All Forum Posts by: JH Bridge

@Mason Moreland thanks for the clarification & correction! 

Allen - Both @Brenden Mitchum & @Jamie Hora are correct. I'd go to the city or county 1st (whoever is making the zoning/planning decisions). The municipality dictates what can be done, even what they are encouraging, based on their 5/10/20 year plans. Ask about zoning, setbacks, land use & utilities. Look at the plat of your parcel (these are public records in the clerk & recorders office), maybe there's an easement running through that end of the property that wouldn't allow a structure to be built over where you thought you could (doubtful, but possible). These will all affect the feasibility. Once you determine if it can be done, I'd reach out to a local surveyor for a rough quote to see what the cost would run. You'd then be able to determine if it is worth the time/effort to divide.

Anna - As @Mason Moreland & @David M. mentioned, you'd need an environmental engineer to start the due diligence. I'm not sure about FL, but in CO wetlands are taken very seriously & the municipalities very rarely budge on them (especially for development purposes). I'd imagine things would be very similar, even though not exactly the same.

A place to start though; Since the previous survey shows the wetlands, you might be able to contact that surveying company (all company info should be on the survey) & they could tell you how the wetlands were defined & possibly start you down the right path. Surveyors can't define wetlands, so they had to get that info from somewhere. Maybe they have the environmental engineering firm that delineated them (and all are still active businesses). This doesn't necessarily mean the deal won't work, you just might have to get creative on how to maximize the 2 acres instead of the full 3.7.

Hope this helps.

If the preliminary analysis numbers work, I'd get the flood cert.  Of course, that's only if you think the deal is worth pursuing. It'd be $400 to possibly save you how much on premiums over many years?  Home inspections are $400 here in CO, & no one bats an eye.  And they aren't shaving costs off of an insurance premium.  

@Eden Rock, if you are the buyer, you need an ALTA. It is a higher standard survey. A boundary survey is just not as in depth as an ALTA, you want all the info you can get as a buyer. Here is a decent site for a quick overview:

https://www.williamsmullen.com/news/not-all-surveys-are-created-equal-%E2%80%93-benefit-and-uses-alta-survey

@Lauren Juarez, is your survey an ALTA/NSPS survey? With an ALTA survey the surveyor researches the FEMA site for the client. You can tell, reasonably well, if your property sits in a flood plain. If it does, then you'd want to get a flood cert. (just a @Guy said). A surveyor has to stamp & sign the document with his/her registration number. I'd have some doubts about a handwritten note. I'm not saying every surveyor does their job perfectly & I'm not saying there isn't an extenuating circumstance with the handwriting, but I'd definitely look into it. If you'd like to send the survey via PM & it wouldn't hold up the deal, I'd be glad to look at it & see if I can help.

@Kyle Donath,

I think @Nik Moushon is right about the $8k for permits, engineering, soils & survey being too low. By a significant amount. A surveyor coming from Denver will have travel time & probably multiple days of it. You might be able to find a survey company from Vail or Dillon, but I don't know what their travel time is or how busy they are in the spring. Something to think about. Also, it looks like Park county's online system doesn't need to be as robust as some larger, more populated counties. That is time to & from the county seat in Fairplay. And time spent talking to them, etc...If you're up there building anyway, it may not be too much of an issue. Again, just something to think about when building in margin.

A few things to budget for:

1. I think a big component that you can & need to nail down is cost of constructing on a site with plenty of granite. It invariably increases the cost & time of construction.  I've heard of most mountain drilling being no less that $15k.
2. Remember that you're more than likely going to have to level out granite for both the house & the septic. With you designing though, you might be able to control these costs a little more.
3. Call South Park Telephone & IREA to see what it's going to cost to bring in the services. It'd be a good idea to have your house site roughly decided, as distance plays a role.
4. Heavy equipment rental will be a significant chunk of money. I imagine you'd have to rent it from down here in Denver. So budget travel to & from (I'd guess a day for each). And of course, whatever time on site you're going to need it. You'll have different types throughout the build. Excavator, Skid Steer (bobcat), Crane, etc...
5. Something I think that gets forgotten about, especially with larger mountain lots, is the driveway. Again, with you designing, it'll help. But you're going to have to lay asphalt or gravel from the maintained road up to your house.
6. I know foundation is included in the $200/sf estimate, but that's for Denver. Expect some increase in the bids that come in from you concrete sub, as they'll have to travel a decent distance to get to your site every day. I'd also call to see what the cost of a concrete truck delivery is for up there. For multiple pours.

I do not want to come across as though I'm trying to dissuade you. Quite the opposite. I see projects like this getting done up there & know it can be done, especially with you GC-ing & designing it. That will give you more margin than most. In fact, after all the time, effort & money you'll have into it, I'd bet on you having a hard time letting it go.

@Soheil Zarrin, 

Like Mike & Chris mentioned, I wouldn't worry about it for your purchase. You'll be on county time & that is never at a quick pace. It really only affects your property taxes. Long term? No one rents off of county assessed square footage. And investors will see it as you are right now...cost, NOI, cash flow, etc. If you want to pursue it after you buy, you can always go to the county & plead the case that they are including the garage as livable space. I don't know what state you're in, but you may find that taxes on 264 sq ft just isn't worth the hassle of getting them to change it. Or they may say you're right, we'll get right on it & change that in our database. It never hurts to ask. But I wouldn't let this discrepancy hold up your deal.

@Handel Carter,

@Davido Davido has the most thorough & complete response to your issue.  It is easy to react quickly & fearfully when you get a letter from a lawyer threatening litigation, especially when it comes to land rights. It is not an area of law that many people have to deal with, nor come across often. There is nothing life threatening, you aren't being arrested or going to jail, so "lawyering up" right away or ordering a survey tomorrow isn't absolutely necessary.

I would start with fact-finding. Calmly gather more information from the lawyer who sent you the letter. Have them send you what they found. Talk to the title company that you used when you bought the house. Do some research of your property with the clerk & recorder of your county. See what the subdivision plat shows. I find they are very helpful when you go into their office & start asking questions about your property. It's all public record. It may take you half a day during work hours, but you wouldn't have to pay a lawyer to do it. There is going to be much more information uncovered as you dig in. These types of things typically move slow.

You very well may find that you need a survey & a lawyer. You may find out that your new apartment complex neighbor has an ulterior motive & was hoping to get some land for very little work. Who knows? Just take some time with gathering facts & see what you uncover. I know it's easier from this side of the computer, but there's no need to panic. Read @Davido Davido 's post. It's very good & he has even done a little bit of initial leg work.

Keep us posted on your situation though. I'd like to hear how this plays out.

@John Ho, Greg & Wayne have it right. Check the deed. What kind of survey did you get?  It should say it in a bold title right at the top. I ask because there are some surveys in which title research is done, & others that don't.