Another home selling question-would you?

[DawnM]

Whew, this house sale has so many twists and turns, my head is about to twist all the way 'round!

Anyway,  here is the issue (and we have kind of decided, but may be swayed if someone has some thoughts that would sway us).

I mentioned in my other thread about an easement.   It is a strip of land between our house and the house next door.   It was originally meant to be a road connecting the two parts of the neighborhood.   However, it was never developed (in between the two areas of the neighborhood) so it sits and belongs to no one.

It is .23 of an acre and has been in pre-foreclosure for 3 years (we got a letter before Covid started asking if we wanted to buy it.   The neighbors on the other side of it got the same letter.   We are both interested but can't buy until it is foreclosed on, and with Covid, that pushed everything back.

I tried at that time to contact the owner, but to no avail.

So, fast forward to now, as we are trying to sell.   Our realtor WAS able to contact the courts AND the owner and we have the opportunity to pay the back tax ($400) and land value of $3,000 for the property.   That is $3,400 plus any title and closing, so most likely around $4,000.

It would make our property 1 full acre and the largest in the neighborhood.

If we are staying, we 100% want to do this.   However, the realtor is nudging us to go ahead and get it so it will be a nice selling point.   It would be two parcels but the .23 acre parcel is not buildable, nor is it subject to HOA fees or any of that.   

We are just not inclined to put another $4,000 into this house without raising the cost of the house by $4k.   I just don't think it will be THAT big of a selling point.

However, I also don't want to pass on this and have that be a sticking point.   The whole reason this came up is because three people have commented that they are worried about the easement and what will eventually be built there.   We try to assure them that nothing will be built there, but one family said they might make an offer but it will be with ZERO due diligence because of that strip of property.   

Am I wrong to think that people who are like that will also find other things to gripe about hoping we will drop the price and be desperate?   Or do you think that purchasing that strip would help our sale?   (we can close in a matter of days at the courthouse.).  

And just for the record, we will not be accepting ANY offers without due diligence of at least .5% (standard is 1%).   If we take 0 they could back out after 29 days and walk away with no losses but leave us completely high and dry.

Anyway, thoughts on the purchase of the strip of land?

 

[Carol in Cal.]

Personally I would avoid a place specifically because of that.  It’s very hard to fully research big easements and public land holdings and usage.  And I’m not all the picky, but to me those kinds of issues are impossible to fully flatten so I would walk away.  Because if someone said to me “It will never be built on”, that could be the truth, that could be a surmise, or that could be a lie, and it would be very hard to nail down the truth with certainty.

So in your situation, yes, I would probably buy it.

Edited August 8, 2023 by Carol in Cal.

[Heartstrings]

I bet that easement is what is killing your sale.  I know I have watched WAY to many neighbor disputes on tik tok and you tube over things like that and I would be very hesitant.  Your assurances that no one will build there aren't reassuring because you can't guarantee that.  100% buy it.  Raise the price by $4000 if you feel like you have to, but DO IT!  

Edited August 8, 2023 by Heartstrings

[Kanin]

I would buy the land. Even if there will never be a house built on that land because it's not allowed, as a buyer I'd be wary, like... what could happen on that land if someone else buys it? Junk pile? Place to store cars and equipment? Just a general eyesore? Plus I'd like the additional buffer between neighbors. 

[Corraleno]

I would absolutely 100% buy the land! I agree that the uncertainty about it is likely what's putting off buyers. That sort of thing would definitely make a difference to me.

[Scarlett]

Absolutely buy it. I think that is what is holding up this sale. Nothing else makes sense. 

[Heartstrings]

15 minutes ago, DawnM said:

Am I wrong to think that people who are like that will also find other things to gripe about hoping we will drop the price and be desperate?

I do think you are wrong on that.  Walking away from a house because of a weird easement doesn't necessarily mean that a buyer is nit picky.  That's a huge potential issue that is just smart to walk away from.  Easements are well known to cause be a source of contention between neighbors, and this one being in foreclosure and up for sale would throw red flags all over for me as a buyer.       

[Scarlett]

Just now, Heartstrings said:

I do think you are wrong on that.  Walking away from a house because of a weird easement doesn't necessarily mean that a buyer is nit picky.  That's a huge potential issue that is just smart to walk away from.  Easements are well known to cause be a source of contention between neighbors, and this one being in foreclosure and up for sale would throw red flags all over for me as a buyer.       

Agree 100%

[Tap]

Yes! Buy it!!!!

