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Well, she tells what, to look for before one buys and then finds out these problems. Like how she points out soil types, Fence law -fence out, and trespass is enforced, and that many of the building projects require one's own money and not government services.
It is a good introduction to many subjects and can give perspective... but not necessarily complete answers.
A couple points to repeat:
1. An easement does not have to be given or given at a "reasonable" price. Some easements that are not recorded or clear or generously interpreted may not continue as indicated.
2. Roads are expensive to build, maintain, repair from unexpected events and plow.
3. Utilities can be very expense to add. Companies don't have to agree to do it period, or at a reasonable price or "now".
4. An argument or lawsuit with one person or company, even justified, could easily affect other relationships. This isn't saying be passive or a pushover, because that will be noticed too. Just stuff affects other stuff and maybe more than you expect or quicker or deeper.
While I agree that many of the inquiry points made by these RE agents are essential to making an informed decision about purchasing real estate in Wyoming, especially rural parcels ...
I disagree with a significant aspect of their observations: that you should rely about these concerns with the RE agent.
Sorry, but in my experience of over 30 years as a real estate investor in Wyoming for residential, commercial, ranching, and farming properties ...
Not 1 agent out of over 50 Wyoming agents/brokers that I've dealt with has been anywhere near competent, ethical, professional, knowledgeable, or honest about their representations of what they had for sale. And I've dealt with the "top producer" or "the best agent" in the office, or the "owner/broker/manager" most of the time. They consistently are well practiced in the arts of making no actionable statement/representation, and well versed in the practice of allowing you to make assumptions based upon your experience dealing with RE agents in other markets where professionalism and ethics were at a higher level. I've brought complaints to the RE licensing board when the errors were blatant and the Wyoming RE license board did nothing about it, it was "par for the course" and not worthy of their time to investigate or discipline. I've had brokers tell me to "sue them" if I wanted to get something straightened out ... and, "oh by the way, you'll need to get in line" because there were other folk ahead of me with legitimate complaints that the broker didn't care to take responsibility for.
I have repeatedly posted for years on C-D that this appears to be a problem that I've consistently experienced. I've given details about specific problems with various properties, specific breach of performance/ethics, and I've yet to be disappointed that the RE agents around this region are strictly in the game for the opportunity of "found money" if the right sucker comes along.
I've found RE agents to be in violation of major issues ... like not being licensed to sell something that they received a commission for and unwilling to rectify the problems they created, or not disclosing that they were the owner/seller of a property.
This has happened to me everywhere around Wyoming I've looked into properties. SE, NE, SW, NW ... the only Wyoming market I haven't looked into in my travels is Jackson.
Bear in mind that the primary fiduciary responsibility of a broker/agent in Wyoming, by law, is to the seller. This extends to them making no statement that can be considered derogatory to the interests of the seller. Even though Wyoming now has dual-agency or buyer's agent status, the prevailing performance is to make no statement or acknowledgement of anything that is counter to the interests of the seller. This is usually especially blatant in the smaller rural agencies where it's likely that the agency is the listing broker, so everybody in that office is under the constraint to make no statement that could be considered adverse to the interests of the seller. PERIOD. Even if a flaw or defect is obvious to you as a buyer, they will not go any further than to acknowledge that you've made that observation or have the concern.
I've been in houses with the roof leaking so badly that there's a tarp on the floor with buckets catching the water drips ... and the agent tells me that they had a "roofer up there last week and the problem is fixed". Meanwhile, I'm watching the water leak in. Or diseased large trees up against a structure, and the RE broker tells me that "the tree's OK, my husband is an arborist"; that he may be, but the tree I'm looking at is clearly dying/dead and needs to be removed before it becomes a structural problem ... and my resource is a degree'd professional horticulturist who tells me that the tree is a liability now.
