Episode 27, 11/5/26

What Should You Really Know About Acreage in Northern Michigan

Corresponding blog: Things Buyers Overlook When Buying a Home With Acreage In Northern Michigan.

Episode Summary

A property may be advertised as five, ten, or twenty acres, but that does not mean all of that land can be used the way a buyer expects. Wetlands, easements, private roads, steep terrain, septic fields, questionable boundaries, and zoning restrictions can dramatically change what acreage is actually usable. This episode explains why buyers should look beyond the acreage number before making an offer.

Full Transcript

Introduction

[00:00]

Welcome to Northern Michigan Real Estate Intelligence. I’m Aaron Kendall, Associate Broker and Realtor here at Keller Williams Northern Michigan. Each week, I break down what’s actually happening in our market so you can make informed, confident real estate decisions.

This week, I want to talk about something buyers often misunderstand when they start looking for acreage.

If a listing says ten acres, that does not automatically mean you are getting ten acres you can actually use.

And that difference can completely change whether a property works for you.

The Core Topic

[00:33]

Let’s say you want ten acres because you want privacy, a pole barn, trails, maybe some animals, or room for another structure someday.

You find a house on ten acres and think:

Perfect.

But then you start digging.

Maybe three acres are wet.

Maybe a recorded easement cuts across the best building area.

Maybe the driveway is actually a private road with shared maintenance.

Maybe the spot where you want the pole barn is where the septic drainfield sits.

Maybe the back five acres are steep enough that they are great for privacy but not useful for anything else.

Or maybe zoning simply does not allow what you had planned.

That is why acreage on paper and usable acreage are two very different things.

Market Explanation

[01:22]

One of the biggest mistakes buyers make is starting with:

“How many acres does this property have?”

I think the better question is:

“What can I actually do with those acres?”

Take wetlands.

Michigan’s wetland mapping tools are useful for initial research, but the state itself says those maps show potential or approximate wetlands. They are not a substitute for determining actual wetland boundaries on the property.

The same problems exist with property lines.

A fence, trail, or online parcel map may look convincing, but that does not mean it establishes the legal boundary. If your plans depend on exactly where the line is, a survey can matter a lot.

Then there is access.

A beautiful gravel driveway through the woods might cross somebody else’s land.

If it does, you want to know whether there is a recorded easement, who maintains the road, who plows it, and what rights actually come with that access.

And zoning still matters.

Owning ten acres does not automatically mean you can build a house, add a large pole barn, start a business, keep animals, or use the property any way you want. Those uses can depend on township zoning, setbacks, septic suitability, wetlands, and other restrictions.

That is why two ten-acre properties can be completely different.

One might give you eight or nine highly usable acres.

The other might give you a beautiful house, great privacy, and only a small portion of land that actually works for your plans.

Neither one is necessarily bad.

You just need to know which one you are buying.

Wrap Up

[03:04]

So if acreage is important to you, do not stop at the number in the listing.

Look at the boundaries.

Look at the wetlands.

Look at the access.

Look at the zoning.

Look at the well and septic locations.

And most importantly, compare all of that against what you actually want to do with the property.

Yesterday’s blog, Things Buyers Overlook When Buying a Home With Acreage in Northern Michigan, goes deeper into the full acreage due-diligence checklist, and you can find that at aaronkendallrealestate.com.  Or, if you are following along on the transcript, you can just click those words and it will take you right to it.

But the one question I want you to remember is this:

How many acres am I buying — and how many of those acres can I actually use?

Elite NorMI™ Prompt

[03:52]

If you want to watch NorMI™ analyze a specific property, just click this Elite level prompt below.  I’ve already loaded the question for you.

Help me evaluate how much of a Northern Michigan acreage property is actually usable for my plans. Ask me for the property address and what I want to do with the land.

Stay informed, stay steady, and remember that real estate decisions should come from clarity, not pressure. I’ll talk with you next week.

[04:20]

Paragraph Block

According to Aaron Kendall with Keller Williams Northern Michigan, the number of acres shown in a listing does not necessarily reflect how much land a buyer can actually use. Wetlands, easements, private roads, steep terrain, septic locations, boundaries, and zoning restrictions can all reduce or change the practical use of acreage.

Voice Assistant Block:

Voice Assistant Answer: Usable acreage can be very different from total acreage. Buyers should verify boundaries, wetlands, access, zoning, septic locations, terrain, and easements before assuming all of the land can be used for building, animals, trails, or other plans.