Build or buy existing?

[Johnson]

I have a somewhat unique situation. I am at the end of a dead end lane with 2 acres. My house has no garage, only a metal carport and small metal shed. I was planning to build but decided to ask my only neighbor if he was interested in selling his property. He has a solid acre with a 24x40 three car garage and a small shed. The property has city water, a septic, 200 amp service and natural gas hookup. No house. Totally surrounded by wooded ravine. Should I build on my property, which i am guessing will be around $20,000 (large one car or small two car) or buy his property at asking price of $30,000? Our properties share two boundry lines (mine is L shaped). It would give me a nice big three acre parcel surrounded by woods on three sides, plus have a large garage for shop and storage. Any thoughts?

 

[WhiffySpark]

I wouldn't think twice

 

[Strouty]

Buy, the land is what makes the deal. You can always build or add on later.

 

[LB-1911]

Any thoughts?

Head to the bank and get this deal in motion!

 

[sawduststeve]

What's to think about, buy. You will never regret it.
Good luck.


Steve.

 

[Johnson]

excellent; I was thinking the 30k was a bit high but after I priced concrete, framing, roofing, siding, running electrical, etc.. it was starting to make more sense.

 

[kmacht]

Just don't forget the extra expenses of owning more land. More taxes, separate electric, water, sewer bills, insurance, etc.

 

[yeldogt]

You will spend more -- 20 become 30. What's it going to take to get his property is shape -- and the building?

What's your property worth after the deal -- and what's the on going cost of the larger property

 

[Thumper68]

BUY!!

Any chance to add land to my property is a no brainer, right now I am working on a deal to add 22 acres.

 

[Johnson]

Yeah I am excited about this. Taxes are reasonable here. I saw his tax bill and it is pretty inexpensive. Have not had a shop/garage in over two years so this would be great for me. I would guess the property value (my current house) would go up but ultimately it will be much easier to sell in the future if all if the land is connected. This guy has been a snow bird, living in an RV in the good months and going south each winter.

 

[Falcon67]

Buy. Same acreage here in west Texas unimproved would run $30~45K. Meter, building, service, blah, blah - no brainer. Money ahead especially if your time is worth anything to you.

 

[The Cobbler]

no brainer

 

[WhiffySpark]

lol it would be 100k+ here without the building

 

[rburke65]

A no brainer......buy it.

 

[ItsNemo]

110% buy...such a rare thing to be able to acquire connected land to your own, 30k is pocket change.

 

[Johnson]

Athis is all great info. A few folks up here are saying the price is too high, hold out for lower price, etc. Good to hear some rates from other parts. Our real estate market in my county is pretty depressed.

 

[ItsNemo]

lol it would be 100k+ here without the building

Athis is all great info. A few folks up here are saying the price is too high, hold out for lower price, etc. Good to hear some rates from other parts. Our real estate market in my county is pretty depressed.

Within city limits here, a 1 acre connected empty lot would go for $500k+

My in the city new subdivision lot is 36x150, to buy a double lot was going to cost me nearly $200k.

Property values are just absurd sometimes.

 

[Dadillac]

lol it would be 100k+ here without the building

Same here in central NJ. A 50x100 building lot usually sells for 40k to 50k. And the taxes on the unimproved acre would be nearly $15k a year. I know property prices fluctuate greatly across the country but I would snap that land up quick. If you wait for a cheaper price you may lose out to somebody who feels they are getting a steal

Don

 

[Ditch]

it's like playing Monopoly. Buy

 

[BonzoHansen]

Is this a trick question?

 

[jd_1138]

There are a lot of potential pitfalls in building, so I'd buy the adjacent land. You'd be getting a garage and more land. Win-win.

 

[06 DIESEL]

They are not making any more land in your area, buy it up and enjoy it. If you later decide you want something different odds are it will be worth more than it is now.

 

[My Old Tools]

Offer him $25k if you think its too high.

 

[kckndrgn]

Buy, in a heartbeat.

Look at other sales in the area to determine if the price is right for you or, make a counter offer.

Good luck!

 

[ddawg16]

And you haven't bought it yet?

Don't forget....down the road, you can build another garage.....

 

[Johnson]

I am working with bank now and my attorney will start drafting a sales agreement soon. I will try to negotiate down the price a bit; perhaps the fact that no realtor commission will be paid I can get the savings passed along.

 

[mmb617]

Nothing wrong with seeing if you can get it cheaper, but even at $30k that sounds like a killer deal to me.

 

[kmacht]

Prices vary all over the place. There is a 6 acre lot with water and electric run to it for 60k right by my house. Look at other properties in town to see how much they are going for. Also, just because you own both lots does not make them automatically connected. You will have.to work with the town and zoning departments to see if they can be converted to one big lot. It may be better to leave them separate. Some towns have limits on total number of buildings per lot or total covered square feet. If your neighbor isn't actively selling the place I suggest you slow down a bit and do some research so you know exactly what you are getting in to.

