All Forum Posts by: JH Bridge

@Kim Handelman,

There is some really solid advice on this thread. Here in CO, build cost of $150/sq ft means you're doing well. Get some quotes on asbestos mitigation. I know that disposal of that is on the high end, no matter if you or a developer does it. If there's a way to determine wetlands, you would be doing yourself a huge favor. That too, is usually a very particular process with strict adherence. Basically, anything environmental will be hard costs that you can't/shouldn't really side step. Is there another avenue you can explore with a/the developer you partner with, as far as financing goes? It will be a very long play, your money will be tied up for a significant amount of time & I think the cost of money alone would hurt any margin you've built in.

As a side note; how big is the lake? If your 5 houses already have services (water, sewer, elec, gas, fiber) you might see what the cost is to run those services to the new lots. It typically makes the lots or houses more attractive to would-be buyers, & making your buyer's market much larger. Not everyone knows how to care for a septic system, run on well water. You or the developer will probably have to run elec & fiber out there anyway. I'm not trying to say it's not a good deal, or you shouldn't do it. Just throwing some thoughts out there.

@Ryan Wydler

It's a "private alley" most likely because it is NOT maintained by a public entity (namely the city, county or state). Do your row-houses have an HOA? If so, I imagine that they are the ones who "own" & maintain the alley. It's labeled private, but doesn't necessarily mean that a private individual owns it.

As for getting ownership of it, I doubt it would be an easy process, if even possible. If your neighbors have access via the alley, you wouldn't be able to acquire a portion. You'd essentially be blocking all your neighbors from having alley access.

If someone besides the HOA owns it, & you still think it'd be worth it to pursue, you should call a RE attorney & get his or her input. My 2 cents is that it wouldn't be worth it.

@Chris Smith,  I would have the survey done well ahead of the refinance. You will need time for the survey company to come out (typically a week or 2), some time for you or they to file it, & time for the document to go through the county system & become public record. Then when you refi, the mortgage company will see your house on 1 lot. Please do not forget what @Account Closed is saying! If the parcels are front X back, you will almost certainly need to put in an access easement to that 2nd parcel. That changes if the parcels are side X side along the street.

I think you need more info to make the decision. How much of the back of the garage is in the easement? What kind of easement is it, i.e. electrical, access, gas, etc...? Do you have a contingency in the contract for a survey? If you are attached to this deal & you want to make it work, I wouldn't say run as fast as you can, but I would proceed with caution. If you are putting in all kinds of offers on anything you see & this is just another deal, walk away.  

@Nat C., so what did the surveyor sign & stamp?  What kind of survey did they do?  If they only do legal descriptions & drawings, what are they showing on the drawings?  Put the separation issue aside for the moment, there should be a recorded plat of the property; usually at the county level.  Basically the plat is the historical record of the land & there has to be a paper trail of what happened to your parcel, even before this "separation". Most of the counties now have a digital portal to acquire these docs. So you don't even have to go to there building.  You may have to spend a little time on the phone though, asking how to get the plat.

@Julie Berks - Craig is right, it's a smaller community than you'd think. I do not know of any REI group that does Zoom calls, though I'm sure there are some. They would most likely be from all over the country & not specific to Denver.

If you would like to grab coffee with a 2nd member of the Denver BP community, shoot me a message & we can coordinate schedules. I'm in the north part of town as well. 

@Lisa Singer

I'm tend to agree with Chris. I'm not against ADU's, but I don't think we're at the point in the market where it costs less to build than to buy (as crazy as that sounds). In your cost analysis, don't forget to include the management & stress associated with a project that could easily cost more & go longer than anticipated. I don't know what the $/sq ft is for you, but it's certainly not $0. I'm not saying they aren't possible, just something to think about before you start.

If you have any questions on the survey side of things, don't hesitate to reach out. I'd be happy to help any way I can.

@Bill Coleman, As Jay was saying, wetlands are hyper local & definitely a bugger in CO (a high desert). Once designated, there is a slim to no chance to develop on it (with slim's bags packed).  I would start with an environmental engineering company to see what their thoughts are.  I'm a surveyor in Denver & have some colleagues that should be able to give you some free guidance.  If you are still looking into it, send me a message & I can put you in touch with someone.

@Nat C., @Wayne Brooks did you right with his explanation.  I have never heard of 2 different "levels" of subdivision.  I'm in CO, not FL so there may be some differing laws, but I have never heard of that.  It's almost exclusively a county that deals with the subdividing of land.  

N. Miami - So the lawyer is saying the easement agreement was terminated at the "state level"?  What about the subdivision (or lack thereof) of the property?  Was that terminated as well?  When you say site survey, are you talking about hiring a surveyor to do a legal/stamped survey & then go talk to the zoning dept?  Or something different?

Daytona - Since the 2 are on different streets & different addresses, it shouldn't be too hard to get a surveyor to subdivide them.  As Wayne has said, just talk to the county to make sure it's even possible 1st.  I imagine it will be in the few thousand $ range.

Any licensed surveyor should be able to do a Flood Cert for you.  They aren't free, but they are certified & stamped by the surveyor.