idsman75

A little background here.

I've been in the Army 12 years. I have 8 years left before I can drop any retirement paperwork. I invest heavily in tax-advantaged accounts and taxable accounts with the goal of coming out in the end with enough money to build my dream house on my dream property in Iowa.

I found my dream property. 3.5 acres butted up against prime outdoorsman's paradise. It's located 5 miles down paved road from the nearest town but is in reasonable driving distance from potential employment (population centers). The genleman who owns the land is merely dividing some of the land he already owns. He would basically become my next-door neighbor down the road. He's older and doesn't even use a computer so I've been communicating via email with his son. Based on the market right now, his son thinks this land will still be on the market in May when I'll have a chance to go look at it.

It's raw land. Septic, well, and house will be my responsibility after I finally retire. Electricity will reach that far from town. I figure I can start putting some of the money I had directed towards equity invetments towards real tangible property.

Here's my point of uncertainty that we really didn't cover in the "Principles of Real Estate" class--at least not very in-depth. I gather raw land is tough to finance and I don't want to stick 100% up front right now. The owner apparently wants to sell this via some type of owner-financing contract.

Are there any concerns, pitfalls, common errrors and such when dealing with this type of financing? What questions should I be asking the seller if I want to purchase the land after I see it? Apparently it is geologically suitable for building a residence considering that he lives right next door.

Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you.