How do I properly research a parcel of land?

County courthouse, office of the assessor, or ask the people there where to go next. Fun!

Hire a title company and get an abstract of title, which will give you a legal history of the parcel of land.

On the web you can see sales history. Just go to the property assessors/appraisers website for the county. Should be a .gov address.

If it is a low lying area you can get hsitory on flooding. If it is zoned commercial there will be an assumption you are an educated buyer. Residential there are more laws to protect you, but it is still buyer beware.

A real estate lawyer can help you get information. Is it going up for auction? Possibly there is already a sellers disclosure prepared for review.

Also check with the EPA to make sure it’s not on the environmental waste site list.

Ask neighbors / locals if there is anything you should know. A lot of land research depends on its use. Do you need it to perk (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Percolation_test)? Are you going to need to pull some permit later which will be denied? Follow through the process of what will come next after you buy it and look for problems.