heck of a deal for someone

[Callieslamb]

I've mentioned the property next door several times. It was foreclosed on a year ago and finally up for sale. When I first checked a month ago - it was listed at 52K. 3 br house, 2 bath, 2 car detached garage - no basement. One other outbuilding and the deck for a pool, with 3, unfenced acres - all cleared. Now it's listed at $32K.......$32,000 stinking $$$ for a home!

Someone had better come snatch it up before I do. Land here is supposedly $10K an acre. That's what our realtor said when we moved here..and others have agreed. But I don't think THIS land is worth that unless you can buy 20 acres to the other side of it or something. No one would rent it since they can't get to it without going through our property or the other neighbor. The land is what I want - I have no desire to be a landlord.

The house needs a new septic system and maybe that's the catch. Maybe one can't be put in - but if that's the case wouldn't that have to be stated somewhere and the property condemned? Or at least, denied a health dept occupancy slip? and THAT written down somewhere? There was a septic system at one point - it didn't work/failed or something and the owner put in a well(?) septic - it's basically a ditch in the back yard. There has never been a smell from it that we've noticed. And apparently it is a legal system. Is there a way to tell if the septic can't be fixed?

Anyway, the house needs all new carpeting. Probably a bit of insulation and maybe some linoleum. There are no appliances. One bedroom floor is sagging a tad - but if you like crawl spaces that could be fixed. The laundry room could use some paint. This is a 2-piece modular home about 20 yrs old. The roof looks good - some of the sofit was blown back last week in the wind. It really, really needs someone to love it. Preferable someone that will build nice fences to keep their animals in and not raise 20 pigs.....

Any takers? I almost have DH convinced to buy it.

[TamiJoyFarm]

Buy it and then sell the home. Someone will buy the house and move it if priced right... The 3.67 acres next to us is priced for $167,000 with a shop, farrowing building and a barn that is about to come down. Water rights are for domestic use only. I think $32,000 is a STEAL!

[rambler]

I think you have a neighbor-problem in the making.

Someone is goin to buy that cheap property and force a road for access to it. Sounds like a 50-50 chance that access easement will run through your property?

Good luck.

Bad septic generally get sold 'as is' or else with the problem disclosed, and one has something like 6 months to bring it up to code. If nothing else works a mound system or other speedy setup, but it can be worked with.

I really think you have a problem there, from your description? How did the evicted folk get to the house back when they owned it?

Paul

[geo in mi]

[QUOTE=Callieslamb;6298974]
The house needs a new septic system and maybe that's the catch. Maybe one can't be put in - but if that's the case wouldn't that have to be stated somewhere and the property condemned? Or at least, denied a health dept occupancy slip? and THAT written down somewhere? There was a septic system at one point - it didn't work/failed or something and the owner put in a well(?) septic - it's basically a ditch in the back yard. There has never been a smell from it that we've noticed. And apparently it is a legal system. Is there a way to tell if the septic can't be fixed? [QUOTE]

The most likely scenario for what you have there is that the septic system failed, the owner went to the county for a permit and was denied one. Then the owner rigged a ditch to try to take care of matters, at least temporarily....then got foreclosed---now it's someone else's problem, and an expensive one, at that.

You could call a septic excavator and get an opinion. My guess is that you will need at least a new distribution system, and perhaps a lift station(pump) to install to get the new system higher above the water table--in other words to put more sand between it and the water table. If you have an experienced excavator; one who is well-known for his work, he may be able to convince the county that the system has been grandfathered in and only needs a new distribution system in a different location, but at the same level, with no pump.....To my knowlege, in Michigan, there is no septic policeman who follows up on the places that got denied a permit. In your county, poor as it is, you may have to wait on a permit, plus wait for an inspector to come out and make a final approval before the hole is closed up........

Oh, and your county may have an age ordinance on mobile homes.....you might want to check that out, too.

geo

[Allen W]

You should buy it or you and your neighbor buy it and split it. Solve a lot of head aches before they happen.

[JanO]

Sounds like they're selling for land value only. Probably because the house needs too much work before it can be lived in, or maybe there's no way to finance it without the septic being fixed. I'd buy it and get rid of the house out, but that's me.

[Dusky Beauty]

Buy it and sell the trailer-- maybe build a nice deluxe milking parlor/shop/barn on the spot using the power and water connection-- then you don't have to worry about what if neighbors, or the septic much.

[Callieslamb]

It's really not a trailer. I think it's one of the 2 piece modular homes but I've never seen one on a crawl space before. I thought those were set up on concrete pads. It's actually fairly nice - big rooms. Nothing fancy - except the whirlpool tub. Not heavy duty construction but nice enough. They added a mud room/enclosed porch and a laundry room. The previous owner said one bedroom was hard to keep warm.

