Land for sale in Creek County, Oklahoma.

Raw ground is just the land. There is no water line, no septic, no power to the building site, and often no driveway. Each of those is a separate job, with its own permit or provider, and you pay for all of them on top of the land.

Ground with utilities set has that work done. In local listings, much of the price gap between parcels comes from the water meter, the septic, and the power, not from the dirt. When you compare prices, compare what is in the ground, not just the acres.

Creek County issues no building permits and does no building inspections in unincorporated areas. The one exception is land in the 100-year floodplain, where the county requires a floodplain development permit.

So no county inspector will have looked at a house you buy out here. Ask the seller what was inspected, by whom, and for the paperwork. On a new HUD-code manufactured home, there are two real sign-offs: the build is inspected in the plant before it ships, and the set-up is signed off by a state-certified installation inspector. Each home's page lists both, and publishes the numbers as the paperwork arrives.

Rural water districts serve much of the county. A district hooks you up through a membership called a benefit unit, which gives you one connection.

Here is what catches people. Under Oklahoma law, that membership does not pass to you with the land automatically. Before you close, get it in writing from the district that the unit transfers to you. Also check that the parcel is inside the district, that the district has room for another tap, and who pays to run the line from the meter to the house.

If it's a well: Oklahoma law lets you pump groundwater from your own land for home use with no permit. Home use covers the house, your animals, and watering a garden, orchard, or lawn of up to 3 acres. Past that, you'd need a permit from the Oklahoma Water Resources Board.