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Small Cabin Forum / Properties / A chance to buy another 20+ acres...
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toyota_mdt_tech
Member
# Posted: 16 Sep 2013 23:37
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...OK, I have a smidge over 20 acres, my lot is 660 feet wide, 1,320 feet deep (1/8 mile X 1/4 mile) and the same exact sized lot next to me is now up for sale. Its totally undeveloped, fully timbered also and he wants the same price he paid for it in 1999. I dont need it, but want it. I have the ball rolling, looks like I'm going to buy it and end up with 40.52 acres total.

This will make my land 1/4 mile square

He holds the deed. How is a transaction like this handled. I assume an attorney needs to be involved. I have the money i n savings, but it would about clean me out. So I was going to go through a finance institute, maybe just put 10K down, then hammer on the payments at 1K a month and knock it out in a little over 2 yrs. The taxes annually are only $32 (timber farm)

Anyone done this before. I have already contacted the seller, the ball is rolling.

MtnDon
Member
# Posted: 16 Sep 2013 23:50
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People do it w/o a lawyer all the time. Some end up with issues. We have a real estate lawyer we have used and on something real simple he only charges a few hundred dollars. That varies from lawyer to lawyer.

Survey recent? Survey recorded with the county?

When we bought the property next to our first our financing was done via a bank line of credit on our home. It was a good rate and interest deductible.

Gregjman
Member
# Posted: 17 Sep 2013 07:42
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I think lawyer fees when I bought were under 500$ and it included title insurance. At least pay a title company for the search. They will let you know what your title looks like and if there are any problems with it. Title insurance is for the buyers protection usually.

OwenChristensen
Member
# Posted: 17 Sep 2013 08:05
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There are different kinds of deeds. Some are brought up to date some aren't. If its a good title, you should be able to buy it without any help. It's still a risk.

I think you should make sure it doesn't have any liens or encumberances.

O

toyota_mdt_tech
Member
# Posted: 17 Sep 2013 09:00
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He bought it from the same land company I got mine from. He bought 6 yrs before I did. Liens would be my only concern. I know he bought it without a lien, I just want to be certain none were added. He has all timber and mineral rights, all the same as mine.

I called him last night and told him I wanted it and would start to get things rolling. I can buy land anytime and anywhere, but the chunk that butts right up to mine, totally undeveloped is a rare chance indeed and feel I have to. Even just for an investment standpoint, I can easily justify it.

I'll keep you guys posted on the progress.

TheCabinCalls
Member
# Posted: 17 Sep 2013 09:09
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Call a good Title Company. They will do a search for liens and offer you title insurance. It will be much cheaper than a lawyer. Especially since this seems like an easy transaction. They will tell you all the fees over the phone.

You both show up at the title company and they have all of the paper work and they will record the deed at the recorders office.

You can do the paper work yourself and record it at the recorders office. They will have record of any liens on the property...these are public record. You can call today and ask about any liens on the property. They will also tell you if there is any other names on the deed or other complications before you get too far into this.

MJW
Member
# Posted: 17 Sep 2013 09:12
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Hire a title company or attorney (depending on your state) and have a full title search completed. This will tell you the state of title and any liens/judgments that may be there.

Buy title insurance! It is very inexpensive and a good investment. Sometimes even a title search (they are done by humans) may miss something and it will come back to bite you in the ass later. Ask me how I know this...

Take note of the type of deed he holds and gives to you. Warranty deeds guarantee you full and marketable title and hold the seller accountable to defend said title. Quit claim deeds only grant you the interest the seller holds whatever that may be. Limited warranty deeds only cover you for anything that may have happened while the seller owned the property.

It is a jungle out there...

Popeye
Member
# Posted: 17 Sep 2013 13:19
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Quoting: toyota_mdt_tech
I can buy land anytime and anywhere, but the chunk that butts right up to mine, totally undeveloped is a rare chance indeed and feel I have to.


Congrats! I am sure you will make yourself a great neighbor!

That is the same reason I bought my property...260 acres that adjoins my dad's 40 was a once in a lifetime opportunity!

