Someone wants to buy or lease your land for a data center. The price sounds promising. But the terms around it can be just as important as the number.
These twelve questions can help you prepare for a conversation with an independent local attorney. The right terms depend on your property, the project, and local law. This guide is not legal or appraisal advice.
For sourced location context before that meeting, you can review a $19 Site Basics report. It is a screening tool, not a grid-capacity commitment or property valuation.
Noise and light limits
Cooling equipment, generators, construction work, and security lighting can affect land you keep or nearby homes. The agreement should say which impacts the developer must address, during both construction and operation.
What to ask: Are there measurable noise limits, lighting standards, setbacks, and a way to enforce them?
Water use and responsibility
Water needs depend on the facility and its cooling design. A contract should not leave water sources, permitted withdrawals, monitoring, or responsibility for impacts to guesswork.
What to ask: Where will water come from, who secures the rights and permits, and what limits or monitoring apply?
Unused land and expansion rights
An option or purchase can cover more land than a project initially needs. If part of your property might remain unused, clarify what happens to it rather than assuming you can get it back.
What to ask: Can unused acreage be released or bought back, when, and at what price?
Infrastructure costs
Power, water, drainage, and road work can be expensive. Do not rely on a verbal promise about who pays for extensions, upgrades, or ongoing maintenance.
What to ask: Which party pays for each connection, upgrade, permit, and maintenance obligation?
Road and access damage
Construction traffic can affect driveways, private roads, and access to retained land. Public-road repair obligations may require separate arrangements with local authorities.
What to ask: Who documents the road condition before work starts, repairs damage, and keeps your remaining land accessible?
Easements on land you keep
Utility lines, water pipes, fiber, and access roads may require easements. Their location, duration, and allowed uses can affect future plans for your property.
What to ask: Where are all proposed easements shown, how long do they last, and how is each one compensated?
Confidentiality restrictions
A confidentiality clause can limit whom you talk to about an offer. You should be able to get independent legal, appraisal, tax, and financial advice before making a decision.
What to ask: Does the clause explicitly permit discussion with your advisers and any disclosures required by law?
Time for independent due diligence
A developer's analysis is not a substitute for your own appraiser, surveyor, attorney, or other advisers. Make sure deadlines leave enough time to review the documents and the property.
What to ask: Can you obtain independent advice and an appraisal before a binding deadline or closing?
Option term and expiration
An option may reserve your land for months or years without requiring a purchase. The duration, extension payments, and what happens if it expires all matter.
What to ask: What is the firm expiration date, what is paid for extensions, and when does the land become free again?
Transfer to another buyer
The developer may want to assign the agreement to another company. That can change who you deal with, even if the agreed terms stay the same.
What to ask: Can the contract be assigned, must you be notified, and who remains responsible for outstanding promises?
Taxes, fees, and holding costs
The headline price is not your net proceeds. Taxes, assessments, closing costs, legal fees, and costs incurred while an option is open can change the outcome.
What to ask: Who pays each tax, fee, and carrying cost, and when are those amounts due?
Site condition and restoration
An 'as-is' clause, construction obligations, and site-restoration language do different things. Read them together so you know who is responsible for damage, cleanup, or unfinished work.
What to ask: What condition must the property be left in if the project stops, and who funds restoration?
Before you go - a quick checklist
Save or print these questions and review them with your own advisers before you sign.
- Noise and lighting standards cover construction and operation
- Water sources, rights, limits, and monitoring are clear
- Unused land has a clear release or buyback path
- Infrastructure costs are allocated in writing
- Road damage and access responsibilities are covered
- Every easement is mapped, limited, and compensated
- Confidentiality allows independent advice
- There is time for appraisal and legal review
- The option has a firm end date and extension terms
- Assignment and continuing obligations are defined
- Taxes, fees, and carrying costs are allocated
- Site condition, cleanup, and restoration are addressed
Know your location before the next call
For $19, a LandownerIntel Site Basics report brings together a screening score, nearby mapped grid infrastructure, and water and climate source details. It does not review your contract, determine land value, or tell you whether an offer is fair.
Get your $19 LandownerIntel reportEducational information only. A qualified local attorney should review any actual agreement before you sign.