Property Value?

[ohiotw]

My wife and I are looking to move out of the city to something more rural. The property does have some neighbors on one side but other than that pretty quite location. I am curious what others think would be a good starting offer on the property. We intend to live in the trailer for a few years while we put up a metal garage (small pole building). Then remove the trailer and build a house.

Anyone have experiences with this type of property? I haven't seen to many trailers on land in the country for sale locally. The key here is it is PRIME school district. The open enrollment line forms a day in advance at the school for parents hoping to get their kids in that live out of district.

http://www.realtor.com/realestateand...70-48032?row=3

[Fishindude]

Not real familiar with your location and local costs but here are my thoughts:

a. One acre building site ought to be worth $8-10,000
b. Well may cost $3-5,000
c. Septic may cost $5-10,000
d. Trailer might have a re-sale value of $5,000

Add all that up $21-30,000
Site is clean, level and mowed so minimal site prep and you can begin your building plans.

All said, I don't think the listed price is too crazy. Start with a low offer, you can always raise it, or they may counter with something?

[ohiotw]

That was my thinking as well. I was going to start at 18K and I don't think I want to pay over 25k for the "land" essentially. Its hard to find any land in this school district under 5 acres because its so rural so most is farm land. The going rate it seems for land in that district is around 10-15K or more per acre.

[cc-rider]

How did it turn out? That's right down the road from me.
Well...a few miles...

[gibbsgirl]

If you're feeling like this is maybe "the place", I'd ask the property owner to let you get an appraisal done.

You're under no obligation to allow the appraiser to disclose the appraisal report results to them because you',re paying for it. But, you need their permission.

That's what we've always done when we buy or sell a place for the last several years. The markets just had tremendous volatility.

They seem to always cost between $200-$300. So, its not super cheap, but we don't do many, and that's a small cost compared to the price of committing to a property.

[Yvonne's hubby]

Speaking of appraisals... I went to an auction this morning in hopes of winning the bid on a fairly decent house and lot in town. Before the sale I was ratchet jawing with a fellow I met in my active real estate days. (Sold his homestead for him) He figured the place would bring 35k. I bid it up to 34,500 and got out when the other bidder took it to 35. That was the final bid and after the sale I again ran up on my friend.... Told him he should get into the appraisal game.

[ohiotw]

We started with an offer of 15k. They countered with 29k and said that was final price from their side. We promptly moved on and are still looking. We saw an appraisal from 2014 which value the property at 15k and the trailer at 2k. We also saw the owners paid 15k in 2009 for the property with a house on it. We aren't in a rush so we are going to be patient and let the price come down. The owners just dropped the price online to 29k which was their "take it or leave it offer" a month ago.

[Bellyman]

I wish I knew an appraiser. There's a little place I'm looking at right now that's been for sale for a while. 6 acres of nice land but an old mobile home on it that no finance company will have anything to do with. It's actually pretty nice, not fancy, but quite livable, but that doesn't matter... it's an "old mobile home". (And the 6 acres is some of the better dirt in the area, good fertile soil, which I really like.)

It's been priced around $50k for quite a while. It was last sold at $41k. It's on the market right now for $45k and it's just sitting there.

Honestly, I have had in mind that if I could get the place and build a simple but decent home on it, it might be something that would end up being worth a lot more than what I'd put into it. But... I'd still love to know what an appraiser would say the place is worth. After all, it's not what you can sell a place for, it's what you can buy it for... or so I'm told.