Or looking at a bathroom shower stall where there's an old-style jelly jar light fixture with a two-prong outlet in the base ... located at the top row of tile in the stall. Kinda' like out of an Alfred Hitchcock movie, you're just waiting to see somebody plug in an appliance while standing in the wet area, let alone taking a shower. I'm pointing out that the electrical system in the house may need some work to be safe, and the RE broker is telling me that "there's no problem and the seller disclosure form shows no issues".
Just last week I looked at a house where they'd obviously bought it last Fall to flip, and installed a whole bunch of new flooring, baseboards, drywall and paneling, soffits, a wall-mounted A/C unit, and new all-electric kitchen appliances, a new clothes washer & 220 v dryer. So I'm poking around, and I see all new 3-prong electrical outlets in the walls. I get into the newly finished basement with the new soffits and paneling ... and open up two wooden cabinets at ceiling height where the electric service is brought into the house. What do I see? Two 1930's vintage "4-fuse and a range" fuse boxes ... supplying the house with a new 220 v electric stove, new 110 v wall-mount A/C unit, new 220 v "energy efficient" HW heater, and the new 220 v dryer. Mosts of the wiring that you can see from the fuse boxes is older (no newer than the 1950's) black cotton/rubber insulated 2-conductor wires, and they've run a couple of new 3-conductor wire to the 220 v outlets. All inside the new paneling. Not a GFI unit in sight for the kitchen, bathroom, or wet areas. I've got my little 3-prong outlet electrical tester in my pocket and I'm just about ready to start checking outlets when the RE agent ... a "top producer, did $9 mil in sales last year" ... comes over to see what I'm doing. I show him the two old fuse box panels and the black 2-conductor wires, and he tells me that "it's OK", and the "seller disclosures checked off "no electrical problems". Geez, pal ... you don't need to be a master electrician to know that the fuse boxes are gonna' be a red flag for any insurance inspection on this house, let alone the remodeling without installing GFI protection for the kitchen and bathrooms, or the 3-prong outlets throughout the house which have no ground circuit. This house needs a major electrical overhaul ... I estimated $15,000 - $20,000 due to all the wiring being hidden behind all the new panels/drywall/soffits, plus new 200-amp circuit breaker panel, etc. The agent? couldn't even agree with me that "there may be a problem with the electrical system in the house". I'd love to be a fly on the wall when a mandatory insurance inspection report checks off the box for "fuse box panel" in this 1930's house and an underwriter declines to write a homeowner's policy for the place ... especially problematic if a buyer needs to obtain a mortgage to buy the place. As it happened, the place was shown the next day and is now under contract, full asked price ... so I'm told by the broker.
I maintain the bottom line here that I've posted for years on C-D ... due your own due diligence on any prospective purchase here in Wyoming, especially rural properties. That includes every aspect of the purchase ... survey, appraisals, inspections, easements, access, soil, water, structures ... everything that you think you're purchasing. Have it done for you as the buyer and do not rely upon any representation by the RE broker/agent involved in the deal. You may need to visit with the county clerk/recorder, the state engineer, the county Z&P office, local trades contractors, and other pro's that can advise you as to what it is you're really buying. Again, I'm not saying that these sources will be deal breakers or makers for you, but that you should do everything in your power to assure that you're making a truly "informed decision" about your purchase.
PS: I looked at a couple of rural houses last Fall in my area travels, and the local RE broker/agent was telling me about recent sales in the area to justify what I considered to be a way-above-market "fishing expedition" asked price. "In all confidence" ... the agent was giving me numbers which seemed pretty outrageous, but ya' know "it's been a seller's market here lately and folks are moving here with cash from windfall sales in other parts of the country". Ah, I've gotta' think about this property ... and call up one or more of my trusted appraisers. The numbers they're giving me are much lower than the RE agent is touting ... by thousands of dollars per acre and for several houses, a huge variance in the PSF. Like houses at $200+ PSF asked that sold for $87 PSF. Or similar nonsense on some places I looked at that were listed/represented as site-built houses and turned out to be 50+ year-old mobile homes ... priced like site-built houses PSF. What? you think I'm paying $155,000 for a 50 year old mobile home when a brand new one is only $200,000, delivered/erected on-site? And, oh by the way ... the mobile home is on a leased site, it's not even got any real estate value in the deal. C'mon RE agents ... don't make me drive 300 miles to see an old mobile home that's not even on deeded land that you're representing as being a "really good deal" for the 3 bar/2ba recently remodeled structure with new steel siding and new steel roof. And the "1-car garage" turns out to be a $3,000 carport structure. Be especially wary when the RE broker is posting pictures of gorgeous views of mountains and wooded areas and you do a google map search and realize that the view site is miles away from the real estate parcel.