[Arcadia]

25 minutes ago, Carol in Cal. said:

Because if someone said to me “It will never be built on”, that could be the truth, that could be a surmise, or that could be a lie, and it would be very hard to nail down the truth with certainty.

I agree. My city’s golf course was demolished to build office and housing. Not something anyone would have expected decades ago.

24 minutes ago, Kanin said:

Even if there will never be a house built on that land because it's not allowed, as a buyer I'd be wary, like... what could happen on that land if someone else buys it?

My husband and I would be worried about cell towers and power lines. That is what we typically see strips of land being used for.

[happi duck]

I don't think people are nitpicking.

I would be very concerned about the unknown future of that strip of land.

If you stay you want it.  If you buy, it might help your sale.

What did you decide to do?

[Katy]

I’d buy it. 

[TexasProud]

Yep, I would not buy your house without that strip of land.  Buy it. 

[DawnM]

Just to be clear, many people who have looked at the house aren't even aware of that strip of land being in foreclosure or for sale.   But three people have asked about it.

 

[DawnM]

20 minutes ago, happi duck said:

I don't think people are nitpicking.

I would be very concerned about the unknown future of that strip of land.

If you stay you want it.  If you buy, it might help your sale.

What did you decide to do?

We haven't decided yet.   It just came up yesterday afternoon.

[Heartstrings]

Just now, DawnM said:

Just to be clear, many people who have looked at the house aren't even aware of that strip of land being in foreclosure or for sale.   But three people have asked about it.

 

Are more than that aware of it being an easement?  I’m guessing the realtors know that or that it’s disclosed?  

[DawnM]

Just now, Heartstrings said:

Are more than that aware of it being an easement?  I’m guessing the realtors know that or that it’s disclosed?  

Realtors may know, not sure.   No one asked about it until this past week.

[DawnM]

Sounds like an overwhelming Yes on buying the land.

[SHP]

7 minutes ago, DawnM said:

Realtors may know, not sure.   No one asked about it until this past week.

When I bought the last place I researched myself and crossed places off based on things like an easement. I didn't always have my realtor asking the other party for more information. 

[itsheresomewhere]

Buy it.  

[mommyoffive]

I am going with everyone else, BUY IT.  I wouldn't want to buy a house with this situation.  

[Ottakee]

Buy it.  I would not buy a property/house with that easement next to it.

[TheReader]

I agree, buy it. Especially if it's at all known that it was supposed to be a road -- no way, no how I would ever buy a house with an easement that "really, it's not going to be a road anymore...." next to it. 

 

[Spryte]

But it. Raise your price if you must.
 

And then if you don’t sell, you will have it, which you’d want anyway, it sounds like.

[Grace Hopper]

I’d buy the land. I would never make an offer on a home that has even the slightest chance of someone putting who knows what on that easement. A busy road? The neighbors put in a target range? I’m being somewhat facetious but you get the picture. It would be too big of an unknown for me. 

[Grace Hopper]

49 minutes ago, SHP said:

When I bought the last place I researched myself and crossed places off based on things like an easement. I didn't always have my realtor asking the other party for more information. 

Same. Because honestly, many realtors downplay stuff like this to potential buyers but buyers aren’t stupid. 

[ikslo]

Buy 

[Corraleno]

1 hour ago, DawnM said:

Just to be clear, many people who have looked at the house aren't even aware of that strip of land being in foreclosure or for sale.   But three people have asked about it.

 

But it has to be disclosed to buyers anyway, so even if you got a great offer from someone who didn't know about the easement, they have to be told about it before the sale goes through, and that could very well cause potential buyers to pull out. The fact that three people asked about it suggests that you had three potential buyers who were interested enough in the house to look into the easement issue; if you haven't gotten offers from any of them, that seems like a sign that the easement is an issue.

My house backs up against a strip of land that is owned by the city and was originally set aside in the 1970s for continuation of a road. The seller had to disclose that, and after looking into the various legal and financial issues involved I felt that the likelihood of the road ever being put through was very low and I decided that the very small level of risk was acceptable to me because the house was in the exact location I wanted, where few houses were coming on the market and nearly all but this one were out of my price range. If I had been more "meh" about the house and there were plenty of other houses on the market to choose from, AND the adjacent parcel of land was in forclosure and could be sold for who-knows-what purpose, I definitely would have walked away.

Edited August 8, 2023 by Corraleno

[Faith-manor]

2 hours ago, Kanin said:

I would buy the land. Even if there will never be a house built on that land because it's not allowed, as a buyer I'd be wary, like... what could happen on that land if someone else buys it? Junk pile? Place to store cars and equipment? Just a general eyesore? Plus I'd like the additional buffer between neighbors. 

