# Anyone Purchase Land from Neighbors?



## Filson

So we just bought 40 acres, and are in the late stages of buying an additional 20 acre neighboring lot. But after that, there are no other pieces of land for sale immediately near my property. After talking to a neighbor who owns roughly 1600 acres, and that he has been buying properties in the local area sense the 60's, it got me thinking... I think it'd be pretty cool to add on to our soon-to-be 60 acres over the years, soaking up land that is in close proximity or bordering our property.

Two of the properties that border mine, that have no buildings on them, are connected lots to much bigger family farms. Another is a 20 acre parcel that is just a woodlot, that borders the owners other parcel where his house is. I would imagine he would hate to have someone buy it and put a house up right next to his. There is also a 40 acre wood lot that according to the county website - is owned (or at least the owner's mailing address) is in California (I live in Washington state). Anyway, buying land that is posted for sale is one thing, but asking a neighbor to sell off some of their land to you may be quite a different experience.

So that brings up a question that I'd like to ask you all... How many of you have ever talked to a neighbor about buying some of their land that was not already up for sale? 

If any of you have, how did you go about it? 
Where there any give-and-takes with terms or anything else? 
What was your overall experience with it?

Have any of you been on the other end of this sort of deal? If so, what were your experiences?

Thanks, all.


----------



## Ziptie

Just kinda asked our neighbours last week. Just in the coarse of the conversion stated if they ever wanted to sell the five acre piece next to our place we might be interested. 
At that point he said he was looking to buy more to add to his. Guess mowing 3-4 hrs per weekend isnât long enough but what ever floatâs his boat.


----------



## tarbe

I had a deeded easement to my 80 that ran across my neighbor's southern-most 40.

Adjacent to the easement was the highest point on his 120 and my 80...a 4 acre rectangle would encompass it all, and make for a nice home spot.

I approached my neighbor in this way..."you have already graciously granted the easement, but received nothing for it (it was his nephew who sold me the 80). How about I buy the easement from you (0.9 acres) and if you are willing, I will pay you a premium price for an additional 4 acres".

That got him to thinking and a few months later we had a deal.

Of course, if he were cash rich and relatively land poor, the deal probably would not have been made. So it is critical to know the needs/desires of your neighbor before you approach them, if at all possible. I knew he was thinking about reducing his land holdings in general, so this deal fit in with his plans.

You don't want to have to force a deal...that takes too much money!!


----------



## Filson

tarbe said:


> I had a deeded easement to my 80 that ran across my neighbor's southern-most 40.
> 
> Adjacent to the easement was the highest point on his 120 and my 80...a 4 acre rectangle would encompass it all, and make for a nice home spot.
> 
> I approached my neighbor in this way..."you have already graciously granted the easement, but received nothing for it (it was his nephew who sold me the 80). How about I buy the easement from you (0.9 acres) and if you are willing, I will pay you a premium price for an additional 4 acres".
> 
> That got him to thinking and a few months later we had a deal.
> 
> Of course, if he were cash rich and relatively land poor, the deal probably would not have been made. So it is critical to know the needs/desires of your neighbor before you approach them, if at all possible. I knew he was thinking about reducing his land holdings in general, so this deal fit in with his plans.
> 
> You don't want to have to force a deal...that takes too much money!!


Amazing move on your part, very well played and both parties are happy!

I'll have to spend some time to see if I can think of any way to find some leverage that will make both parties happy... But as it sits, from what I'm seeing, it'll pretty much just be blatantly buying land off them. Maybe buy it off them with the agreement that I wont develop the land or do any alterations to it. That would reduce their tax burden as well as add some cash in their pockets.

Roughly half of the land I'm interested in, is the "back areas" of neighboring farms. It's all woodlot, so not too terribly valuable to an actual farmer I wouldn't think. I have some thinking to do. lol

Any other stories from other members here?


----------



## simi-steading

Won't happen in my area... All my neighbors buy up the land as it comes up for sale.. I got lucky and bought ours before the neighbor had a chance.. He doesn't live there, but had just heard it was for sale and was getting ready to make an offer... We got lucky and got in before he had a chance..


----------



## karenp

I had a neighbor ask to buy part of our land. He's my favorite neighbor, but I still told him no. It wasn't an issue. It can't hurt to ask as long as you are polite and willing to accept the answer.


----------



## JLMissouri

Doesn't hurt to ask, as long as it is done with respect. I have bought several pieces of property and buildings that were not listed for sale. That is the best time to buy a property, before it hits the market. A couple of the properties I knew who owned them, and others were strangers. I set the price every time, and I was only rejected one time, and he later changed his mind and I bought the lot. I also made sure in a round about way they were interested in selling and didn't think it was a gold mine.


----------



## Conhntr

I have my eyes on a 5 acre parcel that would "square" off my 12 acre "L" shape into a 17 acre square. I have all pasture and the 5 acres of woods bordering a large creek would be nice! Been hear 1 year and ive seen the owner using it for deer hunting only. Considering making an offer; perhaps letting him keep hunting rights for xx years...


