How to Find Land for Sale in Jamaica

Buying land and building gradually can be a cheaper route to homeownership. But the big issue is finding a plot you can afford. Let’s discuss how you can find land for sale in Jamaica to build your home.

How to Find Land for Sale in Jamaica

We have explored how to find a property for sale in Jamaica. Read this article about how to purchase a property:

How to Find a Property for Sale in Jamaica

While most of the tips for finding a home for sale apply to land purchase, there are a few differences:

Set the Location

When searching for my land, I had to know where to look. Now, do not narrow down your desired location too much. You need to know the general location (for example, Upper St. Andrew), but don’t write off any specific area within that location. Keep it broad as possible since you don’t know where God will help you find that plot. Be open to all possibilities!

Know Your Criteria

Since you have a broad search area, only your criteria will help you evaluate one plot over the other. You must know the following before you go searching:

• • • Plot Size: How much land do you need? Is it a quarter acre, half an acre, an acre, or more?
    • House Size: While you will likely build your home in stages, keep in mind the final size of your house. Buy a plot that’s big enough to get approval to build the house you desire. The agency that manages building plan approvals restricts you to a certain number of habitable rooms per acre, so plot size matters!
    • Slope: Most residential plots are either upward-sloping or downward-sloping. Flat land is very expensive in Jamaica. Furthermore, if you want a view, guess what? The residential plot will likely be on a hill – so slopes are inevitable. Try to go for plots with a gradual incline, as it’s easier to cut access routes onto them and build a split-level home.
    • Purpose: How do you envision yourself living on this land? Do you need a home garden or not?  Are you all about entertaining? Is there space for parking your car and your guests’ vehicles? Are you going to have tenants living on the property with you? Think carefully about how you will use your property.
    • Amenities: Few persons want to live in the wild and off-grid. Therefore, choose plots with easy access to electricity (look for those JPS poles) and water (keep an eye out for those NWC hydrants). Also, consider the ease of commuting for work, school, church, groceries, and entertainment.

Adopt a Visionary Mindset

You are buying raw land. Nothing will be there, and all of that bush will look scary and unmanageable. Don’t get discouraged! I encourage you to walk by faith and not by sight. Use your mind’s eye to see yourself and your family living on your own land and in your home. “See it” before you see it!

“Search” is Your New Middle Name

You will need to search for your land strategically – and the Internet is a significant part of that process. Consider your land search like another job – you will need to search every day, morning and evening.

You will search the multiple listing service (MLS) on various real estate brokerage websites. Also, search online sites that allow owners to advertise their properties.

Get winning strategies for your property search: Click Here.

Get to the Land ASAP!

Buying land means you must get to various locations to view the plots. Ideally, you want to have a car (or at least have access to one). When a plot comes up on the realtors’ MLS or online, you must move fast!

Contact the listing agent directly to get details on driving to the plot. Or, if you are working with a real estate agent, they can help you get these details. Do NOT wait until the weekend to visit plots! DON’T! Everyone else is waiting to view it on the weekend. You likely won’t need any owner’s permission to view raw land. Just drive to the location and view it after work (but while it’s daylight for maximum visibility).

Become Dora the Explorer

While driving about to view these advertised plots, don’t be in a hurry. Explore!

Drive onto adjacent streets. Look around. Keep an eye out for lots for sale by the owner. These owners will post those “For Sale” signs on their properties, so have your phone ready to capture them. Since you’re in the area, call the numbers listed. Let them know that you saw their sign and want to know the purchase price. While you have them on the phone, try to get the volume and folio to do your due diligence.

Furthermore, driving around will help you get a feel for the place. Are other people building houses in the area? That’s a good indicator of desirability. What home sizes are in the area? Are they well-maintained? All these factors will determine your plot value now and your entire property value in the future.

Ease of Building

Consider how easy it is to get onto the plot. Is there a natural pathway onto the land, or will you need to hire a tractor to cut a driveway onto it? Will you need to go to the extreme of importing rocks and earth to create a driveway onto the plot?

How easy will it be to build on it? Is it very rocky, requiring significant excavation to set the house’s foundation? What’s the setback from the boundaries to build on this plot? If you have a lot of work to prepare the land for building, it will eat deeply into your home construction budget.

Furthermore, you will need to figure out how to store your construction materials and keep them safe from theft and damage from natural elements as you build. Also, consider how close you are to hardware and other building supply stores. Transporting building materials is often quite costly and increases with distance and difficulty to get to the drop-off point.

A Novel Way to Buy Land: NHT’s Build 9 Program

The NHT has developed a new way to buy land as a group of people and build on it. This program allows up to 27 NHT contributors to come together to access loans to buy a single land parcel. However, they must be able to subdivide this plot into 3 (at a minimum) to 9 lots (at a maximum) to build their homes.

The Build 9 Loan program is suitable for eligible contributors who have identified land to purchase but need help to make the purchase. As they join with other contributors (whom they should know quite well), they can get a loan to purchase the land.

Check out the NHT website to learn more about the Build 9 Loan program.

Other Articles in This Real Estate Series

Please check out these other articles for more information on becoming a Jamaican homeowner:

How to Buy a House in Jamaica When You Are Self-Employed

Buying a House in Jamaica? You Need These Pros!

Keep Searching for Land for Sale in Jamaica! Don’t Give Up!

We’ve discussed some helpful criteria about how to find land for sale in Jamaica. Your land search can be a long journey. But don’t give up!

Keep searching for that land to build your family home. It is possible and you will move into your new home. Stay positive!

May Jesus’ blessings, peace, and wisdom be upon us all,

Sophia.