Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with land

shouldn't a vacant lot be buildable?

markhu — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 12:51:20 -0800

Are there un-buildable lots? I have read up on a similar question but that was about how expensive the known-to-be-buildable lots are. My question is if I see a lot listed that is "virgin" vacant never had a srtucture on it, how likely is it that no one could build on it? In my case, I found a vacant lot in a location I like up in the hills in Los Angeles, California, and would like to put an offer on it. But everyone keeps asking uncomfortable questions like, "is it buildable?", "is it on a fault line?", "are there utilities nearby?", "how deep is the bedrock?", "why hasn't anyone built there before?" and other such questions that it seems would take thou$ands to investigate.

Maybe my question should be, "if I find out I can't build, can I at least use it for picnicking and camping? Or build a little storage shed on it?"

Why am I paying property tax on land when I own a condo?

ObeyScient — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 09:15:00 -0800

So confused! My county thinks we have a condo but we thought we have a single-family home (i.e. a free-standing house on land we own). Then why does my property tax bill show that we've been taxed for the land? Here's a confusing and somewhat obscure situation. Please bear with me; I'll try to explain all the details and what I know as clearly as I can.

We're trying to refinance our (free-standing) house and as part of the process we had an appraisal. According to the appraisal report, we have a condo, not a single-family home. Zillow also thinks we have a condo. The appraiser told me that the definition of a condo is that the owner only owns the immediate space they live in, but not the land or other common areas. So our house was assessed as a free-standing building that is part of a complex, with the land being labeled "common area", even though we don't belong to an HOA or condo association, don't pay any fees, and do the maintenance ourselves.

The county's assessor's map shows that we live on a single lot with our neighbor. Our house is on an L-shaped chunk of the lot, and our neighbor's house is on the chunk inside the L. We're separated by a fence. Our respective parcel numbers are subsections of the lot and are designated for use as "Condominium - single residential living unit". The land itself has its own parcel number, with the use is designated as "condominium common area". The map also says "common area".

However, the property tax records for both us and our neighbor show that our taxable value comprises both land and improvements! If we look up the "common area" parcel, it shows that no one has paid any taxes on it at all.

I was not involved with the original purchase of the property, as my wife bought the house before we got married. Her understanding was that she owned the L-shaped chunk of land as well as the house, but we don't have any documentation to support this.

So, I have a few questions. I'd really appreciate insight into any of them.

1. Did someone pull a fast one on my wife? That is, did she pay a single-family home price for land + house but only get the house?

2. If we actually own a condo, then why are we paying property taxes on the land *and* the improvements? (I understand that we should be paying property tax on the house itself.)

3. How can I find out who actually owns the "common area", and should that person be the one who pays property tax on the land?

4. Are we entitled to any of the back taxes we've paid based on the value of the land?

5. Lastly, if it does turn out that we own a single-family home, would this increase our appraised value? How would we go about making the legal change?

Thanks for any help you can provide.

Oh give me land, lots of land under LA skies above...

rileyray3000 — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 12:48:29 -0800

Say I want to buy some cheap land in the Los Angeles area: where would I find such a listing online? Basically it's time to go from a renter to buyer. Only given that a nice two bedroom in Compton is still over 300K I think I want to go a different way.

I've been looking at some amazing pre-fab houses that are 100-150 all in and all up. Now all I need is a piece of property to put one on. So where do you look for that? Craigslist? Landhunter.com? Lotsoffun.net?

Teach em how to fish and they'll give us better cities, or something

stormygrey — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 19:34:01 -0800

Calling all planners, public admin. types, adult education gurus and other smarty pants: I need to develop a training program or at least a strategy for developing a training program for further planning on the local level, put the hard parts. Our office is charged with further the planning efforts of local (state and county) governments. We laid out the elements needed to successfully developing and implementing a comprehensive plan and then audited it to analyze our gaps. Then we looked at other agencies and they have similar gaps.

How can we train people in the areas of administrative capacity and what we are generally calling "community will" (political will, advocacy, etc.)?

