HELP! Trying to figure out what to do with INHERITED LAND!

[Glenn Verley]

Hi BP community, my grandfather passed away and left my Dad (along with his 4 brothers) 32 acres of land in Orange County, NY. Most of my uncles want to sell the property and be done with it, but my Dad and I were thinking this could be an opportunity to start REI. They are open to being bought out of the property at $180,000, but that would have to be paid to the estate in a lump sum at closing.

I haven't been to the property, but the pictures show that there is a mobile home and 2 barns (all falling apart and need to be demolished). I was thinking we could put a new house on the property and either STR it or set up something like a hunting lodge.

This would be my first investment and I have no experience, so I know it would be a massive stretch.

Any thoughts?

Should my Dad just sell it along with my uncles, or should we buy them out and try to turn it into something?

Please help!!!

[Glenn Verley]

Thanks for the advice!

[John Underwood]

What is the land close to? What is it currently zoned for?

Could you partner with a developer to make a subdivision?

Could you make it a MH park?

Could you subdivide it into lots and sell the lots individually for more money?

[Theresa Holl]

Glenn -  Sorry for your loss first of all. 

So many paths you could take here. I am happy to have a strategy chat with you.  Definitely slow down and get a handle on the hidden costs and benefits in a few different options.  I'll shoot over a few "land hacking" resources to help you get organized. 

[Glenn Verley]

Quote from @John Underwood:

What is the land close to? What is it currently zoned for?

Could you partner with a developer to make a subdivision?

Could you make it a MH park?

Could you subdivide it into lots and sell the lots individually for more money?

1. The land is close to the TN/Lumberland, a few towns, and the Delaware River.

2. I don't have any developer contacts in the area, but I'm open to partnering.

3. I'm not sure about a MH park or selling smaller lots, but I know the property is zoned as Rural Residential.

The appraiser had a hard time valuing the property because it's rural and there were no nearby comps. He did say that possible upside is that people are moving away from the city into the county due to a supply shortage, but I looked up the population of the town and it was less than 1,000 (2020 Census).

[Glenn Verley]

Quote from @Theresa Holl:

Glenn -  Sorry for your loss first of all. 

So many paths you could take here. I am happy to have a strategy chat with you.  Definitely slow down and get a handle on the hidden costs and benefits in a few different options.  I'll shoot over a few "land hacking" resources to help you get organized. 

 Thank you, looking forward to evaluating all our options!

[Michael Baum]

Hey @Glenn Verley, this is always a tough call.

Like @John Underwood said, what is nearby that would make it worthwhile to make some kind of STR play.

32 acres at 180k valuation is awful cheap. Especially seeing as it probably has utilities to it, unless the mobile home is just sitting in a field.

[Glenn Verley]

Quote from @Michael Baum:

Hey @Glenn Verley, this is always a tough call.

Like @John Underwood said, what is nearby that would make it worthwhile to make some kind of STR play.

32 acres at 180k valuation is awful cheap. Especially seeing as it probably has utilities to it, unless the mobile home is just sitting in a field.

The price seemed cheap to us too. I'm in California where you can buy a house for 200k, but it would have no roof and be on a lot less than 1 acre. I'm not sure about utilities, I know it's on septic. I've seen other houses down the road and across the street (thanks to Google Maps), but again, I'm not sure about utilities.

[Michael Baum]

Quote from @Glenn Verley:

The price seemed cheap to us too. I'm in California where you can buy a house for 200k, but it would have no roof and be on a lot less than 1 acre. I'm not sure about utilities, I know it's on septic. I've seen other houses down the road and across the street (thanks to Google Maps), but again, I'm not sure about utilities.

So I would find out what is there. If it has a septic system, that is a win. I would have to assume there is power and water (either municipal or well) in addition.

IMHO, that would be the trigger to do something with the property. Depending on the county, getting power, water and septic/sewer is a major undertaking and cost. These are already done so that is a win.

Now, just because you have one septic system doesn't mean you can do more. Find out the zoning like @John Underwood said to see what you have there.

[Louis Siano]

Doing any type of development deal is not an easy thing to do as there are many different ways to skin a cat... Being this will be your first investment property and you're across the country I'd recommend trying to find a partner with a proven track record of investing in that area. Look at local fbook groups, etc. and you should be able to connect with a couple people. Architects are good to figure out what to do with the land but can be a lot for up-front costs. I am never a fan of selling if you can help it... That being said, sometimes it's not worth the stress entering a brand new market that you don't know a ton about

hope this helps!

[Matt Mertz]

Sorry about your grandfather.

One thing that comes to mind is that this is an off-market deal.  No competitors gives you an advantage.  Maybe negotiate with the family for a lower price that covers you in case you need to list it later for sale.  Be mindful of your property taxes.

$5625/acre is a steal compared to TN land I've been looking at.  NY isn't TN so you need to do your research and check the comps.

If you acquire it, you'd have an option to flip it, develop it or live on it.  

[Glenn Verley]

Quote from @Louis Siano:

Doing any type of development deal is not an easy thing to do as there are many different ways to skin a cat... Being this will be your first investment property and you're across the country I'd recommend trying to find a partner with a proven track record of investing in that area. Look at local fbook groups, etc. and you should be able to connect with a couple people. Architects are good to figure out what to do with the land but can be a lot for up-front costs. I am never a fan of selling if you can help it... That being said, sometimes it's not worth the stress entering a brand new market that you don't know a ton about

hope this helps!

 Thank you!

[Glenn Verley]

Quote from @Matt Mertz:

Sorry about your grandfather.

One thing that comes to mind is that this is an off-market deal.  No competitors gives you an advantage.  Maybe negotiate with the family for a lower price that covers you in case you need to list it later for sale.  Be mindful of your property taxes.

$5625/acre is a steal compared to TN land I've been looking at.  NY isn't TN so you need to do your research and check the comps.

If you acquire it, you'd have an option to flip it, develop it or live on it.  

 Thank you!