After you buy land, you will come across the need to clear it and proceed with your investments. This is where you will start wondering how much money you will have to spend out of your pocket to clear the land. Then you can get ready with finances and proceed with clearing your land without a problem.

The cost that you have to bear in order to clear a piece of land varies depending on multiple factors. On average, it would usually cost around $1.30 to $2 for you to clear one square foot of land. If you are clearing a heavily forested land, you will have to spend around $3,000 to $6,000 for clearing one acre. I f there aren’t too much of trees on the land, you will only have to spend around $500 to $2,500 to clear it. However, you should also understand that the cost of clearing your land would rely on the topography of the ground and how easy it is to access the site that you want to clear as well.

Factors that affect the cost of clearing land

There are multiple factors that impact the overall cost of clearing land. Here’s a quick overview of those factors. You may take a look at these factors and proceed with clearing your land. Then you will be able to end up with getting a realistic understanding about the cost to clear your land.

  • Equipment needed

The cost of clearing land would vary depending on the equipment that you wish to get in order to clear land as well. If you are not using equipment, you will have to spend a lot of manual effort to get the land cleared. This is not something that we can recommend you doing at all. That’s because it will make you spend a considerable amount of money in the long run, which will make you deal with numerous struggles in the future.

Depending on the density of forest that you have to clear, the overall cost would vary. Some of the best and the most popular equipment that are being used by people for clearing land include excavators, bulldozers, drilling machines, and dump trucks. However, you will be able to avoid some of these equipment depending on the nature of your land. For example, if you don’t have to deal with any rocks when clearing land, you can refrain from getting drilling machines. No matter what, these are considered as heavy duty equipment and you will have to spend a considerable amount of money out of your pocket to rent them.

  • Accessibility of your land

Accessibility of your land would result in the overall cost of clearing it as well. Some of the lands are not accessible at all. If your land is not that accessible, you will have to spend more money on clearing it. On the other hand, you need to understand that areas located closer to electrical work and pipes are more likely to lead you to damages. Hence, you should think about refraining from purchasing such land that is available for sale.

  • Size of your land

The overall size of your land is an obvious factor that determines the overall cost of clearing it. if you have to clear a bigger piece of land, you will have to spend more money on it. However, you shouldn’t ignore the forest density. For example, your land can be big, but it can have less wood. Then you will not have to spend too much of money on it, when compared to the cost of clearing a small plot of land that contains thick shrubs as well as wood.

  • Required permits

You will need to obtain special permits to proceed with clearing a land. These permits would also determine the overall cost that you have to bear when you try to clear your land. For example, you will have to get HOA approval for clearing the land. You should never ignore those expenses because you will end up with surprises because of them.

Apart from these most prominent factors behind the cost of clearing land, you will have to deal with numerous other factors as well. For example, soil erosion and asbestos removal of your land would cost you to spend money for clearing. You need to make sure that you get in touch with an expert to do a survey of your land. Then you will be able to understand the nature of work that has to be done when clearing the land. Based on this, you can also create a list of tasks that you should do when clearing the land. It will eventually help you to figure out how much money you should be allocating to proceed with clearing your land.

How much do I need to spend out of my pocket to clear one acre of land?

Let’s deep dive into the cost of clearing one acre of land. Based on that, you can make sure that you are ending up with a more realistic calculation on how much you will have to spend to clear your land. This is where we will focus on the condition of your land and tell you how much you will have to spend on cleaning it.

Here are some of the factors related to the condition of land, which will determine the cost of clearing up an acre.

  • Bush removal

If your land is a bushy one, you will have to spend more money in clearing it. That’s because removing all those bushes from the land is going to cost you money. The task will be more complex than just clearing a land that has light bush density. It is true that no heavy equipment is needed to clear a land that is filled with bushes. However, people who are working on the clearing task will have to deal with a large number of bushes, which is going to cost more time.

In some of the lands, you will only be able to see a small overgrowth of bushes. When you have such a land, you will not have to spend too much of money for clearing. For example, it is possible for you to clear the land with light bushes for under $400.

  • Clearing trees

Depending on the number of trees that exist in your land, you will have to spend more money in clearing it. In fact, tree removal is going to cost more money than you assume. In some of the instances, you will have to spend around $200 to $400 for removing a single tree. This varies depending on the size of the tree. However, you may be able to consider this as a good investment. That’s because you will be able to sell the tree that you are cutting down for timber. It will help you to get profitable returns out of your land as well.

If the trees are fallen, there is no need to spend lot of money to remove them. However, you will still have to spend a lot of money to remove the trees. In case if your land is a heavily forested one, you will have to spend around $2,500 to $7,000 per acre to clear that. However, the cost of clearing a lightly forested land would be only around $1,500 to $3,000 per acre.

  • Clearing the rocks

In some of the instances, you can find rocks in your land. You cannot keep these rocks and proceed with developments. This is where you will come across the need to remove all the rocks that you can see on your land. This is where you will have to do some drilling and construction work. Due to the same reason, you will have to spend more money on clearing it.

For example, you will have to spend around $5 to $10 for clearing one linear foot of the rocks. You can multiply that from the extent of rocks that you need to be removed from your land. Based on that, you can get a clear picture about the overall cost of clearing a land that is filled with rocks.

However, you should also understand that the cost of clearing a land with rocks would further vary depending on the hardness of the rocks and the nature of soil that you can find. In certain instances, you will have to spend more money to get high-end drilling equipment to drill the rocks. This might increase the cost.

  • Land grading

After purchasing land, most of the people will need to go ahead with preparing land. That’s because it is quite difficult for you to find land that is flat. You should be taking this land preparation cost into consideration as well. In general, you will have to spend around $100 to $200 on grading one cubic yard of land. However, there are few more factors that can create an impact on this cost. For example, the level of erosion control that is needed for the land would increase the price.

Land grading is something that you shouldn’t be ignoring. That’s because you do land grading with the objective of stabilizing the soil. On the other hand, the process of land grading will be able to help you to strengthen the weak areas of your land. This would also include the process of mixing soil taken from different parts of the land. It is better if you can learn more about soil stabilization before you go ahead with it. Then you can understand how much money you should be spending on that.

How to save money when you clear land?

As you can see, there are numerous expenses that you will have to bear when clearing a piece of land. If you are not in a position to spend that much of money, you will start looking for a cheaper alternative to proceed with clearing your land. Here are a couple of options that you can follow in order to cut down the cost of clearing your land.

  • Follow DIY clearing

DIY clearing is something that you can follow on your own to proceed with clearing your land. If your land is a small one and if there isn’t a dense forest, you may think about clearing it on your own. However, it is better if you can rent out the appropriate equipment needed for clearing your land. If you feel that you can’t do that on your own, you will be able to get the help of another person as well.

  • Sell timber

As mentioned earlier, you will be able to sell the trees that you cut down in your land for timber and earn an income for it. You will then be able to use that expense to cut down the expenses of clearing your land. This is a proven method available for you to reduce the overall cost of clearing your land. There are numerous timber companies that are willing to clear the land for you. But you will have to provide timber for the company in return for free. If you find this as a good deal, you may go ahead with it. However, this method will only work if you are having highly valuable trees in the land that you buy.

Final words

Instead of clearing the land on your own, it is always better to get the help of experts. They come along with the right tools and expertise, which will help you to get the job done within the shortest possible time. Hence, you are strongly encouraged to look around for the professional land clearing experts and get assistance needed for clearing your land. Based on that, you can make sure that you are not spending your time unnecessarily to clear the land on your own.


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