Buying Commercial Land in Williamson County: What Due Diligence Actually Costs and How Long It Takes
Most land deals in Central Texas don't die on price. They die in the feasibility period, over utilities, detention, floodplain, or an access point TxDOT won't approve. Here's the real checklist, the real timeline, and what to negotiate before you sign.
Land looks like the simplest thing you can buy. No roof, no tenants, no HVAC. Just dirt and a price per acre.
It is the hardest. A building tells you what it is. Raw land only tells you what it might be, and finding out costs money you don’t get back if the answer is no.
Most land deals I see fall apart in the feasibility period. Almost never over price.
The five questions that kill deals
Before you think about price per acre, get answers to these. In this order.
Where is the water and wastewater, and who owns it? Not “is it nearby.” Who holds the CCN, what is the line size at your frontage, is there capacity left in it, and what does the provider charge for impact fees. In fast-growing parts of Williamson and Bell counties, a line can run past your property and still have nothing left to give you. That answer comes from the utility provider in writing, not from the seller.
How do you get in and out? If the property fronts a state highway or a frontage road, TxDOT controls the driveway. Spacing rules, turn lanes, deceleration requirements. A permit that gets denied, or approved with a $200,000 turn lane attached, changes the whole deal. On a county road, you’re dealing with the county, and the standards still apply.
Where does the water go? Detention is the line item buyers underestimate most. Depending on the jurisdiction and the impervious cover you’re planning, detention can eat a meaningful share of a small site. On a two-acre pad, that’s the difference between a deal and a pass.
What does the floodplain map say, and is it current? Pull the FEMA map, then ask whether a study is pending. Maps get revised. A revision can take buildable land off the table after you close.
Who has the mineral and surface rights? In Texas the mineral estate is dominant. If it’s been severed and someone else holds it, they may have surface access rights that outrank your site plan. Your title commitment will show it. Read Schedule B.
What it costs to find out
Budget for real work in the feasibility period, not a drive-by:
- ALTA survey
- Phase I environmental site assessment
- Geotechnical borings
- Civil engineer’s feasibility review, including utility capacity and detention
- Title review by a real estate attorney, not just a title company’s summary
Costs vary widely by acreage and site complexity, so get quotes rather than trusting a rule of thumb. What matters is that it’s real money and you spend it before you know the answer. Which is exactly why the feasibility period has to be long enough to actually complete the work.
Negotiate the time, not just the price
Here is where buyers give away leverage. They fight hard on price per acre, then accept a 30-day feasibility period because the seller asked for it.
Thirty days does not get you a geotech report and a utility will-serve letter. It gets you a scramble and a bad decision.
What to push for:
- Feasibility period measured in real weeks. Long enough for the slowest item on your list, which is usually the utility provider or the survey.
- Extension options with earnest money going hard in stages. The seller gets certainty, you get time, and your money goes non-refundable in pieces you can live with.
- A contingency for a specific approval if the deal depends on one. Zoning change, plat, driveway permit, whatever it is. Name it.
- Seller cooperation language. You will need the seller to sign applications as owner. Get that obligation in the contract.
The price is the headline. The timeline is the deal.
Unrestricted is not the same as easy
“No zoning” shows up in a lot of Central Texas land listings, and it’s a genuine advantage. It is not the same as no rules.
Outside city limits you may still be inside an ETJ, which brings subdivision and platting requirements. County development rules apply. On-site septic has its own permitting path through the county. Utility providers set their own terms. A deed restriction from a prior owner can bind you regardless of what the county allows.
Unrestricted means the use isn’t dictated. It does not mean you can skip the process.
Match the site to the buyer
Different land buys the same way but sells very differently:
Frontage pad sites sell on visibility, traffic count, and whether the access point works. Small acreage, highest price per acre, and the driveway permit decides everything.
Development tracts sell on utilities and entitlement path. A buyer here is underwriting time as much as dirt. See 7415 Burleson Manor Rd, 15.06 unrestricted acres in Manor, for what that profile looks like on the Tesla corridor.
Industrial and flex land sells on truck access, power, and site geometry. Ten acres with good approach beats fifteen acres you can’t turn a trailer in. Triad Business Park in Florence is that kind of site.
A buyer for one is usually not a buyer for the others, and pricing a tract against the wrong comp set is how sellers sit for a year.
The short version
Spend the money in feasibility. Negotiate for enough time to spend it properly. Get utility answers in writing from the provider. Assume the access point is a real risk until TxDOT or the county says otherwise.
Land rewards patience and punishes assumption.
If you’re looking at a tract in Williamson County or the surrounding corridor and want a read before you go under contract, get in touch. Browse current land listings to see what’s on the market now.