Like, how to read a site plan submitted by developers, how should staff and appointed/elected officals communicate effectively, can a circuit rider type planner work, how would you develop a program like that, how do you do code enforcement with out a dedicated staff member. For the last one, its things like making politically difficult decsions, gaining consensus, or just plain how to implement your plan (what ever that may mean).

I know I am putting a lot of info out there, I don't want to box in the answers here. So have you attended or created training on items similar to these? Are you aware of awesome (perferably free) web based training/podcasts that touch on these issues. Feel free to throw in any new ideas that you see staff or officials messing up all the time. Thank you!

What can you see in satellite photos?

k. — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 22:33:01 -0800

Satellite photos: what interesting features can be seen or measured in them (or other aerial photos), and where can I get a supply of images? Examples I have already seen, from some crude Google-searching:
Roads
Buildings
Degree of development (urban/suburban/rural)
Oil spills (apparently these are usually hard to see)
Blooms of algae (cyanobacteria) in the Baltic Sea
Damage to buildings from earthquakes

More would be appreciated--the more specific, the better. These will be used in a computer vision system, so I'd especially like to know where I can find a supply of images containing whatever feature I'm looking for (including the above)--easy for buildings or roads, but hard for rare events like oil spills. Natural disasters seem interesting, if there are pictures available.

I would also consider some other kind of non-photographic data as well, if it could be combined with maps or photos. Don't worry whether you think it's suitable; any idea you have will help!

How is acreage measured on non-flat terrain?

Orinda — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 11:58:04 -0800

Surveying 101: How is acreage measured on hilly ground? Is the acre a measure of the surface area of the ground, or of the area inside an imaginary box that is superimposed over the ground? For example: Say I have a flat piece of ground that measures 4400 yards x 11,000 yards = 48,400,000 square yards = 10,000 acres. That's simple enough. But what if I have a piece of land that measures 4400 yards x 11,000 yards, but there's a mountain sitting in the middle of it? Is it still 10,000 acres, or is it more acreage because the mountain increases the actual surface area of the land within that rectangle?

(Answers to a previous question brought up the curvature of the earth as an issue that complicates rectilinear-grid surveying systems. This question is more about whether the local terrain affects what we call an "acre.")

The best urban rehab projects

amusem — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 13:06:50 -0800

Seeking success stories of land decontamination and rehabilitation in urban areas. I'm having a hard time with my search. I'm not familiar with this field.

In other words : Fairly recent examples of industrial urban wastelands that have been reclaimed and transformed into lively neighborhoods, parks, campuses, etc.

Examples from the US or Europe if possible.

Thank you !

How to handoff cell to land line

Thrillhouse — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 16:46:29 -0800

I have two new iPhones. I also have a land line in my house. My cell signal in my house is poor at best. I like my land line so I'm going to keep it. I would like my cell phone to transfer to my land line when I'm home so I can get cell calls at home. I can't seem to find a product that will hand off my cell calls to my land line. Does such a thing exist?

How does a land contract work?

howrobotsaremade — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 10:53:38 -0800

Is buying a home on land contract or as a lease option ever a good idea? For the last couple years I have been working diligently to clear up my formerly terrible credit. However, it will probably be a year or possibly two before it's in good enough shape to qualify for a mortgage, even with a cosigner.

The problem is, I have recently found out that I will probably need to move out of the house I'm renting in the next 6 months. I live in a very tight rental market. I am not finding any suitable rentals within my price range that are kid/pet friendly in this school district.

As I've been looking, I keep seeing listings for companies who are offering homes as a lease with option to buy, or on land contract. On the surface, this sounds like a good idea for someone like me. But if it was that easy, why don't most people buy homes this way instead of going through a regular bank?

Is this fundamentally a bad idea? Will I end up paying much more for the home, even if I buy it out with a bank mortgage in a couple years' time when my credit has recovered? Does buying a home this way remove any of the legal protections that one would normally get in a conventional home purchase? From what I understand, the biggest concern is that often the contract is written in a way that makes it very easy to lose the home and any money invested into it, for a multitude of reasons. But does this work well for people if the payments are always made on time?

