Value of land without road frontage? (appraisal, agent, sales, fee)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I have a piece of property with a deeded easement from the road. Does not having road frontage decrease the value of land? In the case of this particular property the lot in front of the property with the road frontage is not "desirable" for building due to terrain (it is a wooded hillside). It would take a lot of work to build a septic field and the is only about a 1/4 acre that is level.
Is the value of my land less than if it were to have road frontage? If so, why is it worth less? My thought is there is less traffic noise off from the road.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
44,550 posts, read 81,103,317 times
Reputation: 57750
As long as there is a recorded easement to access it, the value wouldn't be much different.
If not, it could be considered unbuildable, because the owner in front might not grant access for a driveway. Flag lots are common where a home is built behind another but most often the
owner in front has the whole lot and subdivides it, with the driveway belonging to the back part. You should buy the front lot and build on the back, keeping it as a two parcel lot and sell the whole thing.
I have a piece of property with a deeded easement from the road. Does not having road frontage decrease the value of land? In the case of this particular property the lot in front of the property with the road frontage is not "desirable" for building due to terrain (it is a wooded hillside). It would take a lot of work to build a septic field and the is only about a 1/4 acre that is level.
Is the value of my land less than if it were to have road frontage? If so, why is it worth less? My thought is there is less traffic noise off from the road.
Yes, it is worth less without road frontage. Reason: Developing the lot. Cost of getting utilities in there. Water, electric/gas utilities, all have to be brought in further. Then there is the issue of paving a long driveway (unless you can get by with gravel, crushed stone etc., and clearing the driveway in the winter. It will always be a driveway, not a legal road, and your mail will be at the main road etc.
Maybe I am missing something, but are you the owner of the entire parcel? or are you buying the back lot? I would rather have the owner of the front lot deed over the required amount of road frontage (maybe 35/40 feet? TN requirements?), so you can have a legal road back to your property than have an easement. Can you buy the front lot as well ?
I already own the back lot (11.7 acres) and there is a recorded easement to it. There is already a well, septic and electricity running to the property. There is also a small house on it.
I do not think the road frontage lot has much potential for development. I know the owner will sell the lot if someone were to make him an offer.
The reason I am asking is I am planning on selling in the next couple of years and have been looking at the comparable properties on the market. A two acre lot up the road from me just sold for 10,000 an acre but it is right on the road. I was just trying to figure out what price reduction % wise I could expect with a property not on the road.
I suspect that if you should try to sell EITHER of these undeveloped lots the fact there is a potential "flag lot" will diminish the value of BOTH lots -- contrary to what others have said it is my experience that folks looking to go through the hassle of building from scratch want assurances that they are NOT going to have some goof plop down a mobile home or other less valuable habitable unit in front / in behind the home they are building...
Even in areas with strict zoning and the resources to enforce high quality codes a flag lot is going to be less valuable than lots that have frontage onto the real road. In many jurisdictions the history of folks getting into disputes over easments is such that the local authorities will not accept just a deeded easement they require that the lot(s) be re-platted so that the "interior lot" at least has a driveway that fronts the main road -- this can be help to alleviate so the access issues BUT it still is not ideal as the potenial to have some yahoo build a compost way back from their house but smack in front of your home or other goofy things is still there...
I already own the back lot (11.7 acres) and there is a recorded easement to it. There is already a well, septic and electricity running to the property. There is also a small house on it.
I do not think the road frontage lot has much potential for development. I know the owner will sell the lot if someone were to make him an offer.
The reason I am asking is I am planning on selling in the next couple of years and have been looking at the comparable properties on the market. A two acre lot up the road from me just sold for 10,000 an acre but it is right on the road. I was just trying to figure out what price reduction % wise I could expect with a property not on the road.
Then it is certainlty to your advantage to make him an offer to buy the front lot. You don't say how large the front lot is and what the frontage on the road is. Road frontage is the key to value of land. If a two acre lot nearby sold for $20K on the road, and it is easily buildable, that is your guage as to what the front lot is worth, taking into consideration it is also on the road but is not as desirable/buildable. An educated guess for value (without knowing location), since you're asking, an offer of at least 25% less than the per acre price of the recent sale. Then you can have it all on one deed and one legal address.