This. We turned down a perfect property for us up north because of an easement. 

[Clemsondana]

Spouse was adamantly opposed to properties that had weird things like easements and shared driveways.  Also, when I search for houses I set my filter for a certain property size.  Bumping up to 1 acre might make your property visible to a lot more potential homebuyers.  

[Tap]

I always look at easements when buying because both of my main houses had them. I wouldn’t necessarily add it to a note on why I didn’t buy a particular house, since it isn’t in the homeowners control. 

[Boymama5]

I’d buy it solely on the fact that if you stay you’d want it. I wouldn’t want to regret not grabbing it now on that case and someone else does. 

[Carol in Cal.]

1 hour ago, Grace Hopper said:

Same. Because honestly, many realtors downplay stuff like this to potential buyers but buyers aren’t stupid. 

My brother’s realtor actually lied to him about two easements, one of which was for railroad tracks.  

He got another property instead.  #dodgedabullet

[Tap]

23 minutes ago, Clemsondana said:

Spouse was adamantly opposed to properties that had weird things like easements and shared driveways.  Also, when I search for houses I set my filter for a certain property size.  Bumping up to 1 acre might make your property visible to a lot more potential homebuyers.  

If adding this property does put you over the 1 acre mark, it could definitely make a difference 

[Clarita]

 I know it's an overwhelming yes so this response isn't even needed. 

2 hours ago, DawnM said:

Realtors may know, not sure.   No one asked about it until this past week.

Easements do have to be officially disclosed so what this sounds like is the people are finding out about it when they are really considering your house. At the point where you are looking at all the little things that could be red flags. As a buyer they should be nit-picky; it's a big purchase. I think what you are seeing is buyers ready to do the deed backing out because of the easement.

My property does have an easement. It was when we were truly thinking about purchasing the house, so we were looking at the paperwork for the house, doing thorough walk-throughs of the property that we saw it and began asking about it. Our easement has real reason for being there as an easement and the stuff associated with it is built and there (it's a rain water gutter thing to prevent flooding/landslides in the area, easement because the government maintains it and some rules for us regarding planting and building around it).  Your easement would definitely have me backing out. 

[regentrude]

Buy it.

Even if you raise the price, I'd rather pay an extra $4 k upfront if it guarantees that there are no surprises, quarrels, or legal disputes about the easement.

[ktgrok]

So....diverting for a tiny minute.....how DOES one find out what the deal is with an empty bit of property? Our house backs up onto what appears to be greenspace, but I have no idea who actually owns it or what the deal is. How would I find that out? We didn't dig in at the time because property was going SO fast and the house was absolutely perfect for us, so even if something awful was built there we knew we'd likely still buy it. But....now I'm curious, lol. 

[TechWife]

3 minutes ago, ktgrok said:

So....diverting for a tiny minute.....how DOES one find out what the deal is with an empty bit of property? Our house backs up onto what appears to be greenspace, but I have no idea who actually owns it or what the deal is. How would I find that out? We didn't dig in at the time because property was going SO fast and the house was absolutely perfect for us, so even if something awful was built there we knew we'd likely still buy it. But....now I'm curious, lol. 

Here we can search tax records by street name, which list the owner's name & shows what how the property is currently zoned. Then check the zoning laws with the city or county to find out what can be built in that particular zone.

 

[TechWife]

I would buy that land in a heartbeat. I say this because I would avoid buying a house with that type of easement. They may decide to build a road there one day, or the city/county/state could come through and decide to do something else entirely on that property. It's too unpredictable.

It probably is what is holding up the sale, especially if there's a lot of development going on in your area. Let's face it, properties can be rezoned all the time and in any case, .23 of an acre is more than enough to build a house on. I could see someone make an offer on that property contingent on getting appropriate zoning for whatever they want to do.

 

Edited August 8, 2023 by TechWife

[Katy]

10 minutes ago, ktgrok said:

So....diverting for a tiny minute.....how DOES one find out what the deal is with an empty bit of property? Our house backs up onto what appears to be greenspace, but I have no idea who actually owns it or what the deal is. How would I find that out? We didn't dig in at the time because property was going SO fast and the house was absolutely perfect for us, so even if something awful was built there we knew we'd likely still buy it. But....now I'm curious, lol. 

In Florida go to your county’s assessor website and find your property. There should be an option to look by map, and the surrounding parcels will have a link where you can see ownership details. 

