Land we rent sold

[AlanB]

Just venting a bit, and sharing an experience.
We have a small Landscaping and lawncare business.
We have been renting a parcel of land about 1 to 2 acres for the last several years at $200 a month (plain land, good location)
I have always hated renting (somehow it just irks me greatly, I know it is a personal problem) but every way we looked at it, it made the most sense, so we continued to do it, although in the past I have always been extremely hesitant to do any improvements on the property for fear of loosing it.

Rental agreement is a handshake deal.

Property has always been for sale, but the old gentleman that owns it has never really wanted to sell it, and when trying to buy it, the prices continue to change till you figure out, that it is not really for sale.

Well, got the call Monday from the owners wife that they sold the property and would no longer be the owners Mid Jan.....

Trying to contact the new owners, but it is a bit of a question of who that is going to be, but I strongly suspect that it will be changing rapidly as it sold to developers, and looks like it will trade around.

While I am pretty frustrated that in the last 6 months I finally got comfortable and had a carport put in, and did other improvements on the property, now they look to be lost too me (well, I actually mean I will need to move them)

Looking hot and heavy for property to buy now, and going to have to do something fairly soon.

May just end up with the bigger house the wife wants and some land to build my shop and store the equipment on so maybe it will all just be a positive thing.

Unfortunately, at the moment, we do not have enough land and space at the current house to store the equipment and trailers and containers that we currently have.....

Something will work, but it sure will be interesting for a bit.

Guess I know what I will be doing over the Christmas holidays.

 

[Dusty]

That certainly is a bummer. I have always said that if the price is right, everything is for sale. Someone just made them an offer that they couldn't refuse. It is a shame that you never asked them for a "right of last refusal" agreement on the property as long as you were renting the property. That way, they would have had to given you the chance to buy the property for what they were offered, or canceled the rental agreement before they sold.
Dusty

 

[N80]

A farmer friend of mine faced this same issue but on a larger scale. For probably 40 years a substantial portion of his cattle ranch was leased. The owner was getting older (90s) and realized he needed to sell it. He did give my friend right of first refusal but land prices are high here. But, he had to have this land to continue to farm, which is what he wants to do. He ended up buying it but now that debt is another major farming expense.

 

[rdln]

If your landlord did not specifically list your carport and other permanently fixed improvements as exceptions in sales agreement you might have legal problems removing them. Might want to ask. Sorry about the loss of storage.

 

[BTDT]

Are you planning on staying in same area (kids in school, etc.) or is this an opportunity to move to the place you've always dreamed of? Stressful with holidays coming up I'm sure, but keep your spirits up and good luck with whatever you decide. Keep us posted.

 

[AlanB]

I do not think that the carport etc. will be a hassle, I doubt the developers buying it are very concerned, they would bulldoze it into a ditch anyway, but I know it could get sticky, I just doubt it will and won't worry that one till it does.

Have to stay in the same town for the job.

Have always wanted a bigger place, just always felt we do not have the money to do it, and still feel that way, but... away we go, just have to see what we can find now that we can work with.

I am in the lets buy land that we like, build a shop and then build a house camp. The boss is in the let's find a house with land and a shop that we both like and is in the right place camp..... (I think the odds are pretty darn long on that happening)

Just got off the phone with her and I guess I am more worried about getting moved then she is. Somehow though, I think I will be responsible and doing most of the heavy bulk work.

It will all turn out well I am sure, exactly how just is not decided yet.

Oh, and we had tried to buy in the past, and could never get a solid price that he would accept from him (I do not think he ever wanted to sell it) and had been told we would get first right of refusal (not on paper so not worth that much) but his mind is slipping at this point, and I believe that wife and son are just making this happen now. No hard feelings, I knew it was a possibility going in, but wish it had worked out a bit differently none the less.

 

[Thomas]

Morning Alan.
Sorry to read about sour turn of event,sure hope something comes along before the holidays.

 

[Phils]

The VERY good news is that [in most of the country] it's a buyer's market for homes!

Think of how different it would be if they'd sold it a year ago.

Phil

 

[ByronBob]

What could another 200 in your motgage buy you in terms of a bigger place.

 

[Dusty]

If your landlord did not specifically list your carport and other permanently fixed improvements as exceptions in sales agreement you might have legal problems removing them. Might want to ask. Sorry about the loss of storage.

As long as he still has an active interest in the land, i.e. he is paying the rent, he has the right to remove his personal property, and in some instances it is in the rental agreement that he has to remove all of his property from the land. When you make improvements to the land that become part of the land, such as a building or pavement, they are considered part of the real estate and must stay. Things such as carports are usually considered "portable" even though they are tied to the ground. If the car port is affixed to the ground by poured concrete piers, then it could be considered part of the real estate. If it is anchored by the ends being only buried in the dirt, then that would be considered temporary. The seller doesn't have the right to include in the sales agreement anything that he doesn't own, and he doesn't own any of the non real improvements until the renter of the property vacates it. One would actually have to read the lease or rental agreement to know exactly what the situation is. In the absence of a agreement or these terms being in the rental agreement, it will be state law that will prevail, and we all know how states can vary on this. Since he is in the landscaping business, it is considered normal that the plants that he has planted on the property, even though they would normally be considered real property, are personal property by the very nature of the business. One that is constant about the law, is that it isn't constant in every occasion.
Dusty