Estate vultures

[dmccarty]

People trying to get the land 'cheap' to resale to developers later. Might be worth it to see if there is a development plan in the works or filed for land around your area.

There is big development going on in our area but it is not easy. One development was just stopped due to it's location and density. Some of the people wanting to buy land are looking for a steal price wise and hoping the owners don't know the value of the land. Most property owners I know, have an idea of the value of the land, but the buyers are looking for someone they can prey on. Best case, the buyer is just totally clueless about the property and just hoping to get lucky.

We get mail from local companies and from people many, many states away. The local companies certainly have, or should have, more of a clue as to the local market. I have talked to some of them and they seem clueless as to the true value of the land or they are lying. Having said that, some of the land sales that have occurred are NOT in MLS and one has to be reading local news and/or have local contacts to know a sale has taken place much less the selling price. Some of the sales are NOT documented in the online court house records. One will have to physically go to the court house to look up these sale records.

The out of county buyers most likely know there is development happening, big development, and are just throwing a dart to see if it will land on a seller who will sell cheap.

 

[dmccarty]

The wife's family have been entrenched in an area since at least 1900. For some reason, we went digging on the Internet over the weekend and found some interesting things. I found, online at the UNC library, what we would now call, or used to call, the yellow and white pages from the early 1900s. The book cost $4! Which was a huge sum back then. There were some phone number listed, most two and three digits long.

The book noted not only addresses, which could be a bit vague, marital status with the use of Miss, what one did for a living, a phone number which few actually had, and race. The "yellow" pages had advertisements for local companies, including a car dealer, along with their address and phone number. The book, while simple, was really a historical document.

The farm land is being passed down through the generations and is being subdivided as this happens. Almost everyone in the family has moved away, at best hours away, and many are now out of state. Once the oldest generation dies, my wife's generation will sell the property. They have discussed this already but there might be a fight with some of the family who don't want to sell and who have to money to keep up the property. It will be what it will be.

Selling the place will be difficult and one can see so many once grand farm houses rotting away because family has died off and moved off. There is a old family farmer waiting to buy the place. His family has been buying up farm land that has been being split up as the generations pass.

 

[ultrarunner]

Timing can be everything...

I've been task to sell a property that was the family auto sales going back to 1942.

My uncle owns half and adamant not going to sell...

Last week he calls and said sell... he is 90.

Property was appraised 1.1m a few years back and principals and brokers always in touch.

Property now maybe $700k as the Oakland market is very much in the dumps.

Highest and best is housing... 24 units.

Housing builders are losing their shirts with all the new restrictions, minimum wages, materials, theft, insurance, etc.

I briefly thought about making an offer but he wants it on the market thinking it's still very valuable...

Timing is everything.

 

[newbury]

For those who may be considering selling their land.

Remember, God is not making any more.

He is, but it takes a while to cool, ask @sodamo he lives near where more is being made .

Sad but it’s the Western Way…

I have friends in Germany and Austria with property going back to the 1600’s

It’s more of a sacred Trust and no one wants to be the one that loses it…

One of the problems I'm starting to see are all the roads in some areas with many houses along the roads with relatively narrow frontage on the roads (say < 50 yards) and stretching back several hundred yards or more. Narrow strips of property, suitable for firing lanes.

some of the land sales that have occurred are NOT in MLS and one has to be reading local news and/or have local contacts to know a sale has taken place much less the selling price.

I found my place in Mississippi in the local Mississippi paper ONLINE while I was sitting in Alexandria, Va.
This may change in the future but it seems perhaps 90% of the real estate agents I've met did the absolute minimum work and would not be able to hold a real job that required a high school education.

 

[dmccarty]

...

One of the problems I'm starting to see are all the roads in some areas with many houses along the roads with relatively narrow frontage on the roads (say < 50 yards) and stretching back several hundred yards or more. Narrow strips of property, suitable for firing lanes.
...

That is not a new problem/issue in my area. You can see it via the houses in some places, in other places, it only shows up when a lot is flagged. When we were looking to buy land, one parcel was one piece of similar sized lots carved out of a large parcel. I think this was done originally to as the land owner, maybe from a land grant, died and split the land up for the children. The lots were very narrow, maybe 100-200 feet but very long, 1500-2000 feet. It was a crazy subdivision of the larger parcel.

I can't remember when the subdivision was done, but it was old school, by someone with basic drafting skills, maybe the 1940's or 1950's. The parcels were laid out on a large piece of paper and drawn out like I learned to do in drafting class. However, I would have gotten, at best, a C for that work. The way the parcels were carved out made it easy to access by road but the lots were all but unusable accept to build a house.

 

[Jstpssng]

^^^^

They are called "Spaghetti Lots."

13. Spaghetti-lot. "Spaghetti-lot" means a parcel of land with a lot depth to shore frontage ratio greater than 5 to 1. Shore frontage means land abutting a river, stream, brook, coastal wetland or great pond as these features are defined in Title 38, section 480‑B.

 

[EddieWalker]

This morning, I've received 3 phone calls about selling my land. This hasn't happened before. Different voices, different phone numbers, but all have similar messages.

I'm returning your call about your land for sale, please give me a call back.

If this wasn't you, and you have some land, please give me a call back

 

[bdhsfz6]

This morning, I've received 3 phone calls about selling my land. This hasn't happened before. Different voices, different phone numbers, but all have similar messages.

I'm returning your call about your land for sale, please give me a call back.

If this wasn't you, and you have some land, please give me a call back

I get multiple letters and phone calls every week offering to buy my land at less than half it's value.

Here's a link explaining what's going on:

Understanding Unsolicited Offers for Your Land - National Land Realty News

Many landowners receive unsolicited offers on their properties. Here's what to know about how to handle these types of requests.

nationalland.com

 

[dmccarty]

This morning, I've received 3 phone calls about selling my land. This hasn't happened before. Different voices, different phone numbers, but all have similar messages.

I'm returning your call about your land for sale, please give me a call back.

If this wasn't you, and you have some land, please give me a call back

We have gotten some of these calls as well. I had a series of "conversations" with one company and talked to at least two different people. I suspect some of the other phone calls we have gotten were from the same company but with different numbers. The message/script are very similar.

 

[RjCorazza]

Whether by mail or phone, these companies are one very small step from full blown scammers.