As for the land: My land goes straight back from my house - 7 acres worth - about 200 feet wide. The property next door is about 100 ft wide and goes back almost as far as mine does. Mine, however, has a little 1/2 acre flag behind him so, I'm at 300 ft wide there. The house is totally accessible from a paved road. Sorry, I've messed you all up - this property is directly to the south of us. Land to the north and east is rented for corn/soy crops. For the person that rents those pieces to get to this one they'd have to cross our little flag. If it weren't for lurkers, I'd put it on google maps for you. Who else would rent 2 acres for crops except someone already growing those in that area?

That's actually a good idea about splitting it with another neighbor. He has 20 acres...and a son that is always looking for a home....not sure I want to finance something for someone though.

What we don't know is if there was a septic system at one time, or not. This house sits almost even with ours so I don't think it's a water table issue. I think this guy just couldn't afford to fix it. Dh thinks there never was one. At one point, the neighbor across the street turned the guy in because his sewage was draining into the ditch along the main road. So if it failed, or he didn't a good one I don't know. He put in a ditch kind of thing a couple years ago - since we've been here anyway. It's more like a 4 ft deep pond with steep sides that about as big around as a tractor tire.

Would the county health dept keep a record of the septic? They are the ones that have to say "a-okay" for habitation, right? If I had a septic guy out- how would he know what was where? Or could a realtor check on that for us?

We've only ever bought property that clears all inspections or the loan doesn't go through. It would be nice to think we could still low ball the bank further, but honestly, this property is well worth the $32,000.

[rambler]

Many counties have some of that info online.

Some states even have such permits/ records online. For exanmple, my state has detailed info on every well recorded, with locations on maps....

You might find some info for your county here:

Michigan Permits and Inspections Search Directory - Page 1

--->Paul

[oregon woodsmok]

Is there legal access or not? I'm confused. You've said twice that access is across your property. If there is no legal access, it isn't worth much to anybody but you.

[geo in mi]

Originally Posted by Callieslamb

It's really not a trailer. I think it's one of the 2 piece modular homes but I've never seen one on a crawl space before. I thought those were set up on concrete pads. It's actually fairly nice - big rooms. Nothing fancy - except the whirlpool tub. Not heavy duty construction but nice enough. They added a mud room/enclosed porch and a laundry room. The previous owner said one bedroom was hard to keep warm.

As for the land: My land goes straight back from my house - 7 acres worth - about 200 feet wide. The property next door is about 100 ft wide and goes back almost as far as mine does. Mine, however, has a little 1/2 acre flag behind him so, I'm at 300 ft wide there. The house is totally accessible from a paved road. Sorry, I've messed you all up - this property is directly to the south of us. Land to the north and east is rented for corn/soy crops. For the person that rents those pieces to get to this one they'd have to cross our little flag. If it weren't for lurkers, I'd put it on google maps for you. Who else would rent 2 acres for crops except someone already growing those in that area?

That's actually a good idea about splitting it with another neighbor. He has 20 acres...and a son that is always looking for a home....not sure I want to finance something for someone though.

What we don't know is if there was a septic system at one time, or not. This house sits almost even with ours so I don't think it's a water table issue. I think this guy just couldn't afford to fix it. Dh thinks there never was one. At one point, the neighbor across the street turned the guy in because his sewage was draining into the ditch along the main road. So if it failed, or he didn't a good one I don't know. He put in a ditch kind of thing a couple years ago - since we've been here anyway. It's more like a 4 ft deep pond with steep sides that about as big around as a tractor tire.

Would the county health dept keep a record of the septic? They are the ones that have to say "a-okay" for habitation, right? If I had a septic guy out- how would he know what was where? Or could a realtor check on that for us?

We've only ever bought property that clears all inspections or the loan doesn't go through. It would be nice to think we could still low ball the bank further, but honestly, this property is well worth the $32,000.

Don't know anything about the access situation, but your county does have a septic policeman: Berrien County Health Department and a very specific ordinance pertaining to septic systems. http://berriencounty.org/commissione...20Disposal.pdf

If you can thread your way through this information, it would seem that perhaps the county would have a record of prior pumping, maintenance, and approval/denial of permit applications that you could come by if you give them the parcel number. At the present, it seems like you might have to buy it unseen......, or qualify your bid with the bank to be valid only if septic system passes inspection---and I doubt that in the case of a foreclosure, the bank will do that. My bid would be then based on bare land value with the cost of septic/or removal of improved property factored in. At that point I would consider it like a hazardous waste type of cleanup cost--or bite the bullet to get a new, workable septic installed to the Inspector's satifaction(that's why you pay for the services of a local---good ole boy---septic installer).....My own opinion, not a lawyer....

geo

[Callieslamb]

Originally Posted by rambler

Many counties have some of that info online.

You might find some info for your county here: --->Paul

thanks for the link. My county wasn't listed. I did find it but it didn't have records of wells or septic systems there. Oh well.

Originally Posted by oregon woodsmok

Is there legal access or not? I'm confused. You've said twice that access is across your property. If there is no legal access, it isn't worth much to anybody but you.

