03-28-10

Look Before You Leap

While the prospect of buying land is exciting and while you may just want to snap up the first piece of gorgeous Washington land you see, it’s more prudent to hold your horses and evaluate what you’re really acquiring. Purchasing land is an agreement—one that is important we all respect. We become stewards of the land and are charged with protecting it.

Before you buy, learn as much as you can about the climate and threats such as erosion and flooding, seismic activity, and history of forest fires in the area. These questions are not meant to scare you away from the idea of investing in Washington, but to help you better understand your investment. For example, the Pacific Northwest has a reputation for rain, yet while Washington receives an annual rainfall of approximately 27.6 inches, there are a myriad of other regions in which rainfall is nearly double that (see: The South).

All these factors will help dictate what you should build and where you should build it. Learning as much as possible about the area will inform how you should construct the foundation of your home/barn. When building, we must be careful we’re selecting, for example, the correct septic tank for the topography and soil. Once you learn the facts you are free to begin serious contemplation about the pros and cons of investing in Washington. An investment, you may come to decide, is well worth your while.