and regulated sites nearby
Wildfire
Seismic
Landslide
Radon
Natural-hazard risk
Foundation and shrink-swell soils
Depth to bedrock and water table
Hydric soils
Access and driveway grade
Drainage low spots
Cropland history
Protected lands and conservation easements
Critical habitat
School district
Demographics
Permit checklist links

Flags can lag the ground and vary by county. Treat every flag as a reason to ask a professional, not an answer.

What a screening pack cannot do.

It is not a survey, a title opinion, a wetland delineation or a percolation test.
It can lag the ground, and its imagery is one to three years old for most parcels.
It does not show easements, liens, zoning or mineral rights.

Straight answers

Questions people ask about this.

What is land due diligence?

The checking a buyer does before closing: title, access, zoning, utilities, soils, flood, wetlands, slope and the boundary.

What should I check before buying vacant land?

Start with legal access, title, flood and wetlands, slope and a septic-suitable site. Then zoning, utilities, taxes, covenants and rights.

How long does due diligence on land take?

Screening takes minutes. A survey, title work and percolation testing can take weeks, and contracts commonly set the window.

Can I check flood and wetlands online?

Yes. DirtFlight measures flood zone and mapped wetland in acres inside the boundary on Paydirt. Confirm with the county for a building decision.

Does DirtFlight replace a survey?

No. Boundaries are approximate and are not a survey.

What is the Enterprise Site Diligence Report?

A planned screening for land buyers and lenders covering flood detail and base flood elevation, regulated sites nearby, wildfire, seismic, landslide, radon, soils, bedrock and water table, access and drainage, protected lands and habitat, and permit links. It is coming soon, is screening only, and is not a survey or a legal opinion.

Free for a limited time.

Make an account, enter an APN, and the pack renders in about ten minutes. After launch, Dirt is $29 a parcel, Paydirt is $79, PayDirt Pro is $199 a month for 20 Paydirt packs, and Pro+ is $299 for 45.

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