NORTH LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — What appeared to be the perfect place to build a dream home turned into an expensive lesson for one valley woman.
WATCH | North Las Vegas reporter Jhovani Carrillo hears from the woman, who explains the challenges she ran into:
Back in 2019, Janet Revere purchased a small vacant lot near Revere Street and Brooks Avenue in North Las Vegas with plans to build a custom home where she could spend weekends and eventually enjoy for years to come.
"I wanted a custom home, just a little house for the weekend," Revere said.
But after purchasing the property, Revere said she discovered she could not obtain the permits needed to build until critical infrastructure, including water and sewer connections, was installed.
"I got a big surprise with all these requirements," Revere said. "They even wanted me to put the light on, then build the street and everything. It's too much."
Because the property has not yet been developed, the responsibility for installing the necessary infrastructure falls on the developer of the land. In this case, that responsibility belongs to Revere.
While Revere signed property disclosure documents stating there were no existing water or sewer connections to the lot, she believes the challenges and costs associated with developing the property were not made clear enough during the purchase process.
When asked whether she would have purchased the property if she had known about the additional requirements, Revere said she would have walked away.
"Oh, no, no, no. I would just forget about it and invest my money somewhere else," she said.
To better understand what buyers should know before purchasing vacant land, we spoke with local real estate professionals Alla Margaryan and Janaé Rios of Vegas Realty Experts.
Margaryan says both real estate agents and buyers play a role in understanding a property's limitations.
"It's both our due diligence. It's teamwork," Margaryan said. "My job as a real estate agent is to advise them of what I am aware of."
The agents said the cost of extending utilities and installing infrastructure can easily reach tens of thousands of dollars, depending on the property's location and existing services nearby.
"It's really important that you do your due diligence to make sure that all of those costs together are feasible for you," Rios said.
According to Rios, prospective buyers should investigate several factors before purchasing vacant land, including soil conditions, utility access, and the distance to existing water, sewer, gas and electrical infrastructure.
"Soil getting tested. If you have to plumb all the way from where the city or county stopped the plumbing and you have to pick it up from that point to the house, those are the things you have to find out, along with electricity, utilities and gas," Rios said.
Despite her disappointment, Revere hopes her experience serves as a warning to others considering purchasing undeveloped land.
"Make sure you get a good realtor, somebody that you know and trust," she said.
Channel 13 reached out to Revere's realtor for comment but did not receive a response at the time of publication.
