What should I check before buying a home on acreage in Lucas?

• Many acreage properties in Lucas are on septic. The city requires Collin County Development Services approval for septic on new homes, additions and buildings with plumbing.
• Shops, detached garages and barns need a city permit above a certain size. If you plan to build one, check before you buy.
• A pool on a septic property needs the county's stamp in addition to the city permit.
• An agricultural valuation changes your taxes. If you change the land's use, rollback taxes can come due.
• Flood zone, water, power and internet get confirmed by address, before the offer or during the option period.

In a subdivision, a lot is already settled: city water and sewer, surveyed lots, similar homes to compare. On acreage, many of those items get checked one by one, and each has its own office, its own specialist and its own timeline.

None of that is bad news. It's part of buying land. What changes is that it has to be in the plan from the first offer, especially if you're also selling your home and the dates have to line up. That piece is covered in selling and buying at the same time in DFW.

1. The septic system. Ask whether the home is on septic and what kind. Some systems are aerobic and require a maintenance contract. Request any Collin County records and hire a specialist during the option period. A general inspector doesn't evaluate it in depth.
2. Water. Confirm who provides water service to that address, or whether there's a well. A well gets its own inspection, and the water can be tested.
3. Permits on what's already built. If the property has a shop, barn, detached garage, pool or addition, ask whether it was permitted. Lucas requires permits, and with septic the county gets involved too.
4. What you want to build. If your plan is a shop, a pool or a home for your parents, check city rules, deed restrictions and where the septic field sits before you offer. Not everything fits where you picture it.
5. The Collin Central Appraisal District account. Land size, recorded structures and whether there's an agricultural valuation.
6. FEMA's flood map. Pull the official map by address. On a large tract, part of the land can be in a flood zone even when the house isn't.
7. The survey. It shows where the property starts and ends and any easements, meaning someone else's right to use part of the land, like the electric provider.
8. Power, gas and internet. Who serves that address. Ask before, not after you move in.

If you want to work through it for a specific property, book 30 minutes with me here.

Some acreage is taxed on the land's capacity to produce rather than its market value. The appraisal district account shows both values. If you buy and keep the agricultural use, ask the district what you need to file as the new owner. If you buy to live there and the land leaves agricultural use, the tax changes, and rollback for prior years may come due.

Who pays that rollback in a sale is covered in what the rollback tax is in Texas and who pays it. And if the land sits outside city limits, it's worth reading what the ETJ is in Texas too.

It's one of the most common moves I see: a family that has spent years in a subdivision and now wants room. The plan sounds simple, but the clock on an acreage purchase runs differently from the clock on your sale.

• Inspections take longer. Septic, well, outbuildings and sometimes a new survey.
• The appraisal can take longer. The appraiser needs similar properties that have sold, and with acreage there are fewer to compare, so they may search farther out.
• The loan may have rules about the land. Not every lender treats multi-acre properties or outbuildings the same way. Your lender confirms what applies.

So when you sell your home to buy acreage, the closing date on your sale gets set with all of that in mind. Otherwise, the day you hand over the keys, the new place still isn't ready to close. The options for avoiding that are at sell and buy.

• Asking for the same option days as a subdivision home. With septic, a well and outbuildings, you need more specialists and more days. Ask for them in the offer.
• Assuming everything built was permitted. It used to be build first, ask later. Today it pays to ask, because an unpermitted shop or addition can complicate insurance or a future sale.
• Planning the pool or shop without locating the septic field. The field takes up space, and you don't build on top of it.
• Budgeting taxes off the seller's bill. If they have an ag valuation or exemptions you won't, your bill will differ.
• Checking only the house on the flood map. On a large tract, look at the whole property, especially if you plan to build.

Picture a family selling their subdivision home in McKinney and wanting acreage in Lucas: room to breathe, a shop for one of them and, someday, a pool.

They find a home they like with an old barn. Before the offer, we check: the home has an aerobic septic system with a maintenance contract; water comes from a local provider; the appraisal district shows no agricultural valuation; and on FEMA's map, a back corner of the land touches a flood zone, far from the house.

The offer asks for enough option days for a septic specialist and for a contractor to see whether the barn can become a shop. The specialist marks the septic field, which shows the family the pool fits on the other side. They buy knowing what they can build and where, with the sale of their current home lined up so they move once.

That's an illustration, not a real client. But that's how you buy land without surprises.

• Septic records and the maintenance contract, if it's aerobic.
• Who provides water, or the well report.
• Permits on existing structures, from the City of Lucas.
• City rules and deed restrictions for what you want to build.
• The Collin Central Appraisal District account.
• FEMA's map for the whole tract. How to read it: the flood map almost nobody checks.
• The Lucas page: Lucas.

Do homes in Lucas have septic systems?

Many acreage properties in Lucas are on septic. The City of Lucas requires septic approval from Collin County Development Services for new homes, additions and buildings with plumbing. Before you offer, confirm whether the home is on septic and request its records.

Do I need a permit to build a shop or a barn in Lucas?

Above a certain size, yes. The City of Lucas requires a permit for accessory buildings such as shops, detached garages and barns, and if they include plumbing, the county's septic approval too. Check city rules and deed restrictions before you buy.

Can I put a pool on a septic property in Lucas?

The city requires permits for pools and pool fences, and on a septic property the permit also needs Collin County's stamp. That's because the pool can't go where the septic field is.

How do I know if a Lucas property has an agricultural valuation?

The Collin Central Appraisal District account shows both market value and productivity value. If both appear, there's a special valuation, and changing the use can trigger rollback taxes.

What inspections does a home on acreage need?

Beyond the general inspection, you'll usually want a septic specialist, a well inspection if there's a well, and a look at any detached structures. Ask for enough option days to cover all of it.

If you're looking at a home on acreage in Lucas, or selling yours to move to one, let's go over what that land comes with before you make an offer. Let's talk for 30 minutes about your situation, not houses: veronicayeary.com/en/book.

Call or text 469-441-8890 · veronica@veronicayeary.com

Veronica Yeary, Realtor®, CRS · ABR · SRS · CIPS, All City Real Estate DFW.