question about setbacks on an L shaped lot

[ufvj217]

im going to call the city monday and ask for sure, but im curious if anyone has seen anything similar to my situation.

basically theres my lot with a house on it, its about 75 wide by 170 deep. the house next door has the same sized lot, and we may be purchasing it as the people are losing the house. i would rent it out, but im interested in taking the back 70 feet of their lot, and fencing it off so its part of my yard, so i can put my garage there, and still have the yard behind my actual house, instead of my garage taking up my whole yard. the house next door would still have a 100ft deep lot, so they'd still have about 25-30 feet by 75ft wide of backyard for whoever rents. heres a diagram, lot 1 is mine, lot 2 is the one i may get, and the part outlined in blue on lot 2 is what i'd connect to my back yard, thus making my house an L shaped lot. if i get the lots replotted to reflect that, im curious how the setbacks would be for that extra part now, since there's no street attached to that part, i wonder if it'd be considered backyard and follow rear yard setbacks or what.

just looking to get ideas but monday i will find out for sure. Im just impatient lol.

 

[kd3pc]

the setbacks all depend on the AHJ, usually 10-25 feet.

There may be costs associated with "attaching" it to your existing lot.

Best bet would be an hour with a local real estate attorney, or perhaps a local surveyor can help

best of luck

 

[dhubbard422]

Where do you live? I expect that the answers to your questions will be very location dependent.

In my experience, re-platting can be problematic as both of the revised properties will have to meet all of the criteria imposed by the city. For example, in Austin TX, where I recently lived, the city would require that both properties meet the onerous impervious coverage restrictions and that might be difficult for the lot that becomes smaller after the re-plat.

However, if you own both properties and you can live with the setback requirements imposed on you without re-platting, you should be able to place a fence wherever you like, i.e. build the garage on the 2nd property and use it as your own.

If you ever want to sell the properties, I'd expect that the properties would be more valuable if you do not re-plat them, but, consult a real estate professional in your area to se if my assumption is valid where you live.

My opinions are heavily influenced by difficult experiences with an uncooperative city planning office... your experience could be completely different.

 

[Fyrme]

If I were you, I'd buy it, fence it where you want to. Then rent out the house and yard. Your renters have no say so on the use of the back half. When you get tired of owning a rent house and decide to sell it, in short, you would have to hire a surveyor, have the lines staked out, get the county assessor/city planner to approve the property line changes, hire a title company and have the deed changed to reflect the new property lines.

 

[DekeT]

Speculation on your situation is a waste of time. Only the city assessor and zoning administrator where you live will determine your eligibility to do any of your plans. Every place is different. Minimum lot sizes, setbacks, access, whatever, is in your local ordinances and are unique to where you live.

 

[drivesitfar]

ufvj: a lot line adjustment is probably what you would want to do and your city planning department should have paperwork to hand you so you can hire a surveyor. you are not creating another lot you are just changing the lot sizes.

now some are easy and some are hard and you'll figure out some of that in about 15 minutes of talking to a city planner or maybe their building inspector.

one thing i need to remind you of is if you are buying the neighbor's property with a mortgage you'll need that lender's approval to reduce the lot size. if you can buy the property with cash that would be eliminate that and after the lot line adjustment then you can get a mortgage as long as you left the lot a legal minimum size.

another option might be is to make 3 lots out of the 2 so you can build your garage on a separate lot, but short platting will take longer, is more expensive and you'll need to have legal access.

i could probably add a few other things, but i'd only be guessing so go get the paperwork and talk to your city's planner or if they have a web site maybe you can get a few answers online before you go there.

good luck

 

[HoosierMark]

Just build the garage you want on the adjoining lot and make the access to your yard. Frame in but cover an access from the rental yard. That way you can have your garage and the ability to sell the properties seperate if you want. You probably can also depreciate the garage since it will be on a rental property.
I would investigate but probably not try to split it. The advice above all has good points. You open up a lot of other issues when you try to replat lots. Plus what do you really gain in the end?

 

[PCO6]

I'm a retired Town Planner and can advise that a lot depends on the Official Plan and Zoning By-law of your municipality. As mentioned above, a conversation with a Planner at the Town will answer a lot of the questions you have.

The way it works HERE is ... assuming the policy documents permit what you want, you would be looking at a land severance for Lot 2. The front half would have to comply with the By-law and the rear half would have to be merged on title with Lot 1. If the proposed setbacks and other dimensional requirements do not comply the approval of your application would be subject to a By-law variance approval from the Committee of Adjustment. The Planner will explain this to you.

One important factor is how the properties are serviced. You'll have a better chance if they are on Town water and sewers. If they are privately serviced the setback requirements increase substantially.

 

[DekeT]

ufvj:
another option might be is to make 3 lots out of the 2 so you can build your garage on a separate lot, but short platting will take longer, is more expensive and you'll need to have legal access.

i could probably add a few other things, but i'd only be guessing so go get the paperwork and talk to your city's planner or if they have a web site maybe you can get a few answers online before you go there.

good luck

Third lot with just a garage? Unlikely an accessory building will be approved in a residential principal use.

 

[aandpdan]

The way it works HERE is ... assuming the policy documents permit what you want, you would be looking at a land severance for Lot 2. The front half would have to comply with the By-law and the rear half would have to be merged on title with Lot 1. If the proposed setbacks and other dimensional requirements do not comply the approval of your application would be subject to a By-law variance approval from the Committee of Adjustment. The Planner will explain this to you..

It works the same way here. If the lot size doesn't meet the current code you'd need to get a variance.

Start with the planning board.

 

[drivesitfar]

Deke: In the 30 years of selling Real Estate full time i've seen a lot of interesting things. i'm not saying he can 100% do the 3rd lot especially if he doesn't have sewer or big enough lots for the zoning, but you'd be surprised what some guys get permitted. garage with a bath and loft could be considered a house in some places. as said in my and other posts it all depends on the zoning and what the owner can find out at the planning department. i added that if a mortgage is involved on the property before you do any lot line adjusting or re platting that permission will be needed from the lender or don't bother trying.

i just saw on the news (i've been retired for 7 years now) that a developer built a 56 room boarding type house on a 7 unit zoned lot because he only had 7 kitchens and that is in Seattle which isn't a little city. needless to say the neighbors are more than a little PO'd because you now have 50 to 100 cars that the new tenants own parking in the neighborhood . each 8 units share one kitchen and get this they pay $900 per month for their little maybe 12 x 12 (might be a little bigger) apartment. by the way the building's owner didn't have extra parking requirements other than for a 7 unit building.

I also like the idea of just building a garage on the back half of the rental's lot and fencing it off from the renters and having access from the property you live at. only issue is if you ever sell you'll either have to sell 2 properties at once or sell the rental house with your new garage.