I'm sorry, it's hard for me to describe it well. The property sits on a paved road. It is totally accessible as far as driving a car up the driveway to get into the house. The inaccessible part is for large farm implements. The land is only 100 ft wide so the building and driveway locations would keep large pieces of equipment from accessing from the front and my property (and another neighbor's) make inaccessible from the back. We have a trail/grass road on the edge of our property we use to get to our barn. They could use that road with our permission, but I'd have to prune a couple trees drastically. I'd allow the use of my road seasonally, but I'd not cut my trees for them. I hope that makes it more plain. A small tractor and pickup can get back there easily- especially if they use my road which the old owner did often. It's the farming equipment that wouldn't have access.

Here's the RE listing - however, it's sited wrong on the map so that won't do you any good in seeing it. The property is actually about a mile south of where the RE listing says it is. If you go south down the road until there's a 4-legged electric tower next to the road -that's the property just to the north of us. We're next. The house for sale then is south of us. It looks like there's a pool attached to the house, but he took the liner out. The decking is still there. The odd outbuildings/campers and trailers are not there now- it's a way old picture.

http://swmric.rapmls.com/scripts/mgrqispi.dll

[Callieslamb]

Originally Posted by geo in mi

If you can thread your way through this information, it would seem that perhaps the county would have a record of prior pumping, maintenance, and approval/denial of permit applications that you could come by if you give them the parcel number. At the present, it seems like you might have to buy it unseen......, or qualify your bid with the bank to be valid only if septic system passes inspection---and I doubt that in the case of a foreclosure, the bank will do that. My bid would be then based on bare land value with the cost of septic/or removal of improved property factored in. At that point I would consider it like a hazardous waste type of cleanup cost--or bite the bullet to get a new, workable septic installed to the Inspector's satifaction(that's why you pay for the services of a local---good ole boy---septic installer).....My own opinion, not a lawyer....

geo

Thanks, Geo -I actually read all 11 pages. Actually, dry well septics are okay so maybe it's not as bad as I thought. Supposedly, there's a septic tank, just not the drain field. Of course, I'm more comfy with a drain field....Our realtor friend said the price IS at land value only. I just have a hard time thinking that land is worth $10K an acre, as it's located and the soil type. Banks don't like to do home loans under $40K - or so we were told. I wouldn't want to give up that much cash for it. But I'll investigate further anyway. If it is at land value, maybe they will come down further.

[rambler]

You have been saying there is easy public road access to the buildings, but the 2 acre field out back has difficult access to it with farm equipment. It would be easiest for farmers to drive over your or possibly another neighbors land to get to the small field.

The access issue is not a legal one as the property has access, its a matter of ease of getting to a portion of the property.

If a pickup can get there, most farmers can get their equipment there, I would not worry about it nor offer your land as an access point. Sure many farmers will take the easiest path, but you don't need to allow that.

As you say, it's the size of the field, hard to unfold a planter or mount/dismount a combine header for such a little bit, so the place would not sell for just farmland for very much. Takes longer to set up the equipment than to actually farm the field with the narrow access.

Paul

[ronbre]

if you can get it make them a lower offer and see if you can get it, you could always rent out the house and use the land if you didn't want the place..esp being next door..

There are a couple places i was looking at for my son as he is commuting 1 1 /2 hours each way to work, they are both under $30,000 with land..and garage..no barns. but right now he can't do a buy, just a rental..as he is still paying on his house here.

[oregon woodsmok]

It's only 3 acres. Nobody needs to get heavy equipment in there, unless it is a one time deal to install a new septic tank.

You might consider making an offer on it and just use the house as some sort of workshop. You could surely use the existing outbuildings; you can never have too many outbuildings on a farm. It's cheap and it would save you from the possibility of a difficult neighbor.

Speaking from experience, never give anyone permission to use your land as an access. The possible exception might be to give a one time permission to drive around the house to haul a new septic tank in there, but make it clear that there will be no more driving on your property after that.

It's all well and fine to be generous, but you are begging for trouble by granting an access across your property. It's possible to even work yourself into a lawsuit and it guarantees difficulty if you ever need to sell. Just don't start in the first place.

[Callieslamb]

No, we don't want someone using our property, but we wouldn't like to be the stinky neighbors around either. I'd let some install something or deliver something using our driveway on a once in a great while basis. The guy that built our home gave the previous owner to the foreclosed property permission to use the driveway when he wanted. When we moved in, he insisted he still had the right to use it. We settled on a need basis- not for them to use the driveway as a parking place when they had guests.

I can't see anyone leasing the land either for that little bit. We had a hard time finding someone to come bale our 4 acres - that's why we bought our own equipment. The land is covered in queen ann's lace....nasty. Buying it would help us keep our property productive.

[WIWinterman]

An old thread here....
Just curious what happened to the sale land next to you? Did your family purchase it? Do you have new neighbors?