As for the back lot, depending on when the septic was placed there, you have to make sure the well and septic meet current requirements for an ISDS and for placement of a home on the property. Here in Western NC, an approved area has to be "reserved" for a second septic system should the first one fail; with the same well/septic distance requirements. Since you have over 11 acres that should not be a problem.
Have you thought about getting an opinion from a certified appraiser? The value of the entire parcel is going to be about location and highest and best use.
[quote=QuilterChick;26999571]Yes, it is worth less without road frontage. Reason: Developing the lot. Cost of getting utilities in there. Water, electric/gas utilities, all have to be brought in further. Then there is the issue of paving a long driveway (unless you can get by with gravel, crushed stone etc., and clearing the driveway in the winter. It will always be a driveway, not a legal road, and your mail will be at the main road etc.
Maybe I am missing something, but are you the owner of the entire parcel? or are you buying the back lot? I would rather have the owner of the front lot deed over the required amount of road frontage (maybe 35/40 feet? TN requirements?), so you can have a legal road back to your property than have an easement. Can you buy the front lot as well ? Frontage on a road is always worth more.[/quote]
Your lot is NOT necessarily worth less because it only has an easement to the road. The value depends on the particular characteristics of your property and even on the road. Many people would prefer to be set back from a busy road. Plus, your property is already served by utilities so that cost is not an issue. As long as you have a recorded easement, it is of little consequence whether or not you ever own the fee title to your driveway. Frontage on a road is NOT always worth more. Anytime someone tells you that a particular situation is ALWAYS good or bad, be very suspicious.
Quote:
Originally Posted by QuilterChick
Then it is certainlty to your advantage to make him an offer to buy the front lot. You don't say how large the front lot is and what the frontage on the road is. Road frontage is the key to value of land. If a two acre lot nearby sold for $20K on the road, and it is easily buildable, that is your guage as to what the front lot is worth, taking into consideration it is also on the road but is not as desirable/buildable. An educated guess for value (without knowing location), since you're asking, an offer of at least 25% less than the per acre price of the recent sale. Then you can have it all on one deed and one legal address.
As for the back lot, depending on when the septic was placed there, you have to make sure the well and septic meet current requirements for an ISDS and for placement of a home on the property. Here in Western NC, an approved area has to be "reserved" for a second septic system should the first one fail; with the same well/septic distance requirements. Since you have over 11 acres that should not be a problem.
Have you thought about getting an opinion from a certified appraiser? The value of the entire parcel is going to be about location and highest and best use.
No, it's not necessarily to your advantage to buy the front lot. Just like it's not always better to remodel a kitchen before making a sale, you would need to evaluate the costs and potential return...and whether or not it might speed up a sale. Why tie up more money if you don't need to? It actually might be more difficult to sell a larger lot.
Do NOT try to guess what acreage in your local area may be worth based upon one sale of a lot down the road. Do as much research as you can about local sales. You should also consult with some local real estate agents to have them research some comparable sales for you. Paying for an appraisal would be a last resort. An appraiser would give you a more formalized analysis of recent sales and give you an opinion of market value...but I'm sure that you can find better uses for your money.
Last edited by jackmichigan; 11-18-2012 at 06:10 PM..
According to population and land data for Wartrace TN, the entire land area of the town is approximately 500 acres. It is a very small town, with a population of about 600 or so.
I'd buy as much land as I could afford in a small country town, popular for breeding horses south of Nashville, all day long. It is always recommended when buying real estate in any size town, for a real estate agent to advise a buyer to do his due diligence and form his own opinion.
Location: Danbury CT covering all of Fairfield County
2,637 posts, read 7,427,871 times
Reputation: 1378
I had someone call into my office about selling a piece of unbuildable land. It is located directly beyond a newly built home, and the people with the new house want to buy it directly from the seller. The building lot where the new home was sold for $85,000, about 1/4 of an acre with town services available to hook up. Generally speaking, 1 acre of raw land in my town sels for about $75,000 (mostly on private septic and well to install) and once approvals are done, about $125,000 an acre. These people had about 2/3 of an acre, the land is almost useless to anybody because of no road frontage. I told them they should try to get as much as they can from the people with the new house, and the new people should not pay more than $30,000. The extra land would be a good backyard for the new home because the way the land is on that, there is almost no space in the back for kids, animals or sports.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
