2025 Fall Homeland | A Buyer’s Checklist

A few core principles hold true when it comes to buying real estate. With the help of longtime rancher and real estate broker, JD Hewitt, Tri-State Livestock News brings you a Buyer’s Checklist to consult at the time of your next real estate purchase.  

✅ Get Your Financial House in Order 

“You’re going to need a good relationship with your lender,” said Hewitt. “That’s a conversation you need to have up front.”  

“Be realistic about what your capacity is and have your plans made. I mean, they all change. Markets can change and things can happen, but take a long-term view and have a realistic approach in mind.” 

✅ Do Your Homework 

Hewitt Land Company deals in both private and auction sales. The context of both vary. Private purchases give more flexibility for closing, but auctions require a hard and fast deal on the spot. 

“There’s no backing up. When you come to buy it at auction, you need to have had your due diligence studied,” said Hewitt.  

While most realtors will disclose all information they have about a property before the sale, they may not know every intricacy, especially in the case of an estate auction. Required zoning or platting, water rights, and other crucial information is the responsibility of the buyer. 

Every county has a planning and zoning commission, should they need to be consulted over property uses.  

Surveying can be variable, depending on how the auction is to be conducted. 

“Especially in an auction situation, we normally will address in the terms and conditions whether the property will be surveyed or not, or whether it has an existing survey. Most farm and ranch properties won’t be surveyed. They’ll sell by legal description, but at an auction, we may offer property in multiple tracts or as a unit, so we don’t know ahead of time how that’s going to sell. We don’t do surveying preemptively. If it sells in tracts and it can’t be legally described, then we would sell subject to a survey, but that’s rare,” said Hewitt. 

Building inspections are part of a buyer’s “due diligence,” according to Hewitt. “Most auctions don’t provide a building inspection. Your agreement on a building inspection really is between whoever buys or orders the building inspection and the guy that does the work, and they don’t come with a warranty of any kind.” 

✅ Find a Path Forward 

“Don’t be afraid to be creative,” said Hewitt. “If you have a desire to own real estate, usually there’s a way. And so don’t be afraid to lean into it some and figure out what you can do.” 

For the young producer, Hewitt recommends looking into the the USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) Beginning Farmers and Ranchers Loan.  

“It used to be [the FSA] would not consider buying property at auction. That wasn’t in their wheelhouse. But they have apparently shifted gears on that. We’ve sold some property at auction that people have financed through FSA,” said Hewitt.  

The Young and Beginning and Development Fund through Farm Credit Services of America is another option, as well. 

“Don’t be afraid to ask questions and demonstrate your interest. There’s usually a path forward.”