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I am interested in buying an abutting section of wooded land from a neighbor located in rural Georgia
The neighbor is a aging widow who lives on about 38 Acres with 3 smaller older cottage style homes.
The section that I am interested is about 5 acres that borders the property line and is essentially wooded sloped woods.
I am hoping to get a very good price as this portion is not ideal for building or farming and in a recent encounter with her, she described the land as 'wild'.
What recommendation/advice on what steps I should take to approach her; also what things need to be done to effect a legal sale ( I figured a survey and lawyer for purchase closure).
If you get a "very good price", the loss of the 5 acres may devalue her property enough that it provides little incentive for her to sell. Try offering a fair price for forest/recreational property and it might work out for both of you.
As an owner, I'd be concerned about a potential change in use that could diminish the wild character of the land or lessen the buffer. What are your plans for the property? If you plan to essentially keep it as-is, you may want to give her appropriate assurances that it would remain natural. How large is your property? You may want to consider placing a conservation easement on your property, along with the 5 acres, as an assurance and incentive for her to sell.
As far as the legal steps, you'll likely need a survey in order to partition the property and add it to yours. Check with the local authorities as to the process involved. Otherwise, you'll need to just do the basic due diligence steps to make sure that there is good and marketable title. (If it's simply land with a long history of just being natural--meaning no trash dumps or man-made buildings--there's probably not much concern about potential environmental issues, but you should still research the past history as much as possible.) It never hurts to consult with a good real estate lawyer.
I had a property survey done, I found out the boundary line between our properties was not accurate and the new survey favored me gaining a few acres.
As a result, a dirt road that would have been on her property now was split between both of our properties.
My main reason is to obtain that road bed so I can control access to my property.
with the new property lines, the roadbed no longer serves any use to the neighbor; not that she was using it anyway ( it gave her late husband access to the bordering land).
If I can obtain the 5 acres which would include the roadbed, I could close off the road to anyone else from getting on my property.
I had a property survey done, I found out the boundary line between our properties was not accurate and the new survey favored me gaining a few acres.
As a result, a dirt road that would have been on her property now was split between both of our properties.
My main reason is to obtain that road bed so I can control access to my property.
with the new property lines, the roadbed no longer serves any use to the neighbor; not that she was using it anyway ( it gave her late husband access to the bordering land).
If I can obtain the 5 acres which would include the roadbed, I could close off the road to anyone else from getting on my property.
If you are legally able to block the dirt road if you own all of it why can't the two of you just agree to legally block the road? If she is elderly and does not use the road, why would she care if it is blocked? Or are you concerned that once she dies her heirs will cause problems?
Agreed. If the road is partly on your property and doesn't serve her property at all, it might be simpler just to reach an agreement which would allow you to close off or remove the road.
we had a similar situation.
widow with 3 acres adjoining our property.
our deal was: after she sold the land's lumber,
she gave us a really good deal on the land.
we had a similar situation.
widow with 3 acres adjoining our property.
our deal was: after she sold the land's lumber,
she gave us a really good deal on the land.
If you are legally able to block the dirt road if you own all of it why can't the two of you just agree to legally block the road? If she is elderly and does not use the road, why would she care if it is blocked? Or are you concerned that once she dies her heirs will cause problems?
You are correct! Although, the older lady seems very nice and never goes anywhere near this side of her property, She has an adult son and daughter. After meeting her son ( in his mid-30's), I can tell he is not someone I would trust. You could tell right-off he is a person of 'questionable integrity' ; The long term neighbors ,all of whom speak endearingly about his mother, say he was trouble around the area growing up. They even told me that he has cut timber off and dumped trash on my property when it was vacant before I bought it.
Fortunately, I don't think he lives on his mother's property permanently.
So, I really would like to buy the area for a bit of a buffer and to secure it the road. The road can only serve as entrance onto my property; no other properties back there.
Last edited by outdoorman; 07-09-2019 at 05:59 PM..
Agreed. If the road is partly on your property and doesn't serve her property at all, it might be simpler just to reach an agreement which would allow you to close off or remove the road.
Also, I would gate the entrance and maintain it because it is the only existing driveable road existing onto my property.
[quote=turkeydance;55627316]we had a similar situation.
widow with 3 acres adjoining our property.
our deal was: after she sold the land's lumber,
she gave us a really good deal on the land.[/QUOT
The 5 acres I want on the other side of the road has some timber but I'm not sure if a timber company would find it worth removing for all the effort.
Her property totals about 38 Acres and her dwellings and other structures are on the other far side of the acreage so she is no where near my area. She has a different access to that area which has a driveway directly off a paved hardtop county maintained road.
She seems to be a nice lady; so nice in fact she's even offered me to use the fishing pond on the back of her property when I want to. Neighbors tell me her deceased husband was just as nice.
Last edited by outdoorman; 07-09-2019 at 06:02 PM..
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