Hello,

I have a couple of real estate questions.

I was approached by a non profit county funded organization (org is here......alucp.org/living.html ) who is interested in purchasing my home for the purpose of expanding their facilities. They will tear down my home for the expansion.

We sat down and discussed the details. I paid $27k for my home in 1996. I have not done many updates other than new carpet and finished attic at a cost of 3k total for both. I asked for $35k.

They said that is doable and need to get it approved and so forth. Well that was in the begin of Dec and they still don't have an answer for me. They told me to start searching for a home which I have and I found one.

So here are my questions.

1. without researching or seeking professional advice I asked for $35k. Was that reasonable?

2. How long should I expect them to take to make a decision? I don't wanna bother them or sound excited to sell even though I am.

3. Can I submit a bid on a home with it being contingent on my home selling?

4. I expect the buyer to pay all closing costs associated with the sale. I owe 1500 on the mortgage so will I be getting the full $33.5k left? Are there any costs associated I need to be aware of.

Also if you know of anything I need to be doing to help get this ball rolling please let me know.

Thanks

1) we cannot tell from here. Every market is different.

2) No idea. I would call them and tell them that you need to make plans. Do you have a contract? That is step one.

3) Generally yes although it makes your offer weaker.

4) There are many costs/fees that are typically the sellers responsibility and they vary by area. If you want them to pay all closing costs including yours, then you better make sure it is in the contract.

You really should consult a realtor in your area. If your house does not appraise for $35K then all bets are off.

Your home isn't the value here it is the land. They will have to get the land zoned for there intended purposes along with a site plan before they buy it.

How much land are we talking about here?? Land for commercial or business services commands top dollar.

Unless you have a really small parcel it sounds like you under sold it bigtime but I don't know your area. I do specialize in commercial and land sales.

"1. without researching or seeking professional advice I asked for $35k. Was that reasonable?"

Before you sign a BINDING contract with them please consult a porefessional land sales broker. At the very least if you don't want to use them they can give you an idea of what you should be asking for the property and also the seriousness of the buyer.

You don't want to undersell yourself and have the buyers laughing all the way to the bank.


What you did to the house is irrelevant they just want the land.

[quote] How much land are we talking about here?? [/quote]
Very Small. 68x40 is total lot size


So I want to use a land appraiser and not a home appraiser? Or should I get both? There is nothing in writing.

There are 3 parcels that run in front of their property. They already purchased one in a tax sale and have approached myself and the other owner. They already tore down the one.

[quote] They will have to get the land zoned for there intended purposes along with a site plan before they buy it.
[/quote]

From your experience how long should I expect them to take doing this?

You really should consult a realtor in your area. If your house does not appraise for $35K then all bets are off.


Why? Since they want the land. I should get more than what it is worth.

Be careful trying to get more than it is worth unless you are comfortable with this project at your doorstep. There was a shopping center here where the seller of a small house thought she could force the developers to pay her price. They built the parking lot around her house.

wouldn't it suck if you discovered that your home was actually worth $95,000.

I would hire an appraiser. Get a value on your house and land. If you want to sell, then sell and buy a new house. but man it would really really stink to sell for $35,000 when you could have gotten more.

Some people think there's gold in their basements and think the home should be worth triple the real value...others have no clue how much it's worth and sell themselves short.

I had a seller ask me what I thought his property was worth. I gave him my price, which surprised him; my low price in the range was still almost $35,000 higher than his highest guess. The thing that stinks is, we did get an offer that was darn close to my lower price and he turned it down!!!!! Haven't had an offer since. boo hoo

Thanks for all of your suggestions. I have an appraiser coming over in the morning. Ill update tomorrow.

Thanks

"Be careful trying to get more than it is worth unless you are comfortable with this project at your doorstep. There was a shopping center here where the seller of a small house thought she could force the developers to pay her price. They built the parking lot around her house."

Yep I have worked on projects upward of 650,000 sq ft on 25 acres for mixed use. There are ways to take out uncooperative sellers who are unreasonable. You can build around them. You can ask the city to CONDEMN them which they will get much less with the appraisal's value.

Once a developer got the city to condemn the seller so they could put the grassy fountain area in the parking lot.

I think here you are just talking about a small time operation. Sounds like by buying property at a tax sale they are assembling on the cheap which an appraisal doesn't matter most of the time as they are paying cash or getting the loan based on it's NEW not it's CURRENT use.

You have a real small piece of land.If you were on the main road the department of transportation would most likley take your land for right of way road widening depending on the size of the project.

Good that you are getting an appraisal.
The appraisal can only be for the current property value and zoning, not what future zoning and value could be.
It would not be unreasonable to ask for relocation assistance, such as moving personal belongings to your new location. However, since this is between private parties and not a government entity like city or state, they might decline to pay for relocation expenses.

I knew a person that happened to as well. The developer offer 3X the value, he wanted 5. The Developer offered 5X the value, he wanted 10. The developer finally said NO. They built around him then the State took his home to widen the road and he got a tad above market value.

Yep developers can play nice and so can the brokers that work for them UNTIL it's time NOT to be nice any longer.

There is a difference between a seller wanting a once in a lifetime price for there property above market which a developer will gladly do if they can afford it. It's the ones that try to hold projects hostage and keep changing there price that will get nothing.

Sellers don't often times understand who they are dealing with until it's to late.

I wanna know how the appraisal ended up.

FIND A REALTOR,......

HI,

as my thought you have to do this this like,

we cannot tell from here. Every market is different.

No idea. I would call them and tell them that you need to make plans. Do you have a contract? That is step one.

Generally yes although it makes your offer weaker.

I would advise you to use professional appraiser!