Homestead mailing list

[Bill Jones <billj AT harborside.com>]

I try to ascertain with the simplest yes or no question, easily answered 
by the seller's realtor, that can tell me whether to move on.  You would 
think that "is it zoned for livestock?" would be clear right from the 
paperwork they have in front of them.  I'd like to find out if the 
answer is just "no" without driving 200 miles.

For instance, there's this one place that's priced reasonably, and no 
one else cares about animals these days, so it's a wonder that it hasn't 
moved.  Conversations with the neighbors indicated that water, access, 
and slope are all problematic (but not to sheep).  I visited the area 
months ago, but we couldn't figure out an easy way in, so Lee just 
talked with the neighbor.  I was off on foot looking in the wrong place 
for the property, so neither of us actually saw it.  As I recall, the ad 
used to have no pictures and read "Residential", but the new pictures 
look good enough.  It's at the end of a road, and not too steep, with 
sparse alders.  You know, what more do people want, than to be the last 
place on the road; so they've a motivation to downgrade the place to 
passing buyers, it occurred to me later.  Lee also told me how the 
neighbor bragged that he had bought the adjoining places for a song, so 
why not make it a full house?  Anyway, I was browsing the ads again and 
saw the refurbished ad, so I didn't recognize it at first.  And when I 
try to contact the realtor to get any of those simple answers that can 
save us both a lot of time, it seems like a brick wall of subterfuge and 
deceit.  Today she said offhand that it has creek rights, but I'm sure 
that's not true, or if it's even a year-round creek.

I wonder what's the minimum mansion that a person has to build to be 
allowed to stay on their own property these days, in a typical county.

Bill

Lynda wrote:

> And, yes, some of those questions the seller's realtor is required to give 
> you answers to.  Make it really clear that when you say FULL disclosure that 
> you MEAN full disclosure!
>
> Good luck!
>
> Lynda
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Bill Jones" <billj AT harborside.com>
> To: "Homestead mailing list digest" <homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org>
> Sent: Friday, September 29, 2006 3:05 PM
> Subject: [Homestead] Real Estate Question
>
>
>  
>
> > I'm trying to buy a 2-5 acre parcel in Oregon's banana belt where we can
> > take the sheep for the winter when we're retired.  I guess I'm naive
> > about "the way things are".  I wish someone could explain these
> > paradoxes to me.  Thanks in advance.  I feel really stupid asking these
> > things of a realtor.  Should I find a realtor other than the seller's?
> > At what point do I become obligated to follow through with a particular
> > realtor?
> >
> > 1.  "You can't build on the land if it doesn't have water."  I see how
> > this fits in with the world of home loans.  But I'm paying cash.  And
> > enough rain falls there that we can easily manage with a small cistern,
> > just for the winter months.
> >
> > 2.  "You can't stay on the land unless it has a government-approved home
> > on it."  I'm not sure about this one.  But I'm pretty sure they've found
> > a way to keep the riff-raff away.  What if my RV is really nice?
> >
> > 3.  "You can't keep animals there unless you stay there with them."
> > Once again, don't know.  Either way, it would AYOR to leave them alone.
> >
> > 4.  "You have to 'develop' the water source before you know if there is
> > any, because you can't use the creek water."  Should I expect the
> > seller's realtor to disclose details about water, the geological report,
> > and access?  If I have to dig, even though I don't want to, then do I
> > only find out after I'm screwed whether I can build?
> >
> > I'm happy to build a 12' x 10' solarium with a cook stove, but I'm not
> > sure if this would buy me the privilege of staying on my own land.
> >
> > So what I don't appreciate overall is, I started out with only the
> > simplest demands, since I already own a summer farm, yet I end up having
> > to build a McMansion whether I want to or not?  Should we just ignore it
> > all and go park the RV there and enjoy a balmy winter?
> >
> > Bill
> > S. Oregon coast
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