Ok, I screwed up, and bought land without seeing it first (Ash Fork: for sale, broker) - Arizona (AZ) - City-Data Forum

onedeep99 · 08-15-2010, 07:12 PM

I purchased a 10 acre parcel in Ash Fork, AZ (juniper wood ranch) after the local broker gave me verbal instructions, and a hand drawn map to go view the land.

I got as close as I could, and based on his instructions, thought I was viewing the land. It was really nice, and I was excited to purchase.

After visiting what I thought was the land for sale, I returned and signed paperwork. The deal closed, and I now own the acreage.

After 8 months, and doing further research to plan out first camping trip, I decided to locate my gps coordinates. Turns out that I was almost a mile off when I visited the first time.

The ACTUAL piece I purchased is a much more remote, steep, and generally unusable mountain top. Despite the awesome views, I dont even want it. Developing it would require much more work and money than I thought I was getting into.

I am 27 years old, so perhaps my inexperience in land purchases has gotten the better of me, and I now realize the "good deal" was possibly too good to be true.

I dont know where to go from this point. I am pretty dissapointed.

I dont know what options the broker or owner would even consider. I feel like I was mis-led as to the actual location, and remoteness of the land by the broker, however, I also know that it is my responsibility to do my due diligence in these kinds of situations.

Any thought on how I can possibly get out of this? Should I just try to re-sell it? Do you think the broker would work with me? Or am I just out of luck? Should I just accept the land, and amount of work it would take to get it even usable?

Any feedback, or advice would be GREATLY appreciated.

Thanks.

kdog · 08-15-2010, 07:28 PM

What are we talking here, something around $10K? If so, either hang on to it or sell it. Your choice. No biggy. It's land, and it's probably worth what you paid. If you paid a whole lot more than that, and you can prove that you were swindled, then go after the broker. Otherwise, same deal. Either keep it as a long term investment, or try to dump it. BTW, I'd be interested in seeing the property. If you send me the GPS coords, I'll check it out and take some pictures for you.

DesertZone · 08-15-2010, 09:43 PM

Mountain side property if not to steep can be worth alot, maybe not now but should have potential.
If it was me and I did not want it for the future, I would take as many pics of it as I could, views, trees, power poles, roads to get there, etc... People will pay more for something they have seen pictures of.
Over my life time I heard many a person say I should have kept or bought some of that property. Land people poke fun at now could be the next hot spot, you never know.
Best of luck to you.

onedeep99 · 08-16-2010, 08:56 AM

kdog, i paid a little under 9k for the 10.92 acres, so I dont think I was swindled, but I definitely think I could have been told just how remote and mountainous it really is by the broker. I would love for you to go take some pictures. That would be awesome, and if you took really good ones, maybe I'd be a little less dissapointed with this land

Do you have an email I can send the coordinates to?

Desertzone, I am considering hanging onto it strictly for investment purposes, but my real reason for buying it in the first place was to have a place for me and my sons to go camping, vacationing, etc... now im just afraid it will cost a fortune to get it level enough to even use.

Any idea what kind of cost is associated with leveling remote, mountain side property?

Thanks for the responses!

kdog · 08-16-2010, 10:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by onedeep99

kdog, i paid a little under 9k for the 10.92 acres, so I dont think I was swindled, but I definitely think I could have been told just how remote and mountainous it really is by the broker. I would love for you to go take some pictures. That would be awesome, and if you took really good ones, maybe I'd be a little less dissapointed with this land

Do you have an email I can send the coordinates to?

I sent you a PM, so you can answer me back with the coords.

I usually figure between $1K and $2K an acre for undeveloped areas, so your price sounds reasonable. Really, the only way you're going to be able to figure out any improvement costs is to get out there and look at it. Existence of roads, and the shape of the terrain will drastically affect how much work it would take to get some usable space out of it. What some folks do it to buy a tractor and work on the property themselves on their vacations. Sell the tractor when you're done. Alternatively, I'm sure you can find any number of local excavators who probably got their start the same way and now do this for extra income. And who knows, you may find you may find you have access and usable space aready. Actually it sounds like an adventure to me. I'm a little bit envious.

Zonie5 · 08-16-2010, 11:17 AM

i live in Ash Fork , let me know of the locations and i can oblige you . from what you say it is on a mountain side i'm not sure where that would be . Ash Fork is not near mountains . . might be the area knows as Knolls . who did you deal with ? or and i hope you did not buy in what is called Juniper woods . that area is living "off the grid".

onedeep99 · 08-16-2010, 11:25 AM

well I suppose it isnt technically a mountain, rather than a large hill. It is in juniper woods ranch, but I knew it was off the grid, and am fine with that. I actually preferred to be off-grid. It is about 9 miles south of I-40 on Arizona Road. I bought through Jakes old west properties.

kdog, i will send you those coordinates...

Snort · 08-16-2010, 11:33 AM

You might try Google Earth with your coordinates. They may already have some decent photos of your land.

azdr0710 · 08-16-2010, 11:50 AM

gee, like kdog, I'm kinda envious, too.....sounds like an OK price for a getaway place with nice views!....are roads in good condition year-round?....do they have an assoc. that maintains the roads?....decide how far you want to go with "improvements" because it could be pricey and you won't get back all you put into it, probably.....frankly, I don't think the land will appreciate that much in the coming years as there always seems to be a lot of it for sale.....

would like to see a picture of it here when you can manage one...

onedeep99 · 08-16-2010, 12:03 PM

the roads are definitely rough, and not maintained. 4wd is a necessity (which i have). There is almost no way I would be able to access it with any kind of rain/snow falling within a few days, as there are several dried up run-off trenches that cross the road in several places, that had obvious signs of recent, heavy water flowing through them. I cant imagine driving through them if water/mud was present, even with a 4wd.