I have not had much luck finding straight answers on the pitfalls of doing one of these deals. Google turns up a lot of real estate seminars and make money schemes, which makes me believe that maybe this isn't the greatest idea after all.

I know the answer to this question is probably "lawyer up beforehand", which is a stellar idea no matter what. But first, I'd like to know is if it's a waste of time to pursue looking for one of these homes in the first place. If it's feasible, I really need some good, legitimate resources to understand how a land contract (or lease with option to buy) should be structured and how it works and what I should be asking if I decide to go this route.

Any good or bad personal experiences are welcome, too. Also, if it matters, the state is Indiana.

New residents of Seattle. Please help us choose a neighborhood to buy a house.

valannc — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 14:35:59 -0800

Seattle region filter: We are new residents of Seattle, from New Jersey, enjoying our exploration of this wonderful city. We are house-hunting and have narrowed down our choice of neighborhoods. Any opinions or advice? Criteria:
- Commute is less than 30 minutes to South Lake Union.
- Quiet streets and beautiful light. We really like the light in the areas close to Puget Sound.
- Re-sale value. We have no kids, but we prefer good schools and desirable areas -- for resale value.
- Walkable friendly community.

Neighborhoods, in order of preference:
1. Richmond Beach. Wonderful quiet neighborhood seems like a retreat from the city. But not a bad commute. However, there is the Point Wells development looming. It could change the whole character of the community.
2. North Beach. I like the relaxed feel of the neighborhood.
3. Blue Ridge. I think it's a bit too spruce and upscale for us. But there are some beautiful houses.
4. Sunset Hill. What a lovely community! But the lots and houses tend to be small. Houses are selling quickly in Sunset Hill, despite the "buyer's market."
5. Magnolia. Shorter commute to South Lake Union, but homes are more costly, and the area is kind of isolated from the rest of Seattle.

Also, is there any advantage/disadvantage to living in Shoreline vs the city of Seattle?

Inherited an acre of land. What should we do with it?

omegar — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 21:30:09 -0800

Inherited an acre of land. What should we do with it? Is there any way to make it profitable, and to help the comunity around it by creating at least some jobs? Or should we just sell?

My wife and I just inherited an acre of land. It is in Mexico (somewhere around here); it is near a highway, two hours from Mexico City. It has all utilities (plus two wells). It is in a residential/farming/other uses area. In the past it had been used to raise rabbits, deer and chickens, but that did not work out because of negligence by the caretakers, we were told. It was also used to grow onions, cucumbers, apples, bananas, pears, radish, apples, watermelons, mangos and lemons, all in a small scale (non profitable, but good). Then it was transformed into a private weekend getaway house with lots of garden (and a small river, did I mention a small river goes through the property?) Right now it has some living quarters, a small pool and some abandoned amenities (a tennis court, a jogging track) all of which needs urgent fixing and mending or could be torn down without spending too much.

So, the thing is we are wondering what to do with it. We don't want to go live there full time but it is near enough that we can go every weekend or so. We can pay for someone to manage the property and all aother expenses (assume money is no object). So far we have come up with the following solutions:
We could just sell the land, but in its current state we will wind up not getting what it's worth.
We could section it and build really nice little houses with a common pool (4 houses or so) and sell them for profit but, where's the good for the local community in that?
We could start producing something. The climate is really good and everything grows. What could we possibly produce that is not very time consuming for us and can at least not loose money in medium to long term?
We could start a small factory. Again, assuming money is of no object, what could we build? (It must require simple labor as local people are probably not trained to even use a computer)

Only four no-no's:
The thing we grow or build or wahtever cannot be loud. No loud machines, a tractor is ok.
We do not want to pollute anything. Not the river, not the land, nothing, so it must be clean.
Nothing illegal (no drugs).
Nothing to do with tourism, the area has all needed hotels already.

