Good points overall, but I'd be careful about relying too heavily on local Facebook groups. Sure, there's value in the occasional piece of insider info or heads-up about something sketchy going on nearby—but I've also seen some pretty wild rumors spiral out of control in those groups. People often mean well, but misinformation spreads quickly when emotions and personal biases get involved.
A couple years back, I was looking at a piece of property that seemed perfect—good price, decent location. Someone in a local FB group swore up and down it had drainage issues and flooded every spring. Almost scared me off completely. But after doing some digging myself (county records, GIS maps, talking directly with the county engineer), turns out the flooding claim was exaggerated. The property itself had solid drainage; the flooding had happened once years ago during an extreme weather event and hadn't repeated since.
My point is, while neighbors and online groups can offer useful leads or early warnings, they're also prone to exaggeration or outdated info. I think the best route is still official documentation—GIS maps you mentioned are excellent—and direct conversations with county planning offices or engineers who have actual data rather than anecdotes. Anecdotal stuff can help steer your research direction initially, but I'd caution against putting too much stock into it without verifying first-hand.
Just sharing from experience here...I've learned the hard way that due diligence means getting info straight from official sources whenever possible.
Good reminder about not trusting everything you read online. I've found county offices helpful too, but sometimes their info isn't totally current either. Ever run into discrepancies between official records and what's actually on the ground?
"Ever run into discrepancies between official records and what's actually on the ground?"
Happens more often than you'd think. A few years ago, I was helping a client who bought a decent-sized parcel of land intending to build a retirement cabin later on. All the official county maps and records showed no issues—clear boundaries, proper zoning, the works. But when he finally went out there, turns out a neighbor had built a fence about 15 feet into his property line, and it'd been there long enough that sorting it out became a legal headache. The county maps were outdated, and nobody had bothered to update the records.
Moral of the story: always, always get boots on the ground. If possible, walk the land yourself (or have someone you trust do it) before pulling the trigger. Official records are usually reliable, but they're definitely not foolproof. Better safe than sorry...
That's a good heads-up, thanks for sharing. I'm actually looking at a piece of land now but won't build for a few years... How would you suggest handling neighbors who've kind of "moved in" like that without causing too much friction?
Had a similar situation a few years back when we bought some land but didn't build right away. Neighbors started parking their trailers and even planting gardens on our property, treating it like an extension of their yard. At first, I let it slide, thinking it was harmless and temporary. But when we finally decided to build, things got awkward fast—people acted like we were taking something away from them.
Honestly, the best thing you can do is politely but firmly set boundaries early. Maybe casually mention your plans in conversation or put up a simple fence or signage to mark your property line clearly. Most folks will respect that without drama if you're upfront about it.
Curious though, have you talked to these neighbors yet? Sometimes just a friendly chat can clear things up before misunderstandings snowball...
