1st subdivision--Regulations for creating a small country developement

[Jodi M.]

*posted this already but thought it would fit better in this forum.

We are looking at purchasing 19 acres. There is a house on a 1 acre partial and an 18 acre partial being sold as one. It is being held in a trust and goes up for auction in a few weeks. I started researching the property including access to the property and came across some concerns.

Currently there is a lane going back to 4 houses. The lane is owned by a guy who bought it at a tax sale but doesn't live or own property near the lane. In order to get to the property you have to use that shared lane and go over another property owners land. Our goal with the property is to fix up the house and sell it with the 1 acre partial then build a new house on the other part. We also thought about subdividing some land into a couple of large lots and building a spec house. I want to make sure we can legally subdivide and have access to all areas of the property without the unknown expense of an easement. I talked with a neighboring property owner who went to the courthouse but said they weren't helpful.

Any ideas of who to contact and how to insure we can use the property the way we want? If we can't divide it for our own new house we wouldn't be interested in this property. So far I have sent an e-mail to my RE attorney, the title company I use and talked with the neighboring owner and the county use administrator. Thanks in advance for any ideas.