the house next door

[nc redneck]

I would seriously look at buying and renting as already suggested. Make sure the numbers add up. Nothing like someone buying you a house and land.

 

[brt]

An out=of=area person owned the lot next to me for years. He would visit a couple of times a year and makes sketches and take measurements saying that he was going to build a vacation home. He never did any maintenance and the county charged him (put the charge on his taxes) every year to cut the weeds, etc. Then I noticed that he was not coming by, nor paying the taxes. It went to a tax sale and I picked it up for less money than I had offered him many times.

The bottom line is that owning the land next to you will prevent you from stressing out every time a prospective owner looks at it when it is for sale. I'll never regret buying it.

 

[mikim]

I agree with everything said here...buy it...if you ever do regret it -- you can always sell it.

 

[davrow]

Buy it. We did, and the relief of knowing no one else will build there has made it soo worth it. Last payment is September! Our new lot is bare land, taxes are minimal.

 

[wngsprd]

Good idea about by-passing the realtor fees.

Realistically, it is worth more to you than to someone else. If you want more land, don't want to risk whatever you may get for neighbors, then as thatguy said, buy it and don't look back.

We bought an adjoining lot two years ago. Mostly to keep open buffer around us. There is a two acre lot enclosed on three sides by ours with an old house and falling down sheds. I will buy it too if I get the chance someday. A nice 94-year-old widow lives there, says she is planning on dying there. She is a good neighbor, but ya never know about the next one. It could be a nice young family looking for a starter price house, or it could be junkers and meth cookers.

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I wonder if the lady would be willing to sell to you today, with a concurrent rent-back agreement at little or no monthly rent. That way she gets cash, stays in place, and you lock up the property with a seller you know, rather than trying to negotiate with heirs. If not, maybe she would sell you an option to buy.

Based on all the work you've been doing at your place, described on other threads, sounds like she would view you as a good neighbor.

Just an idea.

 

[lostcreekranch]

As I once was told, the Good Lord is not making any new land and certainly none next to you. If you can swing it, try to get a sales agreement with her before it's gets listed.

Good luck!

Sent from my iPad using TractorByNet

 

[dave1949]

-

I wonder if the lady would be willing to sell to you today, with a concurrent rent-back agreement at little or no monthly rent. That way she gets cash, stays in place, and you lock up the property with a seller you know, rather than trying to negotiate with heirs. If not, maybe she would sell you an option to buy.

Based on all the work you've been doing at your place, described on other threads, sounds like she would view you as a good neighbor.

Just an idea.

It's a good idea and one that Sharon and I have talked about some but never acted on beyond feeling her out a bit about her intentions which seem to be she is staying put until they take her out head first. An option to buy would be the best thing.

She has a relative who would like her to move in with them during the winter but no dice. With an elderly person living alone, I hate to make them worry or feel threatened. She is still mostly mentally all there, but slipping a bit.

It's an old, small house. Sits about 2-1/2 car lengths from the road. No central heat, goodness knows what shape the plumbing and electric are in. The tin roof is getting old. The basement can be wet in spring and I believe it is natural stone foundation walls. If we owned it and something major needs fixing ... well, I wouldn't feel good about spending money on it as a landlord.

Her husband was a Navy Vet, passed away a long time ago. It's one of those cases where not much has been done to keep up or modernize the place for many years. I'm not sure what I would do with the house if I owned it. I don't really know enough about its condition, but I doubt it is worth putting money into and it probably needs everything. The attached sheds are sagging and rotting, they would have to go for sure.

 

[jimpen]

I would see about buying it and renting it back. Fix stuff as needed and after she passes let the local fire department use it for fire practice. Then just take the rest of the buildings and burn them.

Just have open land there.

 

[jaotguy]

or do what a lot of developers do ...

offer to buy her place at an agreed upon price .... she gets half now and keeps possession of the property and maintains it till she's ready to move ( or passes away )... at that time she (or her estate) gets the other half of the agreed price.

this locks the property from being sold to someone else , she stays and it's still hers till she "relocates" either way.

penalty clauses are included to make it almost impossible to break the deal by any heirs or people contesting the her will.
( very similar to reverse mortgages ) it gets extremely expensive to get out of the deal for her ( usually 3x the original agreed price in penalties )
just in case she decides to leave it to that "long lost niece" that stayed with her in her last few months ....

if she agrees, have a lawyer draw up the papers and have independent witnesses....

this way , you have legal claim ( lien ) to the property , but are not the owner and don't have to worry about being a landlord ...
if anyone tries to take it , they have to pay a lot more than what it is worth ...
you also only have to come up with 1/2 the asking price ( or once again , make monthly payments to her bank account till 1/2 is reached )

 

[txdon]

Before you figure in a clean swipe with the Fire Department you might want to check with them first. There are a few EPA and maybe ever State burn regulation involved. You do not want to be liable if anything unexpected happens and neither do they. Our VFD does not do burns on private property, we have Texas A&M fire school to practice at.