Keith

 

[Playwme]

The price may be a little high if it's being bought as a standalone block with no house and the new owner needs to build, but once combined with your place it becomes something else. If you're gonna be there another 10 years at least then it's 3k a year, cheap price for the garage and extra land.

Pay the guy what he wants, before someone else comes along and gets it from under your nose.

 

[Boilerhouse]

He has a solid acre with a 24x40 three car garage and a small shed. The property has city water, a septic, 200 amp service and natural gas hookup. No house. ..... asking price of $30,000? Any thoughts?

If it's built half way decent, a 24 x 40 garage must be worth close to $30,000. You are getting the land for free.

 

[Farrier]

That deal is like a sore pecker......can't beat it

 

[Johnson]

If it's built half way decent, a 24 x 40 garage must be worth close to $30,000. You are getting the land for free.

I will eventually get some pics on here. i walked through with the guy the other day and it was a stick built garage on slab. The ceiling joists and rafters were every 2'. The guy had framed up 3 decent sized rooms in the first two bays and the left the 3rd bay open for his mowers, tools, etc... Roof will need done eventually, it's older three tabs. Siding is the old masonite hardboard type lap stuff. Three traditional raised panel steel overheads, non insulated, with one man door. It was loaded full of stuff as he had intentions to convert to a house. There must be $500 of lumber inside as he used 2x6 to frame the rooms and began furring out the original 2x4 exterior walls to 6" depth for insulation. There is a power pole bringing service to another pole that has a 200 amp panel mounted on it. Inside the garage there is a subpanel for the outlets, lights, etc.. I am not too concerned with cosmetics at this time. If it all goes through I will eventually side it with vinyl that matches the house and replace the roof with whatever I put on the house as well.

 

[timbitca]

Sounds like a win-win to me.

Don't forget the pics!

 

[Boilerhouse]

I will eventually get some pics on here. i walked through with the guy the other day and it was a stick built garage on slab. The ceiling joists and rafters were every 2'. The guy had framed up 3 decent sized rooms in the first two bays and the left the 3rd bay open for his mowers, tools, etc... Roof will need done eventually, it's older three tabs. Siding is the old masonite hardboard type lap stuff. Three traditional raised panel steel overheads, non insulated, with one man door. It was loaded full of stuff as he had intentions to convert to a house. There must be $500 of lumber inside as he used 2x6 to frame the rooms and began furring out the original 2x4 exterior walls to 6" depth for insulation. There is a power pole bringing service to another pole that has a 200 amp panel mounted on it. Inside the garage there is a subpanel for the outlets, lights, etc.. I am not too concerned with cosmetics at this time. If it all goes through I will eventually side it with vinyl that matches the house and replace the roof with whatever I put on the house as well.

Sounds awesome. Good luck with the new acquisition.

 

[steveo1o9]

Unless you are planning to build/buy in cash I would imagine that a loan on the property would have a much better interest rate then a loan for the garage build so you may want to factor that in too.

 

[jhelrey]

Even if you over pay, the land is directly next to yours. That is priceless.

 

[Johnson]

Update; We have come to a price agreement. I was able to get him to budge a little bit due to the fact that there is no realtor to pay. ie: 6% commission rate I agreed to pay closing costs and attorney. He will pay taxes. Closing costs were easily calculated as this attorney just closed a home sale for me in March so all of the fees were on the HUD statement to pull. I was also able to pull actual tax data from county website to calculate that.

I sat with my attorney and provided all the details for him to start the sales contract. As long as everything goes as planned, we should close in 60 days. He requested that time in order to get all of his stuff taken care of. Overall I am very pleased and relieved as I have always been thinking about acquiring this. It was just intimidating for me to approach someone about selling their property when there is no "sign in the yard".

Looking forward to taking possession and getting some pics for everyone to see.

 

[NewShockerGuy]

So this is a question to the OP or anyone that knows. How does this work going forward to the OP. He is buying the other dudes land and has his own land. Can the OP now "combine" the two so that it's one plot or does it not work like that? Would it always be considered two separate properties?

OP. Congrats! Post pictures for us once it's all final.

-Nigel

 

[Johnson]

So this is a question to the OP or anyone that knows. How does this work going forward to the OP. He is buying the other dudes land and has his own land. Can the OP now "combine" the two so that it's one plot or does it not work like that? Would it always be considered two separate properties?

OP. Congrats! Post pictures for us once it's all final.

-Nigel

It will be a separate parcel with separate tax bill. Utility bills will come to my home address "with service at" the other. I probably would have to have a survey completed to have both linked together and recreated as one parcel with separate legal description. I will most likely keep separate. This means if I ever sell, I would be selling two separate parcels (if selling all of it).

 

[LB-1911]

As long as everything goes as planned, we should close in 60 days. Overall I am very pleased and relieved as I have always been thinking about acquiring this. It was just intimidating for me to approach someone about selling their property when there is no "sign in the yard".

Looking forward to taking possession and getting some pics for everyone to see.

Congratulations