1. Legal access
The lot needs frontage on a public road or a recorded easement that a lender and title insurer will accept. Frontage on a state-maintained road is simplest. Private roads and shared driveways are workable but add a legal review. Land with no recorded access is not unbuildable forever, but it is priced for the problem.
2. Sewer, or a septic site
This is the single biggest factor in Union County. Where public sewer is available, lots can be smaller and more homes fit. In most of the county, sewer service is provided by Union County Water, and inside Monroe by the City of Monroe.
Availability has two parts: a line close enough to connect, and treatment capacity. Union County Water publishes the share of each treatment plant's permitted flow that is used or obligated, updated monthly, on its wastewater capacity page. For a specific parcel, it asks you to email the address or parcel ID and the service needed, as described on its developers and builders page.
Without sewer, each home needs a septic system on suitable soil. Union County Environmental Health runs a soil and site evaluation (the applicant provides a backhoe and operator), then issues an Improvement Permit and a Construction Authorization, which is required for a building permit. The county's septic program page lays out the steps, and its fee schedule notes that each residential Improvement Permit evaluation covers a lot of up to three acres. See our septic guide for what a denial really means.
3. Water
Public water from Union County Water or a city system is best. Where lines do not reach, a private well is normal. Wells need their own permit and setbacks from the septic system, which is another reason septic layout matters.
4. Zoning and subdivision rules
Zoning sets minimum lot size, frontage, setbacks and the uses allowed. In Union County the controlling rules depend on where the parcel sits: inside a town (Waxhaw, Weddington, Indian Trail, Monroe, Marvin and others each have their own ordinance), in a town's extraterritorial jurisdiction, or in unincorporated county under the Union County development ordinance. UC Atlas shows the parcel and zoning layers.
If you want to split land, subdivision rules apply too. A small split may be a minor subdivision; more lots may require a sketch plan, road standards and utility review.
5. Flood zones, streams and wetlands
FEMA Special Flood Hazard Areas, stream buffers and wetlands shrink the buildable area and may require permits. Check flood zones on the NC Flood Risk Information System and mapped wetlands on the National Wetlands Inventory. Maps are a starting point; a site visit or delineation confirms.
6. Slope, rock and shape
Steep slopes, rock near the surface and odd lot shapes raise grading, foundation and driveway costs, and can limit septic layout. They rarely kill a lot by themselves, but they change the math.
7. Title
A buildable lot still needs marketable title: clear ownership, no unresolved heirs, and liens that can be paid at closing. The closing attorney confirms this.
We check all seven items before we make an offer, at our cost. Try the quick check below, then send us the parcel.
Tick a few boxes to see where your property stands.
This is a rough screen, not a determination. County environmental health, planning and the utility make the official calls, and we check them for you before making an offer.