Hi, I'm struggling to make a SOUND first RE investment, and wondered if I did the smart thing today or blew a great opportunity. I'm too green to be sure:
After looking at what land parcels in the same town were going for as listed by realtors, I looked at a parcel of almost 10 acres of land in my county in mid-coast Maine which was up for auction via sealed bid. I not only looked at it, but went to the town office and talked with the assessor and poured over 3 maps of the plot. I asked if they had had much interest in this property, or the other 2 advertised for auction in the paper, and they showed me ONE envelope (1 sealed bid) only 3 hours before the deadline!
The property was all densely wooded, couldn't really be walked, and has about 3 acres unusable as wetlands. That still leaves quite a bit of RE, and it has had septic tests run successfully.
The turn off was that the town it was in doesn't have the best reputation, what with modest pretty homes mixed in with trailers and trash. Where I had to turn in for access to the property was one of the worst examples: all kinds of rusted out junk in front of a trailer/home-- even abandoned cars and spare tires.
When I asked about the feasibility of a different access point on another bordering road, or even a different driveway location, I was told it would all depend on the decision of the DOT and the zoning board after the fact. So I passed. Even though the low-ball bid I was going to put in might have been the only one.
What would you have done??? I'm very eager for feedback. There could be another similar property up for auction next week or next month. Here in Maine, it's always 1 property at a time, occasionally by an open auction, but most often by sealed bid.
Thanks for your thoughts.
Ru
