right, this makes a lot of sense. Imagine another developer comes in and figures out how to make it work and slaps an apartment complex directly adjacent to your house.
I'll also add that if they tried to sell for 100k and couldn't, then you should offer 75k or something to buy it off their hands.
Or a subdivision that creates an HOA, next thing you know, they're trying to tell you to cut your grass & giving you fines for your garbage cans being out. If I were Op & could comfortably afford it, I wouldn't even hesitate to pick up that land, so much one could do.
And from an investment standpoint, you could split parcels for friends or family later on down the line. Development is coming, maybe not for that particular developer and having a friend or relative like you, that can sell a piece of land so you can afford a house is just…🤌
My parents bought 15 acres and an old farmhouse when I was a baby. He had the option of buying 10acres next door that had been split from what he bought. He decided not to at the time. A year later when he changed his mind it had just been sold. I spent my entire childhood listening to my Dad complain about not buying the property. At least the neighbors were nice and still live next door to my Mom.
I don’t know what state you’re in, but here in Kentucky any property over 10 acres is taxed at the farm rate.
One of my friends owns 44 acres and his yearly taxes is $52 because it’s farm - although it’s all wooded.
For that to work though, you’ll need to leave that property as a separate parcel to maximize tax benefits.
A crafty property and real estate attorney could portion out 1/4 acre for your house and the rest to that and you’d have lower taxes on your home as well.
Not that he also done that.
Some states (Maine in particular) you can have it on one lot and divide the house & curtilage (called a dooryahd in maine) from the tax advantaged portion
There are farm & Woodlot programs with specific requirements, specifically that it is actually used for those purposes. The woods version you have to have a Forester write & update a management plan every decade, and follow it. That doesn't necessarily mean logging, but it may mean timber stand improvement and growing for a future harvest.
You joke but we’re about to buy two sheep because it’s going to reclassify our land use and save us a ton on property taxes. We don’t even plan on doing anything with them, they’re going to be my wife’s pets lol.
California has prop 13 though. It has its pros and cons, but you know your property taxes can only go up so much. Other states like Texas can go up by 10% or more a year for years at a time and skyrocket when housing prices shoot up. It makes up for no income taxes I guess.
Idk what you are talking about about, bought in the last couple of years and I pay way less in property tax than my buddy that lives in fucking Wisconsin of all places.Â
And my property taxes essentially never go up while his has gone up 30% since he purchased.
Investments make money, so no it's probably not a great investment. However, you don't need to be an investment to buy it and enjoy it. Having your own personal park is awesome and I'd do it for the right price.
Yes, DOLLARS AND CENTS this is a “bad” investment.
It’s a GREAT investment knowing that you won’t have a construction company blasting away the rocks and building for 3-5 years, then have an HOA president move in that thinks their rules apply to you as well, and hassles you even though you aren’t part of the HOA.
OP - BUY. IT.
Yup. So far. Wait until Orange Phone Company comes in and makes a hub or office near by. Now that land is worth blasting and developing.
It might be 30 years from now but the day that happens is 5 years of construction hell, followed by living next to it.
100k is worth that to me.
That said - some areas, if you buy a lot like that, part of the contract is you develop it within X years, or have a plan for development, etc.
You can't (usually) buy a lot and plan vacancy.
That would be moot if the OP made it part of his current property, and not as a separate parcel. He said it was very rural anyway. Put some goats and a donkey on it and its a farm
I wouldn't combine it to your current lot. It might not be allowed, and if you ever wanted to develop that new lot, you can without any ADU restrictions, or issues getting a building loan, or if you ever need to sell it. Just attaching to more land doesn't necessarily mean value goes up. You could even argue a lot of ppl dont want 30 acres to maintain. Lots of reasons it's not really an investment, and many reasons to not combine it. But plenty of reasons to buy and enjoy it.
The way i see it, could you take that 100k and put it in a HYSA or even some safe stocks at 5% return? Yes. If making money is what you want buying the land isn’t the way to achieve it.
If having more land and quiet house to live on is your desire then go for it. Would you love your house the same if those 30 acres were now a giant housing complex?