----------



## Filson

JLMissouri said:


> Doesn't hurt to ask, as long as it is done with respect. I have bought several pieces of property and buildings that were not listed for sale. That is the best time to buy a property, before it hits the market. A couple of the properties I knew who owned them, and others were strangers. I set the price every time, and I was only rejected one time, and he later changed his mind and I bought the lot. I also made sure in a round about way they were interested in selling and didn't think it was a gold mine.


How did you come up with the price to offer? And how did you make sure of their willingness to sell? Seems like it'd come up during the conversation, but how did you get the feeling for it prior to talking to them about buying land from them?



Conhntr said:


> I have my eyes on a 5 acre parcel that would "square" off my 12 acre "L" shape into a 17 acre square. I have all pasture and the 5 acres of woods bordering a large creek would be nice! Been hear 1 year and ive seen the owner using it for deer hunting only. Considering making an offer; perhaps letting him keep hunting rights for xx years...


12 wooded acres on a large creek would indeed be nice! In your case, I would offer a term that you will maintain the woodlot to keep the wildlife around, and he can have hunting access for however many years out you'd feel comfortable with. Realizing he owns a little 5 acre hunting lot, shows he's into it, so I would think long-term (20 years or something).

Prior to making an offer too, I would try to estimate the value of timber on the land as well, than look up waterfront acreage in your area, to get an idea of what the basic land value is worth. Check county records to see what he paid for it and when as well. If it's worth it to you - make sure he wants away with a profit, as well as the ability to come back and hunt with a guarantee that the woods will be managed appropriately.

Good luck to you, let us know if you make an offer and how it turns out!


----------



## JLMissouri

I use to live in a small town of about 700 people. A house across the street from me was inherited and then sold. The couple who bought the house didn't want the 1 1/4 acres that was on the side of the house, and got the price of the house dropped a little by not buying the land next to it with the house. By asking neighbors I found out the price difference and made the offer for that difference if he still wanted to sell. Since I didn't have enough cash I offered $1000 down and payments of $200 or something like that a month. The lots total price was like $2,500. This was more than ten years ago before land price more than doubled in this area. He accepted my offer.

Another lot I bought in the same town was my old neighbors place and it became his rental when he moved. The place burned and he said he might just sell the lot, he was going to list it for $5,000. I stated I was interested but I didn't think the price was right, but that $1500 was more along what it was worth. HE didn't accept but later did take my offer, and again it was owner financed.

I have bought several properties this way, at one time my goal was to own half my small town, and buffer the nice piece of property I have there. I eventually bought up 6 acres of land in town. I really wanted to be in the country though and eventually moved.

I think handled in a good way you can usually get what you want unless your expectations are unrealistic. Of course some places will never be for sale.


----------



## ChristieAcres

Haven't been in that position, but may be in the future. The gal who owns the property to the W of ours, has never developed it. She has talked about building on it for years. Since her family is selling off their properties around hers, eventually, I believe she may not want to keep her property. Also, since she is retired, and doesn't live close, the chance she will build seems unlikely. So, we will work on paying off our property, building out home, and when the time is right...we will offer to buy her land. There is no well or septic, but we would just like to expand our acreage.


----------



## Filson

JLMissouri said:


> I use to live in a small town of about 700 people. A house across the street from me was inherited and then sold. The couple who bought the house didn't want the 1 1/4 acres that was on the side of the house, and got the price of the house dropped a little by not buying the land next to it with the house. By asking neighbors I found out the price difference and made the offer for that difference if he still wanted to sell. Since I didn't have enough cash I offered $1000 down and payments of $200 or something like that a month. The lots total price was like $2,500. This was more than ten years ago before land price more than doubled in this area. He accepted my offer.
> 
> Another lot I bought in the same town was my old neighbors place and it became his rental when he moved. The place burned and he said he might just sell the lot, he was going to list it for $5,000. I stated I was interested but I didn't think the price was right, but that $1500 was more along what it was worth. HE didn't accept but later did take my offer, and again it was owner financed.
> 
> I have bought several properties this way, at one time my goal was to own half my small town, and buffer the nice piece of property I have there. I eventually bought up 6 acres of land in town. I really wanted to be in the country though and eventually moved.
> 
> I think handled in a good way you can usually get what you want unless your expectations are unrealistic. Of course some places will never be for sale.


Well, our closing date for the additional 20 acres is just a few weeks away. So that seems like a go now. There are a few reasons I want the additional space, but all loosely fall around the same idea as yours as wanting a 'buffer' around our property.

