The Specialty Property Buyer's Due Diligence Guide

TL;DR

Specialty-property buyers should define the intended use first, then verify that the land, access, documents, infrastructure, rules, and operating costs support it. A feature that drives the purchase should be confirmed through the survey, agreement, permit, inspection, or qualified professional responsible for that feature.

Most residential properties can be evaluated with a fairly familiar set of questions.

How old is the roof? What condition is the HVAC system in? What are comparable homes selling for? How much are the taxes?

Specialty property can be much more complicated.

A beautiful piece of acreage may have poor access. A horse property may have plenty of land but unusable pasture. A waterfront home may have a dock that cannot legally be expanded. An aviation property may sit beside a runway without actually conveying permanent runway rights.

The more unusual the property, the more important it becomes to understand what you are actually buying and whether it can support the way you intend to use it.

This guide is designed to help you identify those questions before they become expensive surprises.

It is not a substitute for legal, engineering, surveying, environmental, insurance, lending, or other professional advice. Specialty properties often require several specialists working together.

First: What is your Intended Use?

Before evaluating the property, define what you need the property for.

Two buyers can see the same 20 acres and be evaluating completely different properties.

One may want a private residence with a few horses.

Another may want a commercial boarding operation.

Another may need enough room for an arena, trailer parking, staff access, and future barns.

The physical property has not changed. The due diligence has.

Write down your intended use before comparing properties.

Consider:

• primary residence, second home, or investment
• number and type of animals
• agricultural or commercial activity
• aircraft type and hangar requirements
• boating or water access requirements
• hunting or recreational use
• equipment storage
• future construction
• guest or employee accommodations
• subdivision potential
• short-term or long-term rental use

A property should be evaluated against those requirements rather than against the marketing description.

Verify Access: Make Sure its Legal

Never assume that a driveway means you have unrestricted access.

Specialty and rural properties frequently involve private roads, shared drives, access easements, maintenance agreements, or rights-of-way.

Determine:

• whether the property directly fronts a public road
• who owns the road providing access
• whether access is established by recorded easement
• the width and location of any easement
• who is responsible for maintenance
• whether heavy trucks, horse trailers, RVs, boats, or equipment can reasonably use the access
• whether gates or neighboring properties restrict access
• whether emergency vehicles can reach the property

Access that works for a passenger vehicle may not work for a horse trailer, construction equipment, motorhome, or agricultural machinery.

Understand Easements and Encumbrances

An easement can dramatically affect how part of a property can be used.

Common examples include:

• utility easements
• pipelines
• transmission lines
• drainage easements
• access easements
• shared driveways
• conservation easements
• mineral servitudes
• irrigation or water infrastructure

A current survey and title review can help identify recorded issues, but buyers should also physically inspect the property.

Something legally permitted on paper may still interfere with the intended use.

Confirm Boundaries: Request a Survey

Fence lines, tree lines, roads, creeks, and mowing patterns are not reliable substitutes for a boundary survey.

This becomes especially important when a property includes:

• large acreage
• irregular boundaries
• multiple tracts
• older fencing
• neighboring agricultural uses
• structures near property lines
• private roads
• waterfront
• barns or outbuildings

If acreage, access, improvements, or future construction matter to the purchase, understand exactly where the property begins and ends.

Investigate Zoning and Land-Use Restrictions

A property being physically capable of supporting an activity does not mean that activity is legally allowed.

Investigate applicable:

• zoning
• subdivision restrictions
• deed restrictions
• homeowners association rules
• architectural controls
• agricultural regulations
• animal restrictions
• commercial-use restrictions
• short-term rental rules
• building setbacks
• minimum acreage requirements

This is particularly important when planning boarding, training, breeding, commercial agriculture, event operations, aircraft activity, rentals, or future subdivision.

Do not rely solely on how the current owner uses the property.

Existing use does not automatically establish your right to continue or expand that use.

