Land ownership is something that has become safer for individuals and families, and also continues to be more difficult to accomplish in the United States. These two trends converge in a document, required of all “subdivisions of 100 or more parcels” by the Federal Government. This is commonly known as a Property Report or HUD Filing.

Property Reports are written in fairly strong language, meant to protect the prospective land owner from any lack of information which may be present in the process of acquiring property. They are basically legal documents which disclose everything from building requirements, to facts about drainage, roads, utilities and even are full of information concerning the area in which the property is located.

These reports are, in fact, a wealth of information about your lot and are the perfect resource to draw on when you have questions that need to be answered. If you, for instance, needed information about the school district your property is located in, the report will gladly tell you. If you needed to contact the police department, again you can find that information in your Property Report. Have questions about the tax rate in your area? Yes, even that is explained in your Property Report.

Some properties have protect their owners with covenants meant to ensure property values trend in the positive direction. These will often be summarized in your Property Report, so that the often harder to read C,C&Rs are not required reading. These reports also spell out the timelines of the estimated completion dates for things such as the hard surfacing of roads, implementation of central water systems, and the like.

Keep in mind, that the seller of property is required by law to give you this report during the earnest money deposit and paperwork signing process which immediately follows your choice in a lot within a subdivision. By signing the final page of this document, you state that you have received it and understand that it is your resource for lot-related questions and research as you begin to improve and eventually live on or recreate on your new property.

Our advice is to keep it handy and refer to it often as you come up with questions about your land, as it will save you time and money, offering quick answers without the need to rely on others when unnecessary.