My neighbor asked again about buying some of my yard

[richardycc]

My neighbor asked to buy some land from me few yrs ago. He was trying to expand his 2 car garage to 4. the town rejected and wouldn't give him a permit without buying more land from me. We didn't talk about price, but it sounded like he wanted me to do it as a favor and I wasn't going to get rid of some of my land for close to nothing, so I just told him my bank wouldn't let me do it. It just wasn't worth the hassle.

 

[NoTine42]

You wouldn't be able to subdivide 10'. Most if not all zoning codes have a minimum lot size per zoning designation ie. Agriculturally zoned property would be a minimum of 20 acres vs a residentially zoned property of 6000 sq. ft. A 10' lot wouldn't conform to the minimum anywhere. What you could possibly do is a property line adjustment. Basically shave the 10' line in towards your property giving him the extra room he needs without creating a new parcel. Obviously this work would require a surveyor and reassessment of both properties.

One thing to consider when doing this though. Your local planning department might not support an oddly shaped parcel. If your neighbor was proposing a 10' srtip up the length of your property, that would make more sense than carving out a 100 sq. ft block. And both of you would still meet the minimum parcel size requirement presumably.

You wouldn't be able to subdivide it into its own lot (sold to a 3rd party). But decreasing one lot and increasing the other is often a valid exception to those "minimum lot sizes"

With a zoning variance, I sold 5 of my 18 ag zoned acres, but the county said the process would be easy if I had just sold some to an adjoining neighbor.

 

[MichaelD]

So many smart people here that understand and speak Legalese; I am not one of them.

Based on your particular situation, it sounds to me like your neighbor knows something you DON'T about your/his property. Could be something as simple as 5 months from now, WalMart will be offering 5x current value on your lot b/c they want to build a store. Or maybe your property is on top of minerals or oil. I think you need to do some home work and ascertain WHY your property is suddenly worth extra money to someone.

Possibly he's just a crazy, old coot and wants extra space to walk his dog and give his dead ex-wife space to walk beside them. :hmm: Hey, it happens.

Either way, you should be cautious any time someone offers you what seems to be "a good deal" on something you own. This is like a Craigslist offer out of the blue.

 

[thestrangebrew1]

You wouldn't be able to subdivide it into its own lot (sold to a 3rd party). But decreasing one lot and increasing the other is often a valid exception to those "minimum lot sizes"

With a zoning variance, I sold 5 of my 18 ag zoned acres, but the county said the process would be easy if I had just sold some to an adjoining neighbor.

Yea zoning variances are another option. I tend to forget those because, at least here, they are difficult to permit and I haven't worked on a variance in years. It could be an option though if minimum lot sizes are difficult to obtain as part of this particular transaction.

 

[jaha2000]

He knows something you don't.
I lived in my house for 4 years without realizing I didn't own my driveway or half of my pole barn.
I bought the section between me and my neightbor for 1500 bucks. About 1/3 of an acre. basically the farmer behind me sold it to one of his kids who had it surveyed. He was super cool about it and let me make it right for a reasonable amount of money.
and for the record, title insurance is a scam.

 

[Pulsar]

He knows something you don't.
I lived in my house for 4 years without realizing I didn't own my driveway or half of my pole barn.
I bought the section between me and my neightbor for 1500 bucks. About 1/3 of an acre. basically the farmer behind me sold it to one of his kids who had it surveyed. He was super cool about it and let me make it right for a reasonable amount of money.
and for the record, title insurance is a scam.

No. it is not a scam.

 

[dullard]

No. it is not a scam.

It is just 99% overpriced for most people.

To me the biggest ripoff is when refinancing. Why are we forced to pay ~$500 bucks to have insurance to ensure that we aren't selling property to ourselves with liens?

What? You want to move that wallet from your left pocket to your right pocket? That carries so much risk, because your wallet may contain an IOU. You better pay a title insurance company $500. Now you can safely move your wallet from the left pocket to the right pocket. Oh, wait, that was your IOU either way.

What is the typical lien value anyways? Maybe $3000ish for a unpaid heat pump / roof repair / plumbing work? I'd pay $30 for insurance against that remote possibility. But certainly not $500. I'd gladly take that risk if I could (especially when I am the owner before so I know that no liens are on the place).

 

[jaha2000]

No. it is not a scam.

Title search came up clean on my property. A property that had a piece broken off and did not have a legal driveway to access the property.
Title agency's response? Not our problem..... Umm, yeah, you missed it, I found what happened later on in 10 minutes. What exactly did I pay them for then and how is it not a scam?

 

[Uppsala9496]

Then file a claim against them.

 

[SearchMaster]

I don't think he necessarily knows anything you don't though he obviously wants to do something with it or wouldn't buy it. If there's not a driveway there now he probably wants to put one, or expand an existing one.

I would consider it for that sum of money, I doubt it changes either of your property values at all. If he does make property improvements on it, it could improve your property value as well. Just ask the guy what he wants it for and decide if it will impact your life.

A lot of these people are city folk; things are different for us country bumpkins.

 

[Uppsala9496]

Remember that if you have a mortgage, the mortgage lender will not allow you to parcel off any of your property. You will need to get approval. That could mean a whole new mortgage, which I am sure they will not do for free. No idea on that though.

All I know is when I closed on my place last week, there were paragraphs explaining how the bank has first lien rights and I can't parcel anything off. Period.

 

[zinfamous]

I wonder what it is that he wants access to on that sliver of your yard? What is going on beneath the ground/what does he plan to do with it?

Regardless, be sure to store all of your dead bodies there before signing off on the sale.

 

[SAWYER]

He has no yard at all on that side of his house except for a drive that goes around the back

 

[SAWYER]

I probably have 30+ feet on that side and 70+ feet on the other side off my house

 

[Pulsar]

I don't think he necessarily knows anything you don't though he obviously wants to do something with it or wouldn't buy it. If there's not a driveway there now he probably wants to put one, or expand an existing one.

I would consider it for that sum of money, I doubt it changes either of your property values at all. If he does make property improvements on it, it could improve your property value as well. Just ask the guy what he wants it for and decide if it will impact your life.

A lot of these people are city folk; things are different for us country bumpkins.

You're not kidding. 10 feet from the side of my yard would save me 40 minutes of mowing =/. I'd have to do the math to see how much it saved me in gas.

 

[Pulsar]

Title search came up clean on my property. A property that had a piece broken off and did not have a legal driveway to access the property.
Title agency's response? Not our problem..... Umm, yeah, you missed it, I found what happened later on in 10 minutes. What exactly did I pay them for then and how is it not a scam?

As someone else said - file a claim against them. A GOOD title agency will protect you - like mine did when the city shut off my electricity and water over the previous owners unpaid bills. They were turned on the next day and my title agency got me a refund (albeit it tiny) for the time they were turned off.

I can't help it if you met an unscrupulous title company. That doesn't indict the ones who do their jobs.

 

[sandorski]

What if he knows about a treasure buried in that part of your yard? :hmm:

Probably discovered Oil or a Gold vein will digging under the house.