All Forum Posts by: Ann North

@Jared W Smith ok thanks for clarifying, I think we are. My response was to the OP asking "who is liable"? and that she wanted to know why lots were abandoned in a subdivision. 

My response was that really no one is liable except yourself/herself. Also, that it is highly unusual for a builder to abandon a development, unless they went broke. 

Even if the lots were deemed "wetlands" or something to that effect they would've known prior to selecting the area as a subdivision and would've known before going in. 

So if OP wanted to know what was up with the lots, I advised her to contact the builder. 

The builder would've had the "engineer" or land engineer or whomever vendor they use - do all the land analysis and would've developed the lots. If the builder isn't available and she doesn't have the knowledge, I'd proceed carefully. It's a lot to learn and take on as you know! If the lots are already developed then it's two questions, I guess... 1) why isn't the development finished out? Why are these lots left behind? 2) Are they buildable?

Good luck all!

@Anthony Wick here's where my philosophy classes in college come in handy since I am not a numbers person -- you're committing a logical fallacy here, I forget which one it's called, but the gist of it is DROPPING CONTEXT.

Those scenarios are totally different!

Dude.

The Property manager company isn't insanely overreacting because they feel persecuted (justifiably so or not). AND Property manager isn't threatening.

It's not just money it's really a question of how did I get here? - looking inside at processes, mistakes and accepting responsibility - rather than blame and all out war 

and $200 vs. Major Headache.

I'd pay and say bye-bye.

Either the tenant is overreacting because they are innocent or they're insane. Neither of those scenarios sound too good to me. We've had troubles in other areas but have been blessed with wonderful tenants and a decent property management company (I had to fire one, though).  Also, I don't know if I read it correctly but 5 years??? That's a long time! That's normal wear and tear.

@Jared W Smith - Land Engineer.  They focus on soil and grade -- and buildable land. I'm from a family of custom home builders. That's how they're referred to by builders. It's not like a mechanical engineer. It's a land engineer who knows land and plot development. As you know  :) architects focus on the drafts and blueprints of a houseplan. They cost a fortune, also. Of course they know land and lots but they don't know developing raw land -- that's an engineer. Most builders in subdevelopments use master planned floorplans with limited options (which are all copyrighted, by the way) and use draftspeople, not architects.

@Daniel Hankins it sounds borderline genius but really complex. I couldn't read through your whole post. I really think you are on to something with millennials and home ownership changing. I saw something where builders are even offering to pay a percent of student loans to try to get younger buyers in the door. I have experience in marketing and I think once you get it all figured out you need to work on delivering it in bite-size pieces, so a tenant could understand it. I think Rent-to-Own or Lease-Option-to-Buy (two different things) is one thing and trying to create some sort of franchise machine? Is another.

I really commend you, however, for trying to come up with something like this and if you work out the details it could help a lot of people.

Um, and Ladies  ? ;-)

Forgot to add @Sophia Berry - please see above!

@Aaron Phillips @Frank Geiger

1. Definitely not true at all. Generally, from beginning to end the construction process is 3-4 months. However -- if the ground is frozen and you are building a 2-story walk-out with a full basement, you have to wait until spring. -- I think what you got confused is settling vs. like 'curing.' Settling is different. Homes settle over time.

2. An apartment building would need to be zoned for multi-family residential.

I also don't think anyone would be "liable." There is lots of land, raw land, and protected lands in various states of development or non-development.

I would ask the builder why they didn't build on them. Did you ask?

That is unusual. Are they the last of the subdevelopment? Or are they abandoned? 

It is rare for a builder to *not* finish out a subdevelopment.

Are you building a custom house on their lot? What about their homeplans?

A surveyor is for easements and lot lines.

What you need is an engineer -- someone to tell you about the grade and suitability of building. The builder already has all this. Also, certain lots require certain types of homes. For example, some lots require two stories with a full walk-out basement, some don't. Also, time of year and timelines are really important with lots.

I would start with builder.

Does it meet code?

that will answer your question.

If that first picture shows a bump or anywhere where it doesn't line up -- it's shoddy.