water rights

[James]

Hello everyone,

My wife and I have settled for snohomish county in Washington state as land is cheaper, and I had a question about water rights.

I have been told to make sure to not buy land without it, and other's have told me if I require less than 5,000 gallons a day and am not irrigating acres of land that I dont need them.
any suggestions?

James

[JohnnyJ]

Rights of water, minerals, etc. as they pertain to land ownership varie by degree
from state to state.

The best advice can be obtained from a local attorney who deals in real estate
law (loan closings, titles, abstracts, & properties.)

It is strange to think that you can own the property and not have the right to
use what lies beneath it, but that's the way things are.

good luck

[Troy]

I am not sure about the laws in Washington, but in Oregon the water rights vary-depending on if you have first right, second right, primary right of withdrawal, etc.

The basic thought process you should consider is-what uses will you need? If you are purchasing a couple of acres and will have a garden-your water use will be higher than if you have a small strip of land with just the house. How many people will be drawing on the water table your land is on and what is the recharge rate of the table?

I found a number of interesting things to consider when working with water rights in a book called "Finding and Buying Your Place In The Country" by Les and Carol Scher (on Amazon.com at http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/de ... ce&s=books)

The book talks a great deal about what to look for in land purchases and was a real eye opener for me.

Hope that helps!