Dillio187
Member
# Posted: 17 Sep 2013 13:30
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I recently missed out on the chance to pickup the 10 acres next to mine. I didn't even realize it was for sale, and by the time I called, it was already gone! I agree with you, it's an opportunity you may never get again, so jump on it.

toyota_mdt_tech
Member
# Posted: 17 Sep 2013 14:36
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Called an escrow company today (same one he and myself used on our lots) , it looks like they will handle the title part too. I'm sure at a cost, but as most stated, worth it. I would not do this without title insurance anyway.

He has only set foot on it twice, once when he bougth it and then last year.

My dad wants to speak to me about it, I suspect he is going to try to talk me out of it.

Once paid in full, this land will onld add $176 to my overall tax/dues burden, ie 145 in dues, 32 in county taxes. So both chunks will total $526 a year for my 40 acres with cabin. So far, cheap.

razmichael
Member
# Posted: 17 Sep 2013 17:14
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In some areas it can be difficult to get a bank loan for land unless tied to your current property. When we bought land 14 years ago to build the banks would not finance it despite offering a hug pre-approved mortgage for a house. We talked with the seller and they happily gave us a 2 year mortgage at very competitive rates. Something you could consider looking into if the banks are not cooperative.

MtnDon
Member
# Posted: 17 Sep 2013 17:45
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Quoting: razmichael
it can be difficult to get a bank loan for land unless tied to your current property.



That is a very good point and one I had forgotten. Now that I am reminded that was a big part of the reason we used our home equity line of credit. It's loaning money to yourself and the bank doesn't care what you do with it as they have your paid up home as collateral.

VC_fan
Member
# Posted: 17 Sep 2013 17:52
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Unless the price of the land s way out of line, buy it. You could at least think about a land contract with the current owner. We just sold a chunk on a land contract (my first one) with a big down payment and it was painless for the buyer - none of the usual expensive red tape. And I'd strongly suggest you not try to avoid the lawyer. The one in the small town near our land has helped us with a few things and his prices are very, very reasonable and his advice very valuable. I think he charged $175 for the land contract. We had him draw up a lease after talking over the options and call in the tenant to explain it all to them and have them sign and the price was $155.

toyota_mdt_tech
Member
# Posted: 17 Sep 2013 21:26
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I own my home, have deed, and also on my cabin and land, but not interested in taking out any money against either. I am waiting for his reply to see if he is interested in owner contract for a very short term (under 3 yrs) as he wants it sold when he retires and that will be just about right. So it can be a win win for both of us. He has listed it several times before, no activity, the market for this is soft now. So I am hoping he is willing to carry the contract.

toyota_mdt_tech
Member
# Posted: 18 Sep 2013 01:39
Reply 


He has accepted my offer of 10K down, 1K per month. I'm an owner it looks like. He is working out the rest with title and escrow company.

razmichael
Member
# Posted: 18 Sep 2013 07:02
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Congratulations! One other thing to consider (might not be applicable in your area) is whether to combine the land into one piece or keep it registered separately. When we bought an extra 15 acres next to our original land (house not cabin) we kept it separate as the rules allow for only one severance - keeping it separate allows it to be sold in the future without impacting the right to do a severance on the original piece if ever required. Annual taxes end up being a bit higher but future options are broader. Similarly, at the cabin, we had the opportunity to purchase a lot next to ours. Main reason to do this was to maintain privacy but we also kept it registered separately as it allowed more flexibility in how we could access the waterfront. In both cases the municipality involved wanted to merge the property so we needed to make sure this did not happen.

TheWildMan
Member
# Posted: 18 Sep 2013 12:37
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you have a bacon strip of land (wide and long) and it is no way near 1/4 mile. a mile (square mile) is 640 acres. a 1/4 acre is 160 acres (size of allotments under the old homestead act and standard size of many family farms. 80 acres is 1/8th of a mile (also a common lot size) you would have 40 acres or 1/16th of a mile.

since it is directly adjacent to your current lot you could have them logged at the same time (many loggers won't bother with a 20 acre lot, a 40 acre lot is big enough to get more logging bids and better offers).

if you can afford to buy it or finance it I recommend you do it.

