Posted by GL - ON on June 03, 2003 at 09:37:44:
The best thing to do is go to headquarters and get the facts.
Phone the county government office and ask who is in charge of severing or dividing property. Then ask what you need to do in order to sever a house and lot off a farm.
Depending where you are, the answer will be “go ahead, get a survey and register it at the courthouse” or “You can’t do it, it is illegal except under special circumstances”.
By the way they often say “you can’t do it” but if you probe a little they will tell you what you need to do. Sometimes it just isn’t worth it, sometimes it really is impossible, sometimes it’s a cinch. It depends on your local laws.
And sometimes all you need is a “friend” at the courthouse to smooth things through.
Old 2 story farmhouses, now detached… - Posted by Philip
Posted by Philip on May 31, 2003 at 14:17:42:
from land.
Is there any opportunity there?
We have one every few miles where I live…many of them just sitting.
As the farms got bigger, the need for housing on every 80-160 acres went away. Now these are just empty old houses.
Some are used as rentals
I want to know a way to REALLY make them perform.
I do the occasional mobile home deal, but felt I needed advice from this board on this question.
Can they be turned into a old-style duplex in any reasonble manner?
Any experience or novel ideas with these older homes?
Philip
Re: Old 2 story farmhouses, now detached… - Posted by GL - ON
Posted by GL - ON on May 31, 2003 at 14:46:12:
A friend of mine rented them to live in, for about 20 years. He could rent a big, big brick 2 storey farm house plus barn and outbuildings for $100 to $150 when a small house in town was $400 to $500. That was because there were so many of them and they were a drug on the market.
As a rule the farmer was not interested in rental hassles and couldn’t care less if he rented them or not. Most of them went to wrack and ruin for this reason.
The problem around here is to get a severance so you could buy them. Zoning prohibited severing less than 25 acres (50 in some townships).
If you can get a severance, buy them cheap fix them up and sell them. If you can’t, rent them cheap on a long term lease with option to buy fix them up and rent them out. In the meantime go to work on getting a severance.
There are some excellent opportunities here for cash flow and for big chunks of equity.
Ah! Help with severance… - Posted by Philip
Posted by Philip on June 02, 2003 at 17:18:38:
It is not something I am familiar with really.
Who decides? We don’t have county zoning, that I know of.
Thank you,
Philip
Re: Old 2 story farmhouses, now detached… - Posted by GL - ON
Posted by GL - ON on May 31, 2003 at 14:53:31:
By the way I am typing this in my own 1880 era 2 storey brick farm house, with 3.5 acres of land, barn, big big garage, creek and lilac bush all complete. I paid $61,000. Located on a good paved road 5 miles from town.This was not in the 1960’s either, it was only 5 or 6 years ago. The same house on a tiny lot without the barn, garage creek or lilac bush would have cost twice as much in town. I overpaid at that, I found out after I bought the place that the seller considered it “gravy”, the 100 acres he severed it off of it was what he wanted.