There is also some great timber lots adjacent to our property as well I'd love to own.



lorichristie said:


> Haven't been in that position, but may be in the future. The gal who owns the property to the W of ours, has never developed it. She has talked about building on it for years. Since her family is selling off their properties around hers, eventually, I believe she may not want to keep her property. Also, since she is retired, and doesn't live close, the chance she will build seems unlikely. So, we will work on paying off our property, building out home, and when the time is right...we will offer to buy her land. There is no well or septic, but we would just like to expand our acreage.


Is she aware that your interested in buying it? Best of luck to you in picking up the additional land. :thumb: Where at (roughly) are you located in the PNW? Land is way cheaper over here on the east side of the mountains, compared to the Snohomish county area I grew up in.


----------



## FireMaker

Our initial 10 acres was carved from the sellers 60ish acres. We have converted about adding about 3-4 acres to make it a easy rectangle. He's not ready to go that route yet. The nice thing is that he can sell more as there would be no access to the sold
property. The run of the terrain limits access significantly.

The seller is a great neighbor and now friend. He is very eccentric and our realtor asked a cole of years ago " How are you getting along with x". When I told him how great a neighbor he was the realtor hand a surprised look on his face. I guess our eccentricity meshes well with the neighbor.


----------



## greenacresusa

We've told a little bit about our story before but here goes: Back in 2006 we bought 41 1/2 acres with a deeded right of way. It's in the Ozark mountains. We plan to build our retirement home in a few years near the pond which is on the side of a hill/mountain. But the problem was that our land is in the middle of a huge wooded area (we love that part) and where the house is the land only goes part way up the hill/mountain. We didnt' like the idea that hunters (the ower of the area has rented the land out) would be right above our house and barn where they might shoot near us. Soooo we wanted to buy that lot behind us. It was part of three lots the other people had bought. It was orginally 40 acres. The owners had all three lots for sale (128 acres total) since 2008. We only wanted the orginal 40 acres behind us not the 128 acres (wish we could have afforded it!). They at first didn't want to break it down to sell us the 40. But over several years we kept emailing them (politely). They never did sell the 128 so they agreed last year (2013) to sell us the 40. We took out a bank loan and bought it. We're so glad now to have more privacy and safety!!! 

We wish we could have afforded to buy the rest of their land (next to our right of way lane) since one of their hunters parked a broken down dump of a trailer right next to our right of way that we see when we travel our lane. But we don't have the money to do it right now. Perhaps when my remaining parent passes and we get a small inhertance or if we get a nice amount for our current home when we sell and if we have money left after building our retirement home, we'll be able to afford to make an offer on that lot. But we'll have to wait and see but we keep that as an idea for the future. If they do sell we'll keep track of who they sell to and see if we can make an offer to the new owners at some point when we have the money.


----------



## Lupine

I just approached the neighbor of my sister's large property with a letter asking if he'd be interested in subdividing off a parcel along her property line. (Both his and my sister's are quarter-sections). He called me as soon as he got the letter, as he was about to approach them about it; he's had some financial issues, and that portion of his landholdings (he has several properties in the area) would be the easiest to sell. 

For one thing, it's easier to sell to a neighbor, because you only have to do a lot-line adjustment. If you sell to a third party, you have to go through a much more expensive complicated process of subdivision. Both require surveys, but the latter requires road access approval and possibly land use approval. Your miles may vary by county. 

It never hurts to ask; you'd be surprised who is willing to sell, and for what reasons. Most people would rather sell to a neighbor who wants more buffer space than subdivide and have more neighbors, more stress on their local aquifers, more road traffic, etc.


----------



## ChristieAcres

> Is she aware that your interested in buying it? Best of luck to you in picking up the additional land. :thumb: Where at (roughly) are you located in the PNW? Land is way cheaper over here on the east side of the mountains, compared to the Snohomish county area I grew up in.


 No, the current owner is caring for her 94 year old mother, and still has plans to build on the acreage. Based on what we have learned about this gal, it is highly unlikely she will ever build. Once the 10 acre property sells next door, she may consider it (we don't want that property due to the price, primarily).

Yes, East of the Olympics, land is less expensive. We are N of the Olympics, so still less than Snohomish, but more than where you are.


----------



## Pigeon Lady

There's a small piece of land - about 3 acres - next to us. It looks like it's part of our farm. Everyone thinks it's ours but it actually belongs to the neighbor across the road. 

When we first moved in we asked about buying the land but she won't sell. She said her dream is to someday have horses again and if she sold it she would feel like she was giving up her dream. We get along great though and she lets us use the back section ( it's split in half by a creek) to graze our horses and sheep. We live in a hollow off a deep valley. Our 35 acres is mostly forested, mountain ( think vertical  )with just maybe 4 or 5 acres of meadow in the bottom land along another creek, so grazing is at a premium.

The neighbor was very sick last year with heart problems and talked about leaving the land to us in her will. Whether she'll ever get around to re-writing her will I don't know. I feel so sad for her. We're the same age but her health is getting worse and worse. At this point I don't see her ever having horses again. Would love to have that bit of extra land but I would never want to take away her dream.


----------

