Most buyers focus on views, acreage, or price and skip the details that actually decide whether you can build the house you want. Working in Columbus and Central Ohio, I see this pattern constantly: someone falls in love with a lot in Franklin or Delaware County, then learns after going under contract that zoning, soil, or utilities make their plan impossible or wildly over budget.
Here are the seven mistakes I see most often, and what to do instead.
Mistake 1: Assuming "Residential Zoning" Means "Ready to Build"
It does not. Zoning may technically allow a home, but setbacks, lot-coverage limits, and overlay districts can drastically shrink your buildable area or require expensive variances before you can even pull a permit. A lot zoned R-1 in Franklin County can still be nearly unbuildable depending on how the parcel sits on the ground.
Before you write an offer, your agent should be pulling the zoning file, checking for overlay districts, and confirming what the buildable envelope actually looks like, not just confirming that a house category is permitted.
Mistake 2: Not Verifying Legal Road Access and Frontage
If you cannot legally and practically access the land, you cannot finance or build on it. This catches buyers on rural or flag lots in Central Ohio more than anywhere else. No deeded access, or insufficient frontage, can make a parcel nearly worthless for building purposes.
Title issues around shared drives, informal paths, or unrecorded easements typically surface only when a lender or title company digs in after you are under contract. You want recorded road frontage or a properly documented easement confirmed before you are locked in, not "the seller said we've always used this lane."
Mistake 3: Skipping Soil, Septic, and Drainage Checks
Soil and water conditions are make-or-break for building in and around Columbus, particularly where public sewer is not available. High water tables, poor percolation, or unstable fill have forced buyers to either abandon projects or pay for expensive engineered foundations and septic systems. Ohio county health departments can deem land unbuildable for a standard home if soils and drainage do not meet requirements.
This step costs a few hundred dollars up front. Discovering the problem after closing costs orders of magnitude more. Coordinate soil tests and health-department review during your due-diligence window, not as an afterthought.
Mistake 4: Trusting Verbal Claims About Utilities
"Water and electric are available at the road" is not the number you need. What matters is exactly where the utilities are, who extends them to your house site, and what that extension costs. In Central Ohio, developers typically pass those costs to the future owner, and they add up.
Basic residential site plans in Ohio can start around $1,500. Add real-world grading, drainage, and utility work and you are well past that. A lot that looks like a deal at $60,000 can jump $20,000 to $40,000 once you price driveway, tree clearing, grading, utility trenching, and tap fees. Get written confirmation on utility locations and ask specifically who pays for the extension.
Mistake 5: Skipping Full Title, Easement, and Restriction Review
The paper attached to the land matters as much as the dirt itself. Undisclosed conservation easements, shared access arrangements, or old utility easements can seriously limit where you can place a home on the lot. In newer subdivisions across Central Ohio, covenants and deed restrictions routinely control minimum square footage, exterior materials, outbuildings, and sometimes the placement of the home on the lot.
Make sure HOA documents, covenants, and easements are reviewed before your inspection and survey contingencies expire, not after. Once those contingencies are gone, you are buying whatever is attached to that title.
Mistake 6: Not Involving a Builder Until After You Have a Lot
Many Columbus buyers hunt for land first and bring a builder in too late. The problem: builders are selective about slopes, access, soil, and minimum home standards. Some parcels simply will not work with a given builder's processes or warranty requirements.
The right move is to make your land purchase contingent on builder approval. Builders catch grading, access, and design issues that buyers and even agents miss. Structuring your offer this way lets the builder perform due diligence and veto a bad lot before you are locked in with a large deposit.
Mistake 7: Assuming "It Looks Fine" Is Due Diligence
The pattern in Central Ohio land deals is almost always the same: buyers assume fine until proven otherwise, then discover the problem after they have committed money. Ohio land resources consistently list skipping due diligence as the top mistake, including failing to check flood maps, prior development attempts, environmental concerns, and zoning compliance.
The City of Columbus zoning and permit process requires site-compliance checks that can uncover setback violations, coverage issues, or unpermitted prior work on the parcel. Buyers who skip these steps and "just wanted a place to build someday" often end up with parcels that need years of variance requests or expensive engineering. Or they sit on a vacant lot indefinitely.
The fix is straightforward: slow down just enough to confirm access, zoning, soil, utilities, title, and builder approval before you wire a deposit. Every one of those items is checkable during a standard due-diligence window if you know what to ask for.
If you are looking at land in Franklin or Delaware County and want to know what the buildable picture actually looks like on a specific parcel, reach out. I am happy to walk through what the due diligence process looks like before you are under contract.
Call or text: 937-239-2919 | Book a call
Adam Geuy, Realtor - NextHome Experience | ABR, SRS, PSA | License #202000794 Each office is independently owned and operated.