PPS: Some C-D posters have found RE brokers/agents that have met their requirements and had a satisfactory experience in their purchases. I am glad that they had a good experience, but it's one that I can't say I've had here in Wyoming. As an investor, I've walked away from more deals after an unsatisfactory deal-breaker and/or misrepresentation than I have taken through to fruition. And it's not just my personal experience, but I've seen these problems repeatedly amongst other contacts ... everything from extended family illness due to water quality issues, to seasonal-only access, to easement/encroachment problems, adjacent land use affecting quiet enjoyment of a parcel, fencing problems with a neighbor who doesn't fence-in as required (such as a bull or horses), and many similar issues. Again, do not rely upon RE broker/agent representations here ... do your own due diligence. I hope that you don't repeat the mistakes that I've made in buying real estate in Wyoming. Every one of the problems I've posted about was, in fact, a real-world experience in buying ... or attempting to buy ... a property here in Wyoming.
PPPS: I have a trusted RE broker I've worked with for over 40 years, based out of a CO office. We've done a fair number of very good deals through the years, including commercial real estate. A few years ago, he joined a national brokerage firm that has branch offices here in Wyoming ... and I asked him to find me associate agents in various locations around the state to help me. In the last few years, he's been unable to recommend any agent here ... and the national affiliation standards of ethics and performance have not been demonstrated to him by any of the branch agents in Wyoming. To the degree that he's recently obtained his own Wyoming license and has been attending advanced classes here about Wyoming RE law and practice. I recently asked him to find me an associate in Western Nebraska as I've been looking at some properties there and after a month, he called me back to advise that he couldn't find an agent in their branch offices there to refer me to, either. In all candor, I've now worked with 3 agencies in WNebraska and the consistent attitude appears that they're just looking for "found money". In the areas I've been looking at, there are branches of his national brokerage ... and when I check out the listings on-line, it's interesting to note that his agency has no listings and very few completed sales; the marketplace is completely dominated by those other 3 agencies. My broker's response is that those branches just "don't have go-getter agents in-house".
when we sold the old ranch, no restate people were involved. We got a contract offer and my layer and accountant worked thru the details (for a fraction of what commission would have been). Did have some money held back for and environmental assessment but got most all of that back as they found very little, and costs were minimal, there was the 2-inch-thick boiler plate report. Buying we did a 1031, so that involved another lawyer. Needed a bit more land to make the 1031 work. So, we did hire a relator, he made lot of calls and actually found some adjoining land that was not listed but owner was willing to sell. So, the relator we hired got split the commission on the main sale. We knew we was buying a ranch. yes, there problems and there are gems. The relator we hired did what we asked him to do, find close land or adjointing land.
Well, she tells what, to look for before one buys and then finds out these problems. Like how she points out soil types, Fence law -fence out, and trespass is enforced, and that many of the building projects require one's own money and not government services.
Good points to know about moving and living in Wyoming you are not aware of. Before you jump into country living, you visit and do your home work, study the area. Thanks for the information Jody.
as to what Crazy women posted, there a guy bought a house close to Keyhole. His easement requires him to open and close 2 gates every time he lives his property to get the highway. If he puts in cattle guards, he still will need gates in the winter because of drifting snow, and the two gates are on a Ranchers winter feed ground , one leading to the highway.
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