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Hoosierboy
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# Posted: 25 Sep 2011 05:40pm
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Hello, new around here, but been a cabin freak for many years.
I am originally from Indiana, and I want to move back there.
My great grand parents sold their farm in the 1970's. The location of their original house has been turned into a cow pasture.
I want to buy the ground where their house used to sit, and build a cabin. It has a lovely view of a wonderful valley.
How does one approach a very distant relative, to inquire about purchasing it?
I have the owner's number, and am working to get his address.
My family currently owns four wooded acres directly across the road.
How would you go about it????
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Hoosierboy
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# Posted: 25 Sep 2011 06:05pm
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Back in the day
1980
All gone
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PA_Bound
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# Posted: 25 Sep 2011 07:24pm
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In my experience there is no "magic bullet" answer to your question. The fact that you are distant relatives may help but, even then, that is no guarantee. But before you approach this I would suggest you understand what you are asking for. Is the pasture its own individual lot, or part of something larger (like an entire farm)? The owner can't, even if they wanted to, just sell you the pasture if it is part of a larger lot. You would either have to buy the entire lot, or have the owner sub-divide the entirety into smaller lots- one of which would be your pasture. But that process is not for the meek, and often requires naviagating layers of legal, financial and bureaucratic issues.
If you can afford to purchase the entire pasture lot after you figure out how large it actually is, do your homework and come up with the property's fair-market value (be prepared to add an uplift as an incentive for the owner to sell) and go talk with the owner (I wouldn't do this over the phone). Worst case all he can do is say "no".
If the pasture has to be sub-divided out, you can still ask, but you have about a snowballs chance of that happening (for very understandable reasons). In that case my recommendation would be to build on the 4 acres you have, or others you can more easily purchase around it.
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Hoosierboy
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# Posted: 25 Sep 2011 09:57pm
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Quoting: PA_Bound PA_Bound
Thank you very much for all that information.
Yes the small piece of land I want, is part of a much larger piece. I have copies of the land surveys, and that is all part of the original farm of my great grand parents.
Getting what I want may be nearly impossible
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PA_Bound
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# Posted: 25 Sep 2011 10:14pm
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Before you give up, have you thought about leasing the pasture land? I'm not certain of all the rules with that, but it would not require any sub-dividing. And if the owner is not using the land, and you're his relative, maybe he would be open to a little extra income for little/no work. Just a thought...
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gps4
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# Posted: 25 Sep 2011 10:32pm
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you should be able to get the address of the current owners from the tax assessor's office in the county where the land is.
if i was going to try to purchase a small piece of a larger parcel from distant relatives, i would send them a letter asking them if they would consider selling a small piece of the bigger parcel. i would assure them that if they would be willing to sell a small parcel, i would hire the surveyor to prepare a survey based on the property line the current owners would be comfortable in selling. i would let them know that i would like to get in touch with them in the near future to discuss whether they would be interested. be upfront abotu what you intend to use the property for and you may even ask them to consider what kind of restictive covenants they prefer if they are worried about how the property will be used.
if they are concerned about you selling the property later on down the road to strangers, you can arrange the transacton so that the previous owners have a first right of refusal and maybe even at a set price. that may give them some level of comfort.
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MtnDon
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# Posted: 25 Sep 2011 11:37pm
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Frequently the county will have rules/regs in place regarding the size of the package that can be split off. For example, in my county if the parcel is less than 5 or 6 acres (I forget exactly which) and is not being sold to an immediate family member, the seller gets into the realm of creating a sub division. That's a whole ball of wax that most sellers won't want to deal with unless they are being properly compensated.
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hattie
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# Posted: 26 Sep 2011 12:13am
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I love that old photo of your family. Before you approach the owners, I would do my homework to find out if it is possible to divide the parcel into a smaller one. If it is, make sure you tell the owners why you want the land (show them photos such as the one you posted) and then explain that you found out it would be legal to do what you want. Make sure they understand all the steps that would be involved and tell them you will pay the costs to resurvey the property or whatever is necessary when the land is divided up. You will also want to find out the going rate for land in the area. Offer them a fair market value for the land - don't try a low ball offer. Good luck. Keep us posted how you make out.
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Malamute
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# Posted: 26 Sep 2011 10:55am
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I second Hatties advice. I was thinking the exact same things before I saw her post.
Do your homework first, have answers when you talk to them, keep it simple and painless for them. Keep it family oriented, like having the family picture in your pocket, and explain it's a big part of why you would like to have that piece of ground again.
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