Selling house/selling some acreage separately

[DMenscha]

Originally Posted by chet everett

DMenscha is talking about doing the sales separately. The way that title insurance companies work the policy on one sale is "coverage" for the life of the sale. If you are pretty sure that there is going to be a sale of related property within two years you can get coverage for ALL sales within two years for a 10% upcharge. They call this a "binder". It is really something for the BUYER to consider...

Thanks Chet, that's a bit more clear than my post and accurate as well. I was multi-tasking at the time watching the US Open

[tambre]

Originally Posted by tamitrail

Out of curiousity, do you have a buyer for your house yet? I was wondering if your house is going to be any less appealing when it's on less acreage. How much of a front yard is the new buyer going to have and are they going to be looking out of their house directly into the neighbors backyard?

Hi Tamitrail,

I am going to try to explain how the property looks. Like mentioned already, it is a flag lot. We are on a road perpendicular to our neighbor, and set back from the corner. Our land travels parallel to the neighbors' street. There is 50 feet of road frontage, on which we have our driveway, which is about 200 feet long (fun to shovel). It opens up to a 200 x 900 foot piece of property. Our house is set just where the 50 foot wide portion opens up to 200 feet. We are set back 200 feet off the road, but on a 3/4 acre plateau on the side of a hill. It is very private. There is a sort of 120 degree view. behind our house. The land slopes down steeply, past an old stone wall, then there is a stream, old woods with enormous trees, then it starts to slope upward to a small seasonal pond, behind our neighbors back yard, and then it climbs steeply up to another high spot at the other end of the property. Due to the elevation change, there is a sort of natural separation. We are about 500-600 feet away from our neighbors, and can barely see them through the woods in the summer. Their roof is about equal to our first floor, as far as elevation.

The realtor priced our house both ways, and we were better off without having the land with the house. It makes the house more affordable, and reduces the property taxes for the buyers. In this market, in this area, that is a plus. No, unfortunately, we don't have a buyer yet. The house has been on the market since last Thursday. We had someone interested in seeing the house today, but we both were working and have two extra large dogs at home that need to be temporarily relocated during showings. So, we may have missed a good buyer today...bummer.

[tambre]

Originally Posted by chet everett

DMenscha is talking about doing the sales separately. The way that title insurance companies work the policy on one sale is "coverage" for the life of the sale. If you are pretty sure that there is going to be a sale of related property within two years you can get coverage for ALL sales within two years for a 10% upcharge. They call this a "binder". It is really something for the BUYER to consider...

Hey Chet,

Now I get it That must be what they were talking about. Thanks. It's hard to take advice from someone called Dementia...LOL.

[tamitrail]

Originally Posted by tambre

Hi Tamitrail,

I am going to try to explain how the property looks. Like mentioned already, it is a flag lot. We are on a road perpendicular to our neighbor, and set back from the corner. Our land travels parallel to the neighbors' street. There is 50 feet of road frontage, on which we have our driveway, which is about 200 feet long (fun to shovel). It opens up to a 200 x 900 foot piece of property. Our house is set just where the 50 foot wide portion opens up to 200 feet. We are set back 200 feet off the road, but on a 3/4 acre plateau on the side of a hill. It is very private. There is a sort of 120 degree view. behind our house. The land slopes down steeply, past an old stone wall, then there is a stream, old woods with enormous trees, then it starts to slope upward to a small seasonal pond, behind our neighbors back yard, and then it climbs steeply up to another high spot at the other end of the property. Due to the elevation change, there is a sort of natural separation. We are about 500-600 feet away from our neighbors, and can barely see them through the woods in the summer. Their roof is about equal to our first floor, as far as elevation.

The realtor priced our house both ways, and we were better off without having the land with the house. It makes the house more affordable, and reduces the property taxes for the buyers. In this market, in this area, that is a plus. No, unfortunately, we don't have a buyer yet. The house has been on the market since last Thursday. We had someone interested in seeing the house today, but we both were working and have two extra large dogs at home that need to be temporarily relocated during showings. So, we may have missed a good buyer today...bummer.

OK, I understand. I just know there was a house we looked at once and the seller had done the same thing, but it made the land look very unappealing the way it was subdivided.

Could you list it for sale at X price with the land and at a lower X price without the land and see what happens?

I do agree with everyone else. Keep the transactions separate.

[tambre]

Originally Posted by tamitrail

OK, I understand. I just know there was a house we looked at once and the seller had done the same thing, but it made the land look very unappealing the way it was subdivided.

Could you list it for sale at X price with the land and at a lower X price without the land and see what happens?

I do agree with everyone else. Keep the transactions separate.

Hey Tamitrail,

Thanks for the answer. If the land wasn't land locked we could offer it both ways. If we had a buyer who just wanted the house/small acreage, and then couldn't sell the land locked portion, we would be in a pickle for sure.