Any help would be greately appreciated.

Lost copying Land of the Lost?

monkeywithhat — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 19:33:21 -0800

Did Land of the Lost invent the concept of a pocket Universe? Similarly is the more recent series Lost copying that concept or have other series and stories done the same thing? So with Will Ferrel putting out a new movie spoofing the original Land of the Lost I went back and watched some of the original series. I had watched it a bunch as a kid and remember it being really complicated and loving that and the craziest part being that when they ran out one side they came back on the other. The new show Lost has the same thing.
-I know Arthur C. Clarke wrote a short story which has a similar conclusion, all centered around a huge black wall.
-Also a Star Trek TNG episode has a similar concept with a higher life form trapping them in this kind of non-space.

Buying property with a water view... How can I confirm that the nice view will remain unobstructed over the years?

valannc — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 11:54:18 -0800

We are house-hunting in the Seattle area. Looking at property with water views. Willing to pay the higher price that comes with a view. But I'm reading some horror stories about how a neighbor will build a tower in front of your view, or neighbors who refuse to trim their tall shrubs. And then your view is obscured and your property value drops. How do I research this? How can I know if the viewshed is protected or not? What sort of monitoring would I need to do over the years? I will ask my realtor to research it, but I'd like to hear from people with experience with this issue.

Why do I need building permits?

Death by Ugabooga — Sat, 23 May 2009 19:54:06 -0800

From what source does the authority to require building permits and inspections derive? I've dealt with this whole process before, but every time I have to, I think, "But hey - it's _my_ property! I paid for it, I pay taxes on it, and I pay for the upkeep. As long as I don't build something that could potentially damage or destroy the property of another, why do I need 'permission' from the government?" I know there are lots of issues involved, but when did we, as a nation, give up the right to do what you want on your own property, and is there a way of getting that right back?

What if I want a tiny farm?

zvs — Thu, 14 May 2009 20:37:05 -0800

How big is the smallest possible subsistence farm? Settle a living room bet -- what's the smallest amount of land on which a vegetable farm could feed a family of two for more than a year or two, barring famine or harsh winter or whatever? Let's say an Upstate New York-esque level of soil quality. How would I even go about solving this question?

How to find dead parent's Texas mineral rights?

Anonymous — Mon, 11 May 2009 11:29:51 -0800

Finding deceased parent's Texas "mineral rights?" How can I do this cheaply? My pop was married twice. He and his first wife had property in Texas. They sold the land but kept the mineral rights. At least I believe it was called this. My pop told me about it decades ago when I was a kid, so I may have the name wrong. If someone were to find something underground, he would have the rights to it.

Pop and his first wife divorced. He remarried and had me. He passed away decades ago.

I would like to track down any mineral rights he has or had prior to his divorce in the 1950s. The property would be in Texas, possibly Bexar County. How can I do this for cheap / free? Internet methods especially appreciated.

First wife is unavailable & unreliable, so looking for official sources for this information.

How much US land is controlled by foreign states?

Plutor — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 08:18:20 -0800

How much US land does not fall under the jurisdiction of US laws? Diplomatic missions such as embassies and consulates enjoy extraterritoriality, as do military bases. Is there any kind of accounting of how much land those places take up? I understand that embassies and the like aren't "foreign land" in the same sense that actual foreign land is, and that the relationship between the jurisdiction of host and guest states is often fuzzy. For the sake of this question, let's pretend it's not.

Followup: How much non-US land falls under the jurisdiction of US laws? Guantanamo, et al.

Why is Vancouver called Lotusland?

royalchinook — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 20:36:16 -0800

Anyone know why Vancouver is called Lotusland? On this previous MeFi arcticseal thought it's because Vancouver-ites have the most free time of Canadians. I saw this same question elsewhere, just without a response; there's a Vancouver tour company that uses the name and even a travel podcast for the city with the same name. My google-fu comes up blank on the meaning - any help?