Popeye
Member
# Posted: 18 Sep 2013 12:55 - Edited by: Popeye
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Quoting: TheWildMan
you have a bacon strip of land (wide and long) and it is no way near 1/4 mile. a mile (square mile) is 640 acres. a 1/4 acre is 160 acres (size of allotments under the old homestead act and standard size of many family farms. 80 acres is 1/8th of a mile (also a common lot size) you would have 40 acres or 1/16th of a mile.


Sorry, but this makes absolutely no sense. You are confusing distance with area.

adakseabee
Member
# Posted: 18 Sep 2013 16:01 - Edited by: adakseabee
Reply 


Quoting: TheWildMan
you have a bacon strip of land (wide and long) and it is no way near 1/4 mile


The Wildman, I believe you misread Toyota_mdt_tech's original post. He said, "This will make my land 1/4 mile square", not 1/4 square mile. 1/4 mile square, as you point out, is 1/16th of a square mile, or 40 acres.

bugs
Member
# Posted: 18 Sep 2013 16:22
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toyota That is great news. Can never have too much land to act as a buffer from the riffraff that may move in beside you.

Errr 1/2 mi by 1/2mile is 160 acres. 1 mi by 1 mi is 640 acres. Can't remember how many rods wide by 1/2 mi long = 1 acre. And what is a cubit?

Popeye
Member
# Posted: 18 Sep 2013 16:36
Reply 


Bugs...1 rod by 1/2 mile is one acre. A rod is 16.5 feet.

I could google "cubit", but that would be cheating!

toyota_mdt_tech
Member
# Posted: 18 Sep 2013 21:29
Reply 


Quoting: TheWildMan
you have a bacon strip of land (wide and long) and it is no way near 1/4 mile. a mile



Each piece is 660 feet wide, 1,320 feet deep. That is 20 acres

I will now have a square shaped piece, 1/4 mile X 1/4 mile, that is 40 acres.

In my area, 1,320 feet is 1/4 mile, while 660 is half that distant or 1/8 mile.

My original parcel is 20.25 acres, the pending new one is 20.27 for a total of 40.52 acres. Or 1,320 feet wide by 1,320 feet deep.

neb
Member
# Posted: 19 Sep 2013 07:49
Reply 


toyota_mdt_tech I'm happy for you. To buy land and to get it right beside yours is a good deal. I bet you are a happy man.

TheWildMan
Member
# Posted: 19 Sep 2013 10:09
Reply 


Ok, I think I sort of understand now, your measuring the perimeter or outside edge around the lot as a single linear distance (as if it were measured for running laps). I see where the measure is estimated now.

in forestry and surveying land is measured in chains (originally a section of chain) of 66 feet. a square chain was 66 feet by 66 feet. an acre is 10 square chains. any area that has 43560 square feet is an acre, or 10 square chains (a bacon strip is what we locally call a section of land that is in a rectangular shape). 640 Acres is a square mile.

until now I never heard of anyone referring to an area of land in miles by its perimeter or length

jjlrrw
Member
# Posted: 19 Sep 2013 12:55
Reply 


Wildman, He was measuring the length and width in both feet and miles, very common in my area. Sounds like he may have 660' (1/8 mile) road frontage by 1320' (1/2 mile) deep. I have the same shape land only 1/4 mile frontage by 1/2 mile deep 80 Acres

toyota_mdt_tech
Member
# Posted: 20 Sep 2013 00:40
Reply 


Quoting: jjlrrw
Wildman, He was measuring the length and width in both feet and miles, very common in my area. Sounds like he may have 660' (1/8 mile) road frontage by 1320' (1/2 mile) deep. I have the same shape land only 1/4 mile frontage by 1/2 mile deep 80 Acres



Yes, exactly, except I'm sure you meant 1,320 feet as a 1/4 mile and not 1/2 mile.

Now with my 2 "bacon strips" side by side, going the same direction, its a 1/4 mile wide and a 1/4 mile deep.

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