A neighbor with a 40,000 SF lot is selling the lot. The back side of his lot line is the back side of my lot line. I have always wanted another 50' of my backyard so I am thinking that is about 5000 SF. Is it possible to make an offer to buy that 50' from his lot does that require him to split his lot into a big piece and a tiny piece first? How would one go about doing this if it is even possible?
Thanks in advance,
There was a similar situation here selling out an old railroad right of way. One neighbor bought out a 3 block strip that touched his property. He sold the other parcels to each owner along the way. He sold at a modest profit to each owner. He allowed that his profit paid for his lot with a generous bonus, though he had to wait over two years to sell all the lots. ______________________________ Keep the whole world singing . . . . DanG (remove the sevens) snipped-for-privacy@7cox.net
Check with the neighbor to see if he is interested and then check with the town for the details of if it's possible and if so how to do it. Issues in particular are minimum lot size i.e. he can't make the bigger piece he is selling smaller than the minimum and the likely need for a survey which will cost something.
Another other issue will be whether the reduced lot size will be detrimental to it's saleability which his real estate agent should be able to tell him. This type of arrangement is fairly common with larger lots or several acres and up, but I don't know about sub acre lots. Might be best to just buy the whole thing.
Some years back I purchased two fairly large lots from one seller who had originally split the lot thinking it would be easier to sell that way. The town tax assessor didn't even blink (much less charge me anything) and updated their records back to a single lot which actually reduced the property tax.
Pete C.
Sure, talk to him. Comes down to money. To make the transaction, you will probably need some survey work and a new plat, some paperwork for the town, re-write of the deeds.
As far as the seller, he may make more by selling you a piece of the lot and selling the rest at the same asking price if it a good location. Or it may make the lot less desirable as the new smaller dimension. Many local factors for the market determine that sort of thing.
You can also buy the entire lot and they subdivide and sell it yourself. That is done all the time. Considerations though, are minimum lot sizes for housing in the town, water and sewer locations, any rights of way or easements, etc.
You'd have to talk to two different people - the seller to see if he's interested and someone in the municipality to see what the rules are. Around here, splitting a lot is call severing and a severance has to be approved. That is due to maintaining minimum lot sizes, local zoning regulations etc.
It is possible that there is an allowance between his property and yours that you don't know about. If that allowance is under municipal control, you won't be able to do much unless the municipality is willing to permit you to go over the allowance.
It all depends on what the laws are in your area.
If there are no legal hurdles, then the advice others gave is what stands between you and a bigger back yard. Oh, and the price.
Mike
Around here, the plat and the deeds don't always match. Quite common to see parcels that include 'lot X of subdivision Y, and the southerly half of lot X+1 of subdivision Y'. Tax parcel records are seperate from plat records and deed records here. Sometimes, it gets so screwed up due to all this, or to some accumulated errors in a bad original plat, that the city or county goes in an does a wall-to-wall resurvey of a subdivision or quarter section, and adjusts all the records to match the lines on the ground. In the descriptions at sale, it then reads 'assessors replat of subdivison Y', etc.
It's a mess, but it still beats metes-and-bounds descriptions, calling on rocks and trees and rivers and references to long-dead owners of neighboring properties.
aem sends...
If you are happy the current owner is happy AND the local authorities are happy it is a go. I would start with the local authorities. Many places have restrictions (they may be part of the deed) to dividing lots. If they do you may be able to get an exception as it will not be creating a new lot, only exchanging ownership of a strip of land from one to another.
You need:
First, see if he's willing to do that. Then check with the town board to see if it's possible; it may not be. Around here, you cannot sell less than an acre of land unless it's being added to a smaller parcel that brings the total to an acre or more. If your'e in a city, the rules are even stricter.
Pop
Depends on where you are. He should be able to sell you a portion of his property but city or county codes may require that he file an application to subdivide that may have to go before a planning or zoning board. They may require that adjacent property owners be notified for comment before they approve.
And yes, a new survey is required and would be filed with the appropriate government tax office.
I would research it with the governing body then go to him armed with all the knowledge of what would have to be done and a willingness to do the leg work if any in addition to your offer for the parcel.
Frank
Even if he's not willing to go through the hassle, check with the town and a real-estate agent. You might be able to buy the whole thing, split off the part that you want, and sell off the rest to recover a fair fraction of your money. (Or, if you've got the energy, build there yourself and rent it out to cover the mortgage).
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.