I want my 40 acres to bring in some cash to the older me

reenum — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 13:13:29 -0800

Are there techniques or methods to determine how a city will grow and in what direction it will grow? I want to buy some unimproved land with an eye to selling it in the future. I'd like my investment to be something that appreciates, rather than declining or simply remaining stable.

I'm looking for tools, books, websites, or other resources that help one gain the knowledge to try and figure out what patterns a city's growth is taking, and where growth will occur over the next 10-20 years.

Thanks!

We sold our house. Where to now?

jofuu — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 12:30:16 -0800

After 14 years living in our small farm house a once-agricultural town in Connecticut our family has had to move on. Despite the markets leaning we did make a profit and would like to reinvest it as quickly as possible. As far as what we desire out of a location, we wouldn't like to go any farther north but have no real desire to stay in the state and would consider moving out of New England for the right reasons. We like our space so size is important. We don't need hundreds of acres or even a dozen. We wouldn't like to be too far away from civilization and neighbors are always a good thing to have. The woods are okay but arable land is better. I would like to grow some fruit trees and maybe raise some chickens.

So basically I'm looking for suggestions on where to begin our new property hunt. Let's say we have upwards of $85k available immediately.

Thanks Metafilter, you haven't failed me yet. :)

Rent undeveloped land?

SampleSize — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 18:01:51 -0800

I plan on spending the next few years living in different places for several months to a year at a time. One thought I've had is to get a small trailer RV or something like this, and rent land to park it on for however long I'm sticking around. Is this possible? I've googled a bit, but I'm not coming up with much. Any suggestions for how I would find people with land that would be into renting it?

Just to clarify, I'm not looking for very short-term rentals, and I'm not looking for RV parks/campsites. The idea would be to be able to stay on nice, undeveloped land for reasonably cheap.

Thoughts?

help me feed my gas-emitting microb-enriched compost pile

brandnew — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 04:59:36 -0800

Geeky DIY Homesteading For years now I've dreamed of purchasing a bunch of acreage in rural PA and learning how to 'hack' the land and nature. That is, I want to maximize the energy output from the land (using wind, geothermal, solar, other). I also want to maximize the food output from the land (with emphasis on quality and variety, not endless rows of corn). Then, try to figure out some effective and novel things to do with the surplus energy, as well as experiment with various survival techniques.

Basically I'm interested in how to use modern (but sustainable) technology, science, and engineering knowledge (and folk tech, when applicable) in order to maximize rural survival.

My question is not so much how to do this, as I realize that the scope is gigantic. But, instead I want to connect with other people who have had experience in this area. And the more 'underground' the knowledge, the better.

I found this site for a survivalist-type group: Alpha Rubicon , and they seem to have some interesting projects on their site. However, I'm not that big into gun and defense culture. Of course, I have nothing against guns, really, it's just not my focus. Plus, I'm not sure I have the dedication at the moment to commit to their level of expectation. As I would like to gradually experiment with these concepts over the next 5, 10 years, gradually increasing my knowledge and discipline.

So, what are some forums or social-networking groups that I can join to obtain this type of knowledge? How can I meet people like this (of the more peace-loving, hippy, independent, self-reliant, technology-friendly mold)? And how do I get access to restricted project plans and such things (like at the alpharubicon site)?

Does that there fence look straight to you?

Sugar Induced Coma — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 07:20:56 -0800

In East Texas, and in counties surrounding the DFW metroplex, there are many, many surveys and tracts of land oriented along a 30° or 60° angle. Why is this?

How to find the value of land in Ireland?

Tnuocca — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 16:15:33 -0800

How has the value of agricultural land in Ireland changed since 2003? Does anyone know the current going rate for an acre of farmland in Ireland? Also, could someone please tell me how it's varied over time since 2003?

Are there any land valuation services that someone could recommend, and if so what information do they need to provide a valuation?

Dirty Driving

Barrows — Wed, 28 May 2008 19:51:33 -0800

Where can I drive off road on hills and mud near Boston - Metrowest would be best. 10MPG, I might as well have fun! (Land Rover Discovery btw)