Buying a lot

That's a difficult question to answer without having any first hand knowledge of the property in question and the surrounding area. People purchase property without any inspections all the time. Whether it right or not for you is something only you can decide.

Obviously, you can hire an engineer to do a formal study but since you are asking this question I'm assuming you are concerned about the potential cost. A prudent person would spend the money so they had accurate information about the property befoe making a purchase. Assuming he confirms everything is fine you will have the peace of mind knowing you are getting a buildable piece of land. If he identifies problem areas you can decide if remedies are within your budget or you can decide not to purchase the property. Either way, it's money well spent. It is much better to find out about potential problems before you acquire the property or start to build than have a big surprise for your checkbook after construction begins.

At the very least you should have your builder and/or architect look at the property to get their opinion as to whether or not they would anticipate any problems to build the type of house you have in mind.

Barring that, you have to use your best judgement. For instance, if you are in a low lying area you might want to have soil samples taken to determine if the property has a high water table (read expensive to remedy) or if your lot is on higher ground you might want to check if the ground is workable is it a shallow layer of dirt covering solid rock (another situation that can be costly to remedy). Look at houses in the immediate surrounding area. That will give you some more insight into what problems, if any, you might face during construction.

Good luck.

Thank you for all your tips. The lot is on a hill and the houses surounding it are well sized and typical plantation style. Most all the homes do have tropical gardens with breadfruit etc. some have banans on the foot of the hill. I will ask our relator if he can recommend someone. I do agree an inspection is always a wise move. Right now we only have the realtors word and the surounding properties to give us an idea about the lot.
Iris

I wouldn't take the realtors word on anything. Despite what anyone might tell you, they only have their own best interest in mind i.e. earn a commission on a sale. There is no logical reason for them to tell you anything that will disuade you from closing the deal. I do not mean to imply, in anyway, that realtors are dishonest only that people who are buying property are making a major purchase and getting an expert opinion is well worth the cost. Since you've looked at the surrounding areas you at least know others have built on similar properties - what you need to find out is were there any pitfalls.