Estimating cost to construct existing building

[Regalite2]

Hello

I am considering the purchase of an AG property in the Garden State , New Jersey. its cinderblock building is 80X40X14, built in the 1960's..Three 12 ft wide garage doors ( manual) Has recent electrical upgrades- 220, 3 phase and had a rubber roof put on 4 years ago These improvements - electrical and roof cost the owner $ 28k ( or so he says) .Now used for storage. Has a 5" concrete floor with no cracks.

I am trying to establish a fair price to offer...Any assistance will be greatly appreciated, Photos attached

 

[madhatter]

I see two huge cracks in one of the photos.

 

[Pluribus]

Before contemplating the value of that building, I'd want someone with expertise in concrete & block wall construction to look at it. The cracks in the floor appear to show some displacement, and the exterior wall appears to have a repaired crack. Makes me wonder about the initial sitework, compaction, etc.

 

[ard]

If you have the $$ to buy it for cash, be careful.

If there was a bank involved at least they would make you get inspections and an appraisal.

But to answer the question, you should research prior sales in the area of similar properties. Adjust the price based on lot size, bldg size, condition, location.

Would be nice if there was an asking price, eh?

Know any realtors? Might be worth a few % to protect yourself from any mistakes....

Buying real estate isnt rocket science, but if you dont know what can go wrong it can be a very expensive place to get educated.

 

[Jinks]

Local tax assessors office. Probably has all records from the day the lot was created. Sales/tax records for every transaction, costs/tax changes for each & every permit issued. The power work & the roof probably required permits. They're public records, all you have to do is ask.........ours locally are online.

 

[Regalite2]

Jinks, thank you for the reply..He's asking $190k for the property...Its pretty good farmland for tomatoes, blueberries, peaches, etc. 7.63 acres so that is worth around $10-12 k an acre .If I figure on the high side, that means that he is asking $ 100-120k for the building, etc.. There is a well and irrigation to factor in.

Robert

 

[Regalite2]

Can cracks like this be repaired properly?

 

[Regalite2]

The long crack may be a seam,, not sure, I'll have to look again..Thanks for the reply 1 Robert

 

[Showkey]

Going at backwards 3200 sqft for $100- $120k is $31-$37 per Sqft.
Plus it appears to have paved parking and some sort of heat ?


Given the specs you gave like power, floor, roof in most areas you could not build that for any where close to $40 per sqft.

Tax records and accessed tax value in most areas have no relationship to sale price or value.
Assessment value may be a percentage of value, but often delayed in time by years.

 

[Regalite2]

Yes, I am checking into these

 

[Regalite2]

Thanks ,Showkey. Building has oil heat ...Ther is a useable concrete pad/ parking lot adjacent building approx. 80 X 30 feet

 

[jimindm]

Getting a value on a property on the WWW is just plain guesses, unless it is coming from someone in your area that knows.

For all we know it is fifty miles from any kind of population, or right in the middle.

May also be on the edge of an area that is building out. Seven plus acres of buildable residential lots, could be worth $25-30K an acre.

If you are wanting a rough price to just build what is there, that should not be hard to do. But again depends on where it is, and prices in that area.

Like Jinks said most of that is public record, if the records go back that far. Add for inflation on the initial build out for the property. I would guess records would go back to when the upgrades were done. May not give you an accurate price of what he actually paid for them, but the assesors office is pretty accurate on value.

Just not sure you will get many great answers, that are really accurate anyway.

 

[Showkey]

Not sure why people think the tax assessors value as any part of market value.

There never seems to be any direct connection to what your property is assessed for taxes to it's actual Market value for sale. ... While Buyers may try to use the tax assessment to value a home, it is much more accurate to have your Realtor do a search of comparable properties that have actually SOLD in the last 1-4 months. This is especially true with Ag property.

 

[Regalite2]

Its in South New Jersey, great soil. My concern its the the cracks will spread .I will get an experts opinion. thank you for your input.Robert

 

[GasNSteering]

Regalite2. Looks like a building I’ve seen before or at least a similar one. Need renters for storage of a car? Be careful of underground tanks. I live in Camden County now but have been around Cumberland, Salem, Gloucester and Atlantic counties.
Best wishes

 

[Jbullfrog]

The cracks look like they poured sections of the floor at a time. My shop is 38'x88' and poured in 3 sections the length of the building.

