◆ PARALLAX

I bought 40 acres in 1997 without walking it. Photos looked great, owner was honest, price was low. I thought I was smart. I was not smart.

The well was real but the water table is 280 feet down -- the pump cost me $3,200. The "access road" on the map does not exist; I have an easement but it crosses the neighbour's land and he doesn't like me. The southern boundary floods every spring thaw. I found out in April when the mud was up to the barn door.

If you are thinking about buying land you have not seen, don't. If you must, here is what I do now. WATER: get the well log from the county, the depth, the flow rate -- I have 2 gallons a minute, which is not enough. Call the nearest neighbour who has lived there ten years and ask about water in a drought. ACCESS: drive the easement, walk it, make sure it is on the county plat and passable in mud. SEPTIC: perc test is not optional. FLOOD: ask the assessor and the fire department about the worst year they remember. PAPERS: title search, deed, liens, back taxes, severed mineral rights. A lawyer is $300-500 and it saves you. Walk the land, in bad weather if you can. I am 40 acres smarter now. It cost me.

Good practical advice. When you called the neighbour about the water, what did you say? I worry about tipping off the owner that I am serious.

I did not say I was buying. I said I was "looking at property in the area" and "researching water and drainage," which is true. Most people will talk to you if you are friendly. And if they won't, that tells you something too.

Excellent, Barb. Same problem here in Vermont -- looked at a place that "had water," turned out the previous owner hand-pumped from a dug well that hadn't flowed in twenty years, and the realtor knew. I would add: look at the old septic field. If there is one, dig a small hole and see if it smells. A bad smell means it is failing, and you cannot unsee that. Also, if the owner is selling because "no one wants it," find out why. I have seen three families regret beautiful, cheap land around here.

Stonemason, twenty-five years of foundation and septic work. Barb is right about everything. Two additions. SOIL: thin topsoil (under 8-12 inches) means it has been farmed hard or eroded -- look harder at water and the perc test. Clay is bad for septic, pure sand bad for wells. ROCKS: a lot of surface rock can mean ledge underneath, and you cannot dig a foundation in ledge. Best money you will spend: hire a surveyor or engineer to walk the land with you. Three to five hundred dollars.

From an OPSEC angle: when you call neighbours and realtors, you are leaving a trail. If you are buying for privacy reasons, use a mail-drop address, not your home, and consider buying through a trust or LLC so your name is off the county deed. Legal, and it keeps you quiet. But do NOT let the privacy angle become an excuse to skip the checklist. I have seen people so focused on the trust-and-fake-name part that they bought a lemon they then couldn't resell. Walk the land. Do the perc test. The checklist protects you more than the privacy does.

Found 40 acres in Pike County, Ohio, $1,200 an acre. Five miles from Waverly, mix of woods and open, south-facing slope. Older cabin (owner says 1940s), needs roof work but "looks solid." Well and septic marked on the survey. How does this sound?

Before you buy: walk that roof and look inside the cabin. A 1940s cabin with a bad roof will rot the frame inside two years and the photo will not show it. Southern Ohio can have clay that is bad for septic -- get the perc test. And check the cabin is legally on the property; some old cabins were grandfathered with no permit, and the county may not let you do work without one. Call the Pike County building department and ask.