Frustrated… need help land/house questions.?
Posted on February 16th, 2010 by admin
My fiance and I have been looking at this house…. http://www.realtor.com/realestate/st+joseph-mn-56374-1095716734/#Detail For the last several weeks. It is a bargain. Though there is one problem. We can figure out how much land there is. Our realtor looked at City Hall and found the dimensions of 46X62. Which doesn’t make sense because that is pretty much the house it’s self. He said the "plot map" listed it as that. In the back there is room to build a deck from the second floor but, if the house was sitting property of that size it wouldn’t have room to make a deck. This is frustrating to me. I don’t know what to think…is it possibe city hall screwed up? Where else can I get this info.
It is ALWAYS possible that city hall is all screwed up.
*snicker*
The plat map should be accurate, and as the other poster said, it is possible this house could fit on that lot. Other possibility, is it on two lots?
I doubt there is anywhere else to obtain this info. In every area, there is generally one source for plat maps.
February 16th, 2010 at 9:44 pm
46 X 62 is 2852 Sq Ft, Which is in range to refer to it as 3,000 Sq ft
The house is 1600 Sq Ft which I am Guessing is the liveable area , up & down, not counting the garage
This would give the living area dimensions of 20 X40 or 25 X 32 Which would easily fit on the lot
It is a small house, with a small lot
Hope you don’t have queen size bed and big dressers…Might not fit in bedroom (4?)
You should talk to city hall, because zoning regulations specify the maximum "footprint" you building can cover on the lot.
Ask before you buy if a deck the size you want will be legal to build.
References :
February 16th, 2010 at 10:07 pm
I’m not sure a survey would be only thing to verify this for you. And I suggest before you close on this house that you do all necessary research. Some suggestions would be for you to check similar properties in the area, especially if this is a community-type home as opposed to a single-type home, since it will have same amount of lot as most or all the others.
Concerning city hall, if that’s where all the information is stored in your city, then go back again and ask to see as much original paperwork about it as they can come up with, especially the lot of course, and even all the permits ever pulled for this property or the previous ones. Make sure to clarify that you believe there’s a mistake made by them (city hall or whomever deals with this subject), and that based on that you wish to not have to pay for every single paper you pull on it, especially since if it’s a mistake it appears it will just stay this way until you yourself fix it upon ordering a "corrective land survey"_for which you have to pay_and have to probably get extra title insurance even after no "cloud" is found on title right before closing.
If you think this is a lot of trouble, but your heart is already set on this place, don’t give up easily on it!
References :
February 16th, 2010 at 10:42 pm
It is ALWAYS possible that city hall is all screwed up.
*snicker*
The plat map should be accurate, and as the other poster said, it is possible this house could fit on that lot. Other possibility, is it on two lots?
I doubt there is anywhere else to obtain this info. In every area, there is generally one source for plat maps.
References :
Oregon Realtor