Subdividing a 5 acre GGE parcel into 2, 2.5 acre lots. (Naples: for sale, mortgage)

[Tripower455]

Has anyone on here ever subdivided an existing lot in GGE or know the process to do it?

We've got 5 acres, with the house on one side, and roughly 2.5 acres vacant on the other. We are looking to sell the side with the house on it, and maybe hang onto the other half for a while.

When we bought it 20 years ago, I had it surveyed into separate 2 3/4 and 2 1/4 acre lots, but all of the tax stuff has always shown it as 5 acres.

[JPrzybylski07]

No have never done it. Did do a lot line adjustment with zoning in the building department. An attorney drafted the legal documents and they were of course recorded with the clerk of the courts. But this was between 2 homeowners.

I would call the tax collector office first to get pointed in the right direction. Since you want to create a new parcel ID # and legal description you might need an attorney as well.

Just to clarify in case I am misunderstanding, when you say you had it surveyed into separate lots does that mean you technically own 2 separate properties right next to each other with each having their own legal descriptions?

Just because they were surveyed into 2 separate lots of course doesn't make it legal with the county or provide marketable title in order to sell as you know.

[Naplesfan]

If you are able to split it, be sure that your homestead exemption on the lot your house is located is still intact.
That cost me a couple thousand bucks when I bougnt a half lot next to my house.


Naplesfan

[Tripower455]

Originally Posted by JPrzybylski07

No have never done it. Did do a lot line adjustment with zoning in the building department. An attorney drafted the legal documents and they were of course recorded with the clerk of the courts. But this was between 2 homeowners.

I would call the tax collector office first to get pointed in the right direction. Since you want to create a new parcel ID # and legal description you might need an attorney as well.

Thanks. I'm definitely gonna use an attorney.

Just to clarify in case I am misunderstanding, when you say you had it surveyed into separate lots does that mean you technically own 2 separate properties right next to each other with each having their own legal descriptions?

Just because they were surveyed into 2 separate lots of course doesn't make it legal with the county or provide marketable title in order to sell as you know.

That's what I was wondering. When we bought the lot, I had it surveyed into 2 separate lots, because I wasn't sure I could swing mortgage on the whole thing at the time, wanted the second lot somewhat liquid, and figuried that while they were doing it, they might as well split it. If we decided to keep it, no harm, no foul. That survey (that I still have a copy of) apparently never made it to the legal description after we built the house on one of them, which shows it as one 5 acre lot.

[Tripower455]

Originally Posted by Naplesfan

If you are able to split it, be sure that your homestead exemption on the lot your house is located is still intact.
That cost me a couple thousand bucks when I bougnt a half lot next to my house.


Naplesfan

Good to know! Was that an oversight on their part, or is there some rule that if you change the legal description, it gets reassessed or something?

We are gonna be selling the side with the house, and hanging on to the vacant lot for a while, but I'll definitely keep that in mind.

[Naplesfan]

I believe it was because of the legal description When I added the half lot I assumed my homestead would stay. Instead it put the combination of the lots together without homestead.



Naplesfan

[ron e wheels]

There are new restrictions on sub dividing lots and I believe it is somewhere at 2 1/2 acres as the smallest. I could be mistaken but I believe that came up at one of the civic association meetings. Currently I see very small lots(skinny, odd shaped} with houses (very small) being put upon them. I believe there is a feeling that the county could place further restrictions on building on these lots. When you see what they are building and on what lot, you think that the structure is a sub station.
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[Tripower455]

Originally Posted by ron e wheels

There are new restrictions on sub dividing lots and I believe it is somewhere at 2 1/2 acres as the smallest. I could be mistaken but I believe that came up at one of the civic association meetings. Currently I see very small lots(skinny, odd shaped} with houses (very small) being put upon them. I believe there is a feeling that the county could place further restrictions on building on these lots. When you see what they are building and on what lot, you think that the structure is a sub station.
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The restriction on subdividing them, unless it's changed recently, is no smaller than 2.25 acres. That rule's been around since the mid 70's, IIRC. I'd be surprised if they they'd bother to change it to 2.5, (It's a 30' difference in frontage if divided front to back.) but you never know in this county.


One of the original GGE sales tactics was "buy it by the acre, sell it by the lot" and buyers were encouraged to subdivide their lots. I am not sure if there were any restrictions at all prior to the county restriction, but most were made no smaller than 75'x660', which gave each lot road frontage. The 1.14ish acre "band aid" lots were all subdivided before the county restriction, and there are a ton of them!

FWIW, I think that the original developers, Gulf American, intended for the lots to be 330' deep, and not 660, which is why the street numbers are either odd or even and skip the others. They intended for streets to go between them. When we built our house, there was a deep right of way extending from the back of the property that was still a player when we built our pool in 2003. I wanted the pool oriented with the long length perpendicular to the house, but we weren't allowed to do so, because it would encroach on that ROW. It's also the reason I didn't want a lot on either of the next 2 streets to the south, because if they ever decided to extend GGB further west to Logan, it lines up perfectly with the ROW in between those 2 streets.

I believe that they've removed the right of way and went to normal setback distances, but I haven't really kept up.

[JPrzybylski07]

Originally Posted by Tripower455

Thanks. I'm definitely gonna use an attorney.



That's what I was wondering. When we bought the lot, I had it surveyed into 2 separate lots, because I wasn't sure I could swing mortgage on the whole thing at the time, wanted the second lot somewhat liquid, and figuried that while they were doing it, they might as well split it. If we decided to keep it, no harm, no foul. That survey (that I still have a copy of) apparently never made it to the legal description after we built the house on one of them, which shows it as one 5 acre lot.

I don’t understand what you mean by you not being sure you could swing a mortgage on the whole thing...after you already bought the 5 acres.

Do you have 2 surveys of 2 different lots? No legal descriptions on them??

[Tripower455]

Originally Posted by JPrzybylski07

I don’t understand what you mean by you not being sure you could swing a mortgage on the whole thing...after you already bought the 5 acres.

Obviously, since we bought it and have been living on it for 20 years, we could swing it, but we didn't want to be house poor. Heck, we "qualified" for over $200k more than I was comfortable with.

We'd spent over 6 months trying to find a +/-2.5 acre lot, which, with the house and amenities we wanted to build, would've been more comfortable, payment wise, at the time.

We couldn't find any for sale in the areas we wanted (west of 951, preferably off Logan or Oakes) but found this 5 acre lot. When we bought it and had it surveyed, we intended to sell the other lot and refinance the remainder if the payment on the whole thing was too much.

Instead of selling the second lot, we decided to wait a few years, when I knew I'd be getting a significant pay raise, to install a pool. This kept the payments manageable in the meanwhile.

This turned out to be the right choice, since we ended up with a much bigger and better pool area, and we still have the land.

Do you have 2 surveys of 2 different lots? No legal descriptions on them??

The only survey I have in my posession is the one where it's split in 2. The legal description on the county tax appraiser's site shows it as the full 5 acres. Not sure how that happened.