1. Soaring property taxes.

2. High interest rates.

3. liquidity. It may take months or years to dispose of a property at a price you approve. Raw land is harder to sell than income property. Most people buy property to meet a specific, immediate need, not to hold for appreciation.

4. You must be prepared to commit a sizable sum of money to the purchase. It's difficult to obtain much financial leverage.

5. Some forms of property, such as recreational land, are vulnerable to the economic climate. Farmland, for example, has steadily dropped in value throughout the early 1980s. Negative factors in the farmland market include surplus production capacity, rising production costs, high interest rates, and heavy debt loads on many family farms. Production costs and other expenses are increasing. Debt loans on some farms may increase the supply of land on the market because of bankruptcy, foreclosure, and liquidation of assets. These farms are frequently large and highly leveraged. Their operators were often active land speculators during the years of rising land values. These negative factors will tend to limit any increase in land values. High interest rates may make land less attractive than other investments. This will put further downward pressure on land values. Lot buyers can't always count on the increasing value of their purchase or on the seller to complete promised improvements. While, in general, potentially useful land close to population centers has appreciated over the long term, in the short run and in specific regions land may decrease in value. You may find you're unable to use your lot for the purpose intended, that fees and charges associated with the property rise beyond what you expected, and that problems in getting a valid deed may delay legal title to the property.

6. Fraud. The sale of Arizona desert and Florida swampland has a long, colorful history. As this nation developed, the land speculators followed the explorers and missionaries. But it wasn't until 1968 that the consumer won some measure of protection from fraudulent land sales operators. Congress passed the Interstate Land Sales Act. It's a full-disclosure law that requires sellers to register their offering with the Department of Housing and Urban Development and to reveal to prospective buyers facts about the land. HUD doesn't approve or pass on the merits or value of the development. It does try to protect the consumer by assuring access to all the information needed for a sensible, unhurried land purchase. Whether or not you choose to use that information is up to you, Lots may be marketed as sites for future retirement homes, second-home

7.  locations, or campsites. Sales personnel may stress its investment potential. The act requires land developers, promoters, and brokers who sell or lease certain kinds of property within subdivisions to file a Statement of Record with the secretary of HUD. This contains basic factual and legal information about the property, including:

a. Identity of the people who have an interest in a particular lot.

b. A legal description and map of the subdivision,

c. The probable range of prices at which the lots will be offered,

d. The availability of water, sewage, and other facilities and the unusual noise or safety conditions.

e. Identity of any liens, easements, or encumbrances on the property, f. A copy of the developer's deed and articles of incorporation or partnership and a financial statement.