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One more reason why Realtors can be invaluable. (Yeah, I know I can do it myself. But I'm much happier having somebody else do it and who knows what they are doing.)
You cannot trust a Realtor to do that research. Some may, but in my experience many won't. In that case, you have to do it yourself to be sure. Generally, with plenty of news sources, zoning maps, and property records on line these days, it can be done at any hour, so it really isn't that difficult to vet properties that you have a serious interest in.
Unless your house backs up to land under some sort of permanent conservation easement you should never assume it will remain undeveloped, even if there are no current plans to develop it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by VickiR
It is a red flag to buy a home that backs to vacant land. You have no control over what that vacant land will be, in the future. Oh, you say, it is zoned residential. Zoning can be changed.
This. Never understood why people thought the land would always be vacant. Similarly where I am in west Cary, the 50-70 year old house is on a largish piece of land (couple of acres). Large enough to subdivide/develop, but not acquired when the original land for the complainer's neighborhood was bought and developed.
Now 10 years later, it is announced that a retail/office complex is slated to go on the site and everyone screams. Just because the owners had been letting a church use the run down structure as a temporary office doesn't mean that will last forever.
I am always amazed at residents that show up at Planning and Zoning Board and Commissioners meetings stating they bought their house with promises that 200+ acres, etc. of vacant farm land/timber, etc. Adjoining property owners have a right to develop their property based on current zoning or even request change in zoning. Towns, cities and counties will consider zone changes to increase tax revenue. Count on it!
This, and if any of those people at the zoning board meeting were in the position to own the 200 acres, they would not want their rights to develop it to be impeded. I actually welcome the development in my area, maybe we will get a decent restaurant or I wont have to travel as far to buy certain things.
This. Never understood why people thought the land would always be vacant. Similarly where I am in west Cary, the 50-70 year old house is on a largish piece of land (couple of acres). Large enough to subdivide/develop, but not acquired when the original land for the complainer's neighborhood was bought and developed.
Now 10 years later, it is announced that a retail/office complex is slated to go on the site and everyone screams. Just because the owners had been letting a church use the run down structure as a temporary office doesn't mean that will last forever.
The land that Weldon Ridge now occupies was owned by the Catholic Diocese of Raleigh when we moved to Cary Park in 2003. They planned to put a church and school on it. We did all the due diligence we could at the time. 2 years later they sold to Orleans and down came 300 acres of old growth pine trees.
You should ALWAYS assume the possibility of development for "vacant" land in our rapidly growing area unless it is a state park like Umstead, a city park, has a conservation easement on it from a well known conservation group like the Nature Conservancy, or is Army Corps of Engineers land. ANY privately owned land not under a conservation easement may be developed. I have friends who thought they were buying in an area that wasn't going to be developed anymore and was all going to be conserved, but then the landowner fell on hard times and decided to build more houses on it. It wasn't under a conservation easement, he had just told them it was going to be conserved so he could do whatever he wanted with it.
The only way to insure that the land next to your home won't be developed is to own it.....
unless it gets condemned for the "betterment of the community in general" (roads, water treatment plants, nuclear power plant, reservoirs). Fast growing communities are under a constant peril. Wake and Chatham counties have a long history of this.
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