Etiquette and Advice for offering to buy a couple acres from neighbor
Alpha Cat
last year
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Possibly downsizing from 44 acres . . . to 1/2 acre
Comments (15)Okay, good information. I am glad to hear that we could easily build a medium-sized house on a lot this size . . . without being crowded. Obviously, I understand that every 1/2 acre doesn't have the same dimensions, but I was having trouble visualizing how big a typical 1/2 acre might be. Yes, I understand the concept of "smaller lot, bigger landscape". When you have only a small amount of space, it "needs to be" landscaped, whereas acres and acres are just kept natural. After all, you can't see all of 44 acres at once, whereas 1/2 acre can be scanned from the porch. Yes, LiveOak, one of our concerns is that we also plan lots of traveling, volunteering, and other projects. We do not want to be tied down to maintenance, nor do we want to pay other people to keep up large areas. Nostalgic Farm, I grew up on 60+ acres and another 200-odd a bit down the road. Thing is, there's always something that needs doing, and sometimes that's welcome . . . but not always. Also, at not-quite 50, I'm perfectly capable of doing a good day's work like I could in my younger days, but it does take more out of me. Looking at my older relatives, I can foresee the day when I can't do it all myself. An orchard is the one project I'd want to keep, if we do downsize. But I don't really want to embark upon a large orchard. One dwarf apple tree gives enough apples for all the canned apple goods my family can eat in a year (and that's with heavy consumption), and we have no interest in selling fruit. I think I could still have enough fruit trees to keep my canner busy. No, I'm not scared of wild animals. I shoot well. Autumn, I understand about keeping part of the land wild and part of it mowed, but the wild part isn't completely maintenance-free. Thanks for your advice, all! I am not sure which direction we'll go, but you've answered my biggest question: It is a choice. This can be done on 1/2 acre. That's the smallest we'd buy, so now we're free to look around and see whether -- when we're looking at real land, not just thinking hypothetically -- it actually feels right or not....See MoreMaking an offer on lot: advice needed
Comments (42)Oh, I think you should definitely low ball them, since this lot has been sitting so long. Why pay more than it's worth? My concern is more about unexpected costs that you run into, after the purchase. So, worst case scenario, you offer 2/3 of the asking price and they either say no, come back with another offer or tell you to keep looking. And, since this isn't someone's home, I doubt you'll offend the developer to the point they won't accept a future offer. If you can afford it, I say go for it...but PLEASE get someone (agent, lawyer, etc.) to look at the paperwork and check on floodplain status, water/septic, etc. I'd hate for you to buy a lot that you find out doesn't support the home you really want. Best of luck and let us know how things go :)...See MoreWhat to do when couple can't agree on house? (BUY)
Comments (46)My SO are struggling here. For us, its mostly price thats the wedge. My SO works as an attorney and longs for adventure so when we had the opportunity to move out state we did. He was so happy to buy cheap and in a beautiful place but it forced him to learn to work remotely. I wasnt sold on the house maintance and size, the people in the area, the distance from conveniences, and distance from our families back home. I was getting increasingly depressed and couldnt see a future making it work so i pushed us to move back home. we heard of sticker shock and even though we mentally prepared for it we were still hit by the absorbent prices. Within seeing the first few homes i met the one immediately when i walked into it. My partner was not so moved bc the price was the top of our budget. it has the neighborhood we want, the flexibility to turn into other things over time and being that we also have a gap in our real estate market ($600k condo or $800k house) this house is the middle of the road of all of them. To be fair on his side of things, I am not working yet. i am in the process of getting my license to start working which i think if i was working, he would feel much more comfortable about the price. There is a part of me that feels sick when i think of passing on this house, we are in escrow right now. but i also feel sick knowing he feels sick about the price. His happiness means more to me than a house… but then there is this weird “but wait, what about my happiness too”. when we moved out of state to the other house I fell in love with a condo that he semi-sabotaged in negotiation. i was heartbroken. the second place we went for i was also enamored with and he liked the price but over time it proved to be too big and too much maintenance for us. I dont deny that I am type A and I like having everything in its place. And I dont deny that me working is going to help this situation and I will do everything possible to make this work. i just dont like to make promises that i cant 100% predict. so what do we do? our location is like a New York market and everytime we make a move to avoid the inevitability of living here we pay more money for it and time. slowly the set back of houses where we want to live shrink even more. at any one time we have maybe 2 or 3 houses or 2-3 condos come through. i also know i have a problem with explicitly saying what i want and how much i want it bc i dont want to us to make a decisions that is wrong. I cant even really get excited about it because i just dont want to be let down if we decide to back it. we are both very cautious people in life in general and also put the breaks on things often which keep us stuck or going in circles. So what do we do?...See MoreAny advice on how to deal with neighbors during a new construction?
Comments (51)Make friends. It’s usually not hard—unless they’re nuts. I’m a pain in the backside online, but in person...everyone likes something. Most people like a number of things. I’m interested in absurd numbers of things, so I just find the overlap and we chat for hours about whatever. Start with a sharp eye for what they’ve paid attention to and a sincere compliment. Soon, you’ll know the names of every kid, in-law, grandkid, and cousin, or every flower, or the detailed history of every car acquisition. If you don’t know about something that they are passionate about, show an interest in learning. People don’t hate their friends. Then keep an eye on the property and try to make it as minimally obnoxious as possible. And be a good judge of character and ask the people with more sound judgement to let you know when there’s a problem. Crazy mean people are usually easy to sniff out, and you don’t ask them to let you know about anything, but if you compliment their cats enough, they usually unclench a little. Baked goods used to work, but too many people are gluten/sugar free range vegan quinoa diabetic organic non-GMO gathered widdershins by Buddhist Wiccans and rubbed in raw royal jelly (which is definitely not sugar), and you’d immediately start off on the wrong foot. Find out if they’ve got severe allergies or severe craziness first. And get them not to talk about really stupid things but instead about stuff you do find interesting so your eyelid twitching doesn’t give you away. You might know homeopathy is a crock but talk happily about how to grow herbs....See Morelittlebug zone 5 Missouri
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