Evaluate Utilities Based on Reality, Not Availability

A listing may say utilities are “available.”

That word can hide a great deal of expense.

Determine where each utility actually exists and what it will cost to connect.

Electricity

Confirm:

• location of existing service
• capacity
• distance from proposed improvements
• requirements for additional meters
• availability of three-phase power when relevant

Water

Determine whether the property uses:

• municipal water
• community water
• private well
• multiple wells
• livestock watering systems

If a well is involved, investigate its condition, production, depth, water quality, and equipment.

Sewer and Septic

For properties without municipal sewer, determine:

• existing septic system location
• system type
• capacity
• maintenance history
• whether additional systems are feasible

Future barns, guest houses, shops, or residences can materially change wastewater requirements.

Internet and Cellular Service

Rural internet should be verified rather than assumed.

If reliable connectivity matters for remote work, security systems, business operations, or property management, test it before closing.

Understand Flooding, Drainage, and Wetlands

Flood risk deserves more investigation than simply checking whether a structure appears inside a mapped flood zone.

Evaluate:

• FEMA flood mapping
• historical flooding
• drainage patterns
• creeks and waterways
• low areas
• culverts
• neighboring runoff
• wetlands
• standing water
• road access during heavy rainfall

A home may remain dry while the pasture, driveway, runway, barn, or only access road becomes unusable.

For specialty property, that distinction matters.

Wetlands or drainage limitations may also affect future construction, ponds, roads, arenas, barns, docks, or other improvements.

Talk to Insurance Companies Early

Do not wait until the end of the transaction to investigate insurability.

Specialty property can involve exposures that standard residential policies do not address well.

Depending on the property, insurance considerations may include:

• flood
• wind or hurricane exposure
• wildfire
• barns and agricultural buildings
• aircraft hangars
• docks and boathouses
• livestock
• commercial activity
• vacant acreage
• recreational structures
• liability associated with trails, arenas, pools, water, or equipment

Get quotes early enough that insurance cost can be considered as part of the purchase decision.

Look Beyond the House: Inspect the Whole Property

Traditional residential inspections naturally concentrate on the dwelling.

Specialty property may derive a substantial portion of its usefulness or value from everything surrounding the house.

Depending on the property, evaluate:

• barns
• arenas
• fencing
• gates
• paddocks
• pastures
• wells
• ponds
• docks
• seawalls
• boathouses
• hangars
• runways
• shops
• equipment buildings
• roads
• bridges
• culverts
• retaining walls
• irrigation systems
• generators

Some of these improvements may require professionals outside the scope of a typical home inspection.

Specialty Improvements Need Specialty Evaluation

A structure existing on the property does not automatically mean it is suitable for your intended use.

Equestrian Property

Consider:

• fencing type and condition
• pasture quality
• drainage
• barn ventilation
• stall configuration
• water availability
• feed and hay storage
• manure management
• trailer circulation
• arena dimensions and footing
• access to veterinary and farrier services

Aviation Property

Consider:

• runway ownership
• runway access rights
• runway dimensions
• surface and condition
• weight limitations
• hangar dimensions
• taxi access
• airpark restrictions
• fuel availability
• maintenance access
• aircraft-specific requirements

Being near a runway and owning legal runway access are not the same thing.

Waterfront Property

Consider:

• actual water frontage
• dock rights
• boathouse rights
• navigability
• seasonal water levels
• depth
• shoreline ownership
• erosion
• seawalls or bulkheads
• permitting requirements
• access to open water

A spectacular water view may have very different utility from property with usable boating access.

Investigate Environmental and Natural-Resource Issues

Depending on location and property type, additional investigation may be appropriate for:

• wetlands
• protected habitat
• soil conditions
• contamination
• underground storage tanks
• previous agricultural chemical use
• timber
• mineral rights
• oil and gas activity
• conservation restrictions
• water rights

These issues can affect both value and future use.