 

[Jinks]

Hello

I am considering the purchase of an AG property in the Garden State , New Jersey. its cinderblock building is 80X40X14, built in the 1960's..Three 12 ft wide garage doors ( manual) Has recent electrical upgrades- 220, 3 phase and had a rubber roof put on 4 years ago These improvements - electrical and roof cost the owner $ 28k ( or so he says) .Now used for storage. Has a 5" concrete floor with no cracks.

I am trying to establish a fair price to offer...Any assistance will be greatly appreciated, Photos attached

Jinks, thank you for the reply..He's asking $190k for the property...Its pretty good farmland for tomatoes, blueberries, peaches, etc. 7.63 acres so that is worth around $10-12 k an acre .If I figure on the high side, that means that he is asking $ 100-120k for the building, etc.. There is a well and irrigation to factor in.

Robert

Robert,
Your first post asked "estimating cost to construct existing building". The tax assessors office will give you that. It has NOTHING to do with what the owner is asking for it now, or it's value in today's market. That information along with the value of subsequent permits, & the price the current owner paid at the last sale will give you a good idea of what the owner has invested. That should give you some idea of a reasonable profit for him, or tell you if he's already taking a loss.

In my area I often see river front homes that the owner purchased a few years ago for $450,000 to $500,000 & are now asking $2,000,000 or more for. In some cases it *may* be justified by healthy appreciation & permits for extensive improvements. However if it's just the same run down dump originally purchased with no improvements only a fool would give someone $1.5 million to live in & wear out a property.

I presented a way for you to find out what the current owner has invested in the property. Some here think the tax assessors office is a waste of time. That's their privilege. The actual value can only be found by investigating comparable sales of comparable properties in the area, due diligence, & serious thought. Bottom line is that the value of ANYTHING is what it's worth to you. If you pay several times market value but it makes you happy & is what you wanted, it's a good deal. If you get it for a song, but don't like it, it's a bad deal. Good luck!

 

[matt_i]

A concrete block building is going to be cccccold in winter.

 

[Falcon67]

>Not sure why people think the tax assessors value as any part of market value.

Depends. Texas law requires they assess at market values. True they don't always hit, but they are supposed to appraise using comparables just like any real estate appraiser does. And they have to re-assess everything in their jurisdiction every 3 years. So here they can be fairly representative. Representative enough that we usually have to file a protest.

 

[tonyciambrone]

A concrete block building is going to be cccccold in winter.

This.

Shop seems like a decent deal, mostly if you can get 15K or so off. It does need serious work to be year-round usable in my opinion. Namely insulation and from the looks of it, the ceiling scenario/ lighting.

Seems like insulating will be a lot of work no matter how you slice it.

 

[Regalite2]

thank you .. great advice !

 

[Regalite2]

thank you....

 

[Regalite2]

thank you....I agree about insulation for year round usage. . Sprayed on foam might be the way to go......

 

[Regalite2]

Agreed. I am looking into cost to insulate with sprayed on foam. The "right" way would be to frame it out, insulate ,then put up sheet rock.. MAJOR project !

 

[Regalite2]

Agree. Many concrete contractors will pour large surfaces in sections

 

[boiler7904]

Good farm ground is usually pretty terrible for building a building on unless you remove the unsuitable soil (topsoil/loam/peat) below and correctly build back up with structural fill and/or aggregate material - especially a concrete block building and you are seeing the result in settlement cracks in the walls. If it moved, my guess is that will continue to move unless you do substantial foundation stabilization like helical piers or some other underpinning. I could be wrong but it looks like that interior column is resting on the slab hence the crack nearby. Fixing that could be tough without major work. Uninsulated block building is going to be miserably cold in the winter even with the heat cranked up.

If you like the property, hire a local structural engineer to inspect / review the building and land and see what he thinks.

Based on what I'm seeing in the photos, I would think of the existing building as a temporary solution until you can build something better in a few years.

 

[macdabs]

You will find very few concrete buildings in the north with flat roofs that don't have a crack in the walls . The temp changes and the roof and pilasters push the walls not uncommon at all. I have several block buildings,steel buildings and wood structures. Some new some old and the price is fair. Just in drawings engineering electrical and permitting you would have a third of the purchase cost before you buy material .
Mac