[Katy]

Just now, TechWife said:

I would buy that easement in a heartbeat. I say this because I would avoid buying a house with that type of easement. They may decide to build a road there one day, or the city/county/state could come through and decide to do something else entirely on that property. It's too unpredictable.

It probably is what is holding up the sale, especially if there's a lot of development going on in your area. Let's face it, properties can be rezoned all the time and in any case, .23 of an acre is more than enough to build a house on. I could see someone make an offer on that property contingent on getting appropriate zoning for whatever they want to do.

I wonder if that would leave enough space to build a small second home on it. 

[DawnM]

4 hours ago, Kanin said:

I would buy the land. Even if there will never be a house built on that land because it's not allowed, as a buyer I'd be wary, like... what could happen on that land if someone else buys it? Junk pile? Place to store cars and equipment? Just a general eyesore? Plus I'd like the additional buffer between neighbors. 

No, that wouldn't happen.  We have a VERY strict HOA that would clean it up.

It was meant to be a passthrough/road.   It has been empty for the past 18 years, no one has dumped on it and you aren't allowed to store cars or equipment anywhere so it would be removed if it were there.

It is just a patch of grass that is long and narrow.   The neighbor and my husband kind of share mowing it to keep it up, but it isn't anything that anyone in the neighborhood would even know didn't belong to one of us.   And only the 2 homes would be interested in it.   No one else could use it.

[TechWife]

Just now, Katy said:

I wonder if that would leave enough space to build a small second home on it. 

Absolutely. Our last house was on .23 acre lot. Our current house is on .15 acres, with our house only being 13" from the property line on one side.

[DawnM]

1 minute ago, Katy said:

I wonder if that would leave enough space to build a small second home on it. 

No.   It is not.   You can't really put anything on there without HOA approval and they are very strict.   Sheds and pool houses must be built to match the home, no Home Depot sheds, no trailers or RVs allowed, etc....

[Katy]

At any rate many people search for homesthat are on 1+ acres.

[TechWife]

Just now, DawnM said:

No.   It is not.   You can't really put anything on there without HOA approval and they are very strict.   Sheds and pool houses must be built to match the home, no Home Depot sheds, no trailers or RVs allowed, etc....

We had a 1900 square foot house on a lot that size. The HOA could very well approve that unless it's wildly out of line with the other houses.

[DawnM]

4 minutes ago, TechWife said:

I would buy that easement in a heartbeat. I say this because I would avoid buying a house with that type of easement. They may decide to build a road there one day, or the city/county/state could come through and decide to do something else entirely on that property. It's too unpredictable.

It probably is what is holding up the sale, especially if there's a lot of development going on in your area. Let's face it, properties can be rezoned all the time and in any case, .23 of an acre is more than enough to build a house on. I could see someone make an offer on that property contingent on getting appropriate zoning for whatever they want to do.

Not I our neighborhood and not in our town.   There are strict rules.   In fact, the current rule is that all homes in our area have to have a full acre to build on, but it used to be 1/2 acre.   

And our neighborhood says all homes have to be a certain min. size, I can't imagine anything even fitting there with it being so long and narrow.

[DawnM]

Just now, TechWife said:

We had a 1900 square foot house on a lot that size. The HOA could very well approve that unless it's wildly out of line with the other houses.

Nope, homes have to be almost double that to even be approved.   

[TechWife]

4 minutes ago, DawnM said:

Not I our neighborhood and not in our town.   There are strict rules.   In fact, the current rule is that all homes in our area have to have a full acre to build on, but it used to be 1/2 acre.   

And our neighborhood says all homes have to be a certain min. size, I can't imagine anything even fitting there with it being so long and narrow.

Is that due to environmental reasons, like needing a well? Here to have a well the minimum lot size for a well is 1 acre & it can't be in an incorporated area. Also, keep in mind that laws & rules can be changed quite easily, especially in a high growth area. All it takes is the property owner getting a friendly reception on an appeal to the correct departments/town councils, etc.

Properties are often bought contingent on appropriate zoning and permissions being obtained.

Simply because it's zoned for a road now isn't a guarantee that it will always be zoned like that.

It's also a good size for a neighborhood playground if the HOA wants to bid on it. Not everyone wants to live next to a playground.

 

Edited August 8, 2023 by TechWife

[TechWife]

9 minutes ago, DawnM said:

Nope, homes have to be almost double that to even be approved.   

Never say never. I just looked our current house up online to verify. We have 4900 sq feet on .15 acre, built just a few years ago in a high growth area.

Edited August 8, 2023 by TechWife