Determine What Actually Conveys

Specialty properties often contain equipment and improvements that appear permanent but may not necessarily be included in the sale.

Clarify items such as:

• portable sheds
• livestock equipment
• feeders and waterers
• arena equipment
• tractors
• generators
• dock equipment
• boat lifts
• fuel tanks
• aircraft equipment
• security systems
• gates
• movable fencing
• appliances in secondary structures

If something is important to the purchase, it should be addressed explicitly rather than assumed.

Financing May Work Differently

Specialty property can create additional challenges for lenders and appraisers.

Potential issues include:

• unusually large acreage
• multiple residences
• agricultural improvements
• commercial activity
• mixed-use property
• unconventional construction
• substantial outbuildings
• limited comparable sales
• income-producing components

Ask lenders about the specific property type early.

The fact that a buyer qualifies for a particular loan amount does not guarantee that every specialty property will qualify under the same program.

Appraisal Can Be More Complicated

A suburban home may have dozens of reasonably comparable nearby sales.

A 40-acre equestrian estate with an indoor arena may not.

Neither may an aviation home with a private hangar or a waterfront property with unusual frontage.

Appraisers may need to expand geographically or make significant adjustments.

That does not automatically make an appraisal unreliable, but it does make understanding the comparable properties and adjustments more important.

Know What You Can Change

Many specialty buyers purchase with future improvements in mind.

Before assuming those plans are feasible, investigate them.

Examples:

• building another barn
• adding an arena
• constructing a hangar
• extending a dock
• digging a pond
• clearing timber
• adding another residence
• subdividing acreage
• operating a business
• adding livestock
• improving a runway
• installing additional utilities

The right time to discover that a planned improvement is prohibited is before the purchase.

The Agent Matters More When the Property Gets More Complicated

There is no universal “specialty property agent.”

The person who understands equestrian estates may know very little about aviation property.

A productive waterfront agent may rarely handle large land tracts.

A strong rural land specialist may not routinely work with luxury residential buyers.

The question is not whether an agent is generally successful.

The better question is:

Does this person understand this kind of property, in this market, for what I intend to do with it?

Ask prospective agents about:

• experience with the property type
• familiarity with the local market
• previous similar transactions
• common problems they see
• relevant inspectors and specialists
• local land-use issues
• how they evaluate specialty improvements
• what they believe should be investigated before closing

A knowledgeable agent should be able to identify questions you had not thought to ask.

Build the Due Diligence Team Around the Property

Depending on what you are buying, that team may include:

• real estate agent
• attorney
• title professional
• surveyor
• home inspector
• structural engineer
• environmental consultant
• insurance agent
• lender
• appraiser
• septic professional
• well specialist
• contractor
• equestrian facility professional
• marine contractor
• aviation specialist
• forester
• agricultural consultant

You may not need all of them.

The property should determine the team.

A Simple Rule for Specialty Property

The more important a feature is to your reason for buying the property, the less you should assume about it.

If you are buying because of the acreage, investigate the acreage.

If you are buying because of the runway, investigate the runway.

If you are buying because of the waterfront, investigate the waterfront.

If you are buying because you can keep horses there, verify that you can actually keep horses there in the way you intend.

That sounds obvious.

It is also where many expensive mistakes begin.

Looking for a Specialist?

Field & Specialty is built around a simple premise:

Not every property should be handled like a standard residential transaction, and not every real estate professional is the right fit for every property.

If you are buying or selling equestrian, aviation, waterfront, land, rural, recreational, or another specialized property, tell us what you are looking for and where.

We will help connect you with a real estate professional who has the experience to handle your specific needs, property type, and market.

Dalton Barron
NextHome Bayou Pines
Jeremy Jones, Broker/Owner
416 N. Pine St.
DeRidder, LA 70634
C.337.764.1754
O.337.202.1018
Licensed by the LREC
Each office is independently owned and operated.
Equal Housing Opportunity