Move barn or tear it down?

[QRTRHRS]

Years ago, I was working through a list of about a dozen barn builders prior to having one built. Having heard and seen nothing but good about this one Mennonite builder, I chose them and they did indeed do well by me. They would tamp the bottom of the post hole, place a precast pad in then when all of the posts were set and supported, pour concrete around the post. (I know, there is alot of discussion about this practice)

To get to the point though, I later found out that they had moved a building that they had built. Seems the inspector had okayed the position but a neighbor complained and it turned out that the inspector was wrong. The owner had to pay for the moving of the building.

I do not know how they did it but they did pick it up and move it. Had I known this while they were building my barn, I would have been asking out of curiostity.

From what I am reading here, I would not trust the agent/agency. I would speak directly to the local governing people and get in writing anything implying that the building would be okay as is, etc. Negotiate any issues into the purchase price.

If you go with the property and must move the building, I think it would still be worth the cost of moving vs building a similar building. You could as Dan suggested simply cut the posts at the ground and use precast piers or set it on a foundation. Lots of idle contrators out there, get some prices.

 

[dmccarty]

What Eddie said.

Warning Alarms are going off in my head when you say the seller is an agent/broker and they did not disclose the barn setback issue. I am highly skeptical that they would not have known that this was an issue. It is their job to know these things....

If you find out that the setback IS an issue on that barn I would walk away from the property since I would have zero trust in the sellers. I would file a complaint with the State regarding the nondisclosure of the setback if it is a problem.

Later,
Dan

 

[Lomillialor]

Some feedback....

My lawyer said the owners will not be able to sell while the barn is on the setback. Title insurance will not be possible while this condition lasts.

She also said with 99% certainty the county will not grant a variance.

That means the owners will have to move or remove the barn before they can sell.

I cant believe they built such a nice barn in a setback. Makes you wonder what people think when they invest lots of money and labor and don't do the basic due diligence.

I guess I'll be changing my plans.

 

[greasemonkeyok]

You may want to go to the County Clerk's office, or it may be called the Register of Deeds or something like that in your state, and find out when the present owner-agent purchased the property. And, every deed has to have Document Stamps which will tell you how much they paid for the property. The clerk, or your lawyer, can help you calculate the purchase price from the amount of Document Stamps.

FWIW, you might find the owner-agent recently paid a whole lot less for the property than the asking price. Buy it cheap from heirs who don't know the value or from distressed owners and mark the price up. Nothing illegal or wrong with doing that, but they tend to be the kind of people I don't want to do business with. In some areas they are called "flippers".

 

[LBrown59]

Before I did anything else I'd find out whether it needs to be moved at all. 25' behind a building isn't much more useful than 6'.
1*If the building's already being taxed the county probably knows where it is.
My barn is 10' from the property line( I got a variance from the 25' requirement) and the only time I see that land is to mow the grass. MikeD74T

If the building isn't leagl how can the tax be legal?

 

[rgood]

I ran into a similar problem and the seller just worked with the neighbor to move the property line a few feet. The neighbor gave us the land we needed and the seller gave the neighbor some land in a different spot on the line.

A cheap, easy solution. The neighbor was happy and so are we.

Did you consider that?