Q: I was so surprised to talk to you about buying land and having you be so negative.

I just wanted to buy a little piece of land to hold onto in case I decide to come back to Vashon someday. You lost a sale because now I'm going to work with someone else.

A: You are welcome to work with some other broker or agent, of course. A good percentage of my business has always been land sales and I've worked as a consultant all the way through the building process with many clients. Because of that I want to be sure people are aware of all the limitations and issues of building in rural King County. I also want them to have a firm and realistic understanding of the time and money involved.

It's not at all unusual for a parcel of land to sell every few years as one owner after another comes up against cost issues or building limitations. I don't want that to be the experience of people I work with. Even after disclosing everything I know or can find out about a parcel of land, there can be surprises once the buyers begin their development process.

I always stress to those buying land that they should develop it as soon as possible. Just because you have an approved water system and approved septic design now, does not mean you will get those in the future. I've seen examples of land that even became unbuildable because regulations changed while the owners were not paying attention.

My goal is not to be negative, but rather to be realistic. I have a client right now who will be putting in a much more expensive septic system, a more sophisticated water system, and spending far more on utilities than she would have if she had developed sooner. You should learn all you can about the land and the building process and then develop the property as soon as you can after buying it.