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Every day for the last 2 weeks, I have awoke to a vision that it time to finalize my preparedness, but with a twist: In my area there are dozens of larger land tracts, 40-160 acres that are officially owned, taxes up to date, but have not been visited in years by their owners. The lot immediately to the west of me is 22 acres, undeveloped. I have contacted the county to get owner info to contact about leasing but it comes back with no such address. I have in fact verified that the address the tax bill goes to in San Diego does not exist. The taxes are paid, I followed up on a rumor that the owner now lives in Kingman AZ, found an address via the whitepages, but number is disconnected and that mail was returned as well, even thought the address does exist. The owner stopped by last 5 years ago and met my boss the farm owner but I did not have a chance to meet him, supposedly he indicated to his boss that that was his first visit in 20 years.
Anyway, I was an architect many years ago, my dad a very skilled carpenter. So I can build wisely and efficiently. The vision that I am having is to go to this adjoining lot and build a covered, one side exposed, shelter of about 400 sq ft within the high scrub brush of this lot. I know of a good open well near the site, I can set up rudimentary solar. I raise ducks so I got food. I can $50-100 this structure to completion and pay cash. And I can hide it from arieal view.
I wonder why that guy has been hoarding land for 20+ years if he doesn't seem to want to do anything with it.
Lots of people buy acreage as an investment. Here in Maine, they often buy it for forestry products. In many places, they will buy large tracts that seem to be in the path of future development. Sometimes a younger person will buy land with retirement in mind - and that may be 30 years off. Why do they need to visit it?
OP, do not assume that the owner of that land doesn't want it...or any of those surrounding parcels. They likely will not allow you to build on it for liability reasons. Look for land that you can purchase. You don't need 22 acres, or 40 acres, or 100 acres. Start with 2 acres, or 5, and learn to work that.
This will probably get me in trouble with distant and non-visiting landowners: Look up adverse possession. Laws vary by state. I'm very familiar with a case in Alaska where a couple built a home and lived for years on bank owned property. They ended up with title to the 5 acres that they actually used.
Has anyone considered Google maps. About every 5 years or less Google maps updates their aerial pictures. If the owner has been watching his land by this method then he will know within years. Adverse possession requires so many years to establish ownership, if my memory is correct it's 17 years.
In California, the land, for a period of 5 years has to go tax delinquent, and you, if you want to adverse posses the land have to pay the property taxes without the owner figuring it out.
Now, my neighborhood actually started as a filed "estate" plan in the late 1970's, was to have a golf course, equestrian center and riding trails, all the lots were 40 AC minumum. Now it is a mix of high end and run down homes on unpaved streets with lots between 8 and 40 ac. Just to the south of me is a upscale home on 40 Acres with a dried up 7AC lake bed. House has been unoccupied since 2003. But the caretakers cottage has been occupied by a local store owner since 1984. I offered the LL $800/mo for this place last year, whole year rent in advance, said he would rather have it stay vacant.
Location: When you take flak it means you are on target
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For the OP - you could try to look up all old addresses on the deed and tax records. Then perhaps physically go to the location and ask around for the owner. If you have the owners name you could try a private detective, they often have access to databases and skip tracing sources the rest of us normal folks can't access.
It appears the owner is well aware of the property since the taxes are apparently paid yearly, but for some reason wants to keep ownership as secret as possible.
Every day for the last 2 weeks, I have awoke to a vision that it time to finalize my preparedness, but with a twist: In my area there are dozens of larger land tracts, 40-160 acres that are officially owned, taxes up to date, but have not been visited in years by their owners. The lot immediately to the west of me is 22 acres, undeveloped. I have contacted the county to get owner info to contact about leasing but it comes back with no such address. I have in fact verified that the address the tax bill goes to in San Diego does not exist. The taxes are paid, I followed up on a rumor that the owner now lives in Kingman AZ, found an address via the whitepages, but number is disconnected and that mail was returned as well, even thought the address does exist. The owner stopped by last 5 years ago and met my boss the farm owner but I did not have a chance to meet him, supposedly he indicated to his boss that that was his first visit in 20 years.
Anyway, I was an architect many years ago, my dad a very skilled carpenter. So I can build wisely and efficiently. The vision that I am having is to go to this adjoining lot and build a covered, one side exposed, shelter of about 400 sq ft within the high scrub brush of this lot. I know of a good open well near the site, I can set up rudimentary solar. I raise ducks so I got food. I can $50-100 this structure to completion and pay cash. And I can hide it from arieal view.
Does this sound so crazy?
Bat-**** crazy. Is this a supposed "vision" from God of the Vino or God of the Peyote or God of Whatever? It certainly is no justification to try to steal somebody's land just because that owner isn't living there.
If you want some land, then buy some. Otherwise, you're stealing, which is, in fact, a crime.
If somebody did that on my land, I'd have the sheriff out there to haul his azz to jail for trespassing -- and you can be sure that somebody in the neighborhood would let me know there was a squatter there.
This will probably get me in trouble with distant and non-visiting landowners: Look up adverse possession. Laws vary by state. I'm very familiar with a case in Alaska where a couple built a home and lived for years on bank owned property. They ended up with title to the 5 acres that they actually used.
How about this will probably not sit well with anyone that has any moral compass? The guy just told you the owner pays his taxes and he just wants to go build on this person's property and you give him a direction to try and steal someones land they paid for and continue to pay taxes on.
It doesn't take a distant landowner to note a scummy tactic. The guy wasn't asking about blighted abandoned property, land that was forgotten with taxes in the rears but acreage.
If It were my place and I purchased it with retirement in-mind or just wanted to add it to my estate for my children or family, I'd think it pretty disgusting someone trying to tell someone how they could possibly steal my land. All because he had a dream to build on something that doesn't belong to him.
Last edited by Dhult; 11-21-2015 at 12:00 AM..
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