Buyers Beware!!! Don’t Let This Lame Horse Ruin Your Real Estate Investment

August 15th, 2007 categories: 3 Legged Horses, Buying Land Advice, Regulations and Red Tape

600_horse7 How can this happen? You buy that perfect piece of Idaho paradise and a couple years later,because of circumstances beyond your control, you need to move. What happens next is a blur….your real estate agent tells you, your property is part of a illegal lot split!! and according to county rules, there is no building permit available even though you already own a house on this property?

Or you buy property,and start the building of your dream home. That is the wrong time to find out you can’t do what ever you want with the land you paid too much for.

How can that be true?

Well, unfortunately for the landowner, it happens in Ada county more that we realize. What transpired was that a farmer decided he didn’t need all his land and just parceled off what he didn’t want, leaving behind a lot that is too small according to the county. When the county does get involved, like when you apply for a building permit, they will tell you “NO”

Why the county let this happen in the first place, I have yet to get a good answer (something about before the age of computers…blah,blah,blah)

Be sure you are diligent about this issue if buying in the county!! Have your real estate agent check, or better yet, personally do a diligent search with the county to be sure the zoning is correct and what you expect. This is not difficult to do, it is just something the average person(and I might add the average real estate agent) does not realizes could be a potential problem.

So how does this story end?

Probably in a lawsuit. Someone may of known about this problem and did not disclose it. A lawsuit, though messy and time consuming, is probably the only way to get your equity back. But if the owner is dead and his secret died with him…then you just bought yourself a lame horse partner.

Tags: illegal+splits, ada+county, Kuna+Idaho