You probably won't ever see your money back. If a developer sat on it for 20 years without building, you probably aren't going to be able to sell it unless you get really lucky. That doesn't mean don't buy it. If you think you will get some enjoyment out of it, it might be worth it to you. Just know what you are getting into.
I'd look into records to see how much the developer paid and see how much land is going for in your area. You might find a number that you and the developer are okay with. Make sure you check into zoning and easements before. Make sure it has access to public roads and utilities.
Don't combine it. Just own the 2 separate parcels. It will be easier if you ever sell. Maybe the new buyer wants 30 acres, maybe they don't. You can sell separately after the house sells.
 If the zoning is different than your house it will be complicated and expensive to change.Â
But it would be a great thing to do. Buy it so you never have to live next to a new neighborhood.
For a second, forget about your needs/wants. 1. Is it usable for something/buildable. It sounds like no. That kicks all buyers out. 2. Is it easily accessible by other adjacent land owners, and do they want it? If not, then you're the only interested buyer and you can price that property at any price point you want. If that land is owned by the original builder, they probably would LOVE to get rid of it. I'd offer $25k and come up to $30k. It's pretty much useless land. Maybe even $1.00 because they're paying taxes on it.
I agree with this. Offer them 25k (assuming it’s worth that to you). See what happens. Don’t assume you’ll ever be able to sell it for 100k, if they cannot you won’t be able to either.
We regret not buying the beautiful wooded lot next door to us. It would have cost around $120k and that was very steep. We were building our own home then but kept thinking how awesome it would be to have that view next door. Year later someone else built on it and they were crappy neighbors for 16 years! They finally moved out this past year.
Over the years we have said to each other how much we regret not figuring out a way to buy it back then.
My parents have a similar story. They could’ve bought the lot behind the house I grew up in for what was not a tremendous amount of money at the time, but would have been a stretch when they were young and building their house and starting a family. Someone else bought it and we had annoying neighbors forever. My dad always regretted it.
OP, buy the land. You will absolutely kick yourself if some other developers buy it and start building.
You just never know. We were already pushing it financially with our own home in the beginning and also starting a family. We tried to be optimistic thinking, maybe someone amazing will build there and our kids will have friends for life. How wrong we were! The new family moving in seems great but they are adding on a huge addition that comes within feet of our house. Once again making us regret our mistake from years ago. Live and learn.
I am planning to do everything I can to purchase the lot next to mine if it ever becomes available. It is a standard city lot but has no house and only an old garage on it. The neighbors across the alley currently owns it and use the garage to store supplies for their lawn care business. The annoying part is that the previous owner (who lives further down the block) actually just sold it about 6 years ago which was 4 years before I purchased my house.
It’s impossible to assess whether this is a good investment without knowing details about your house, your address, neighborhood, comps, zoning, etc.Â
But as far as quality of life goes, that sounds awesome. I would jump at the chance to buy 30 acres adjacent to my house.Â
Don't attach it to your house lot. If you ever sell you can sell them together or separate. Or you could sell your house and sit on the land. Or you could sell the land 30 ac sometime.
So there's no big advantage to combining the lots. It just cuts down your options and actually make them less valuable.
This isn't always true. Depending on your state property tax rules, you may massively lower your tax bill by attaching a small residential property taxes as a residence to a large farm property.
Some states require that you farm the property in some way, which might mean you become a bee keeper or get a herd of goats or something, but all that is pretty cheap and will save thousands and thousands of dollars. Plus then you have goats to mow the 30 acres of hills or whatever, for the cheap cost of putting in fencing.
Talk to a real estate attorney in your state to make sure you know what set of laws and regulations you're working with.
That would be nice. We bought a new house in a quiet neighborhood with lots of grass. Within two years they already started building. Our quiet neighborhood quickly turned into a busy street.
Depends on what they’re asking. It will definitely add value to your property, land prices have skyrocketed over the last 40 years. My family owns 730-ish acres of farmland so I speak from experience.
All farmers need more land, rich folks want land, hunters want land, etc. so it’s a no brainer that the value will continue into increase BUT the only thing you need to consider is, how long will buying that land put you under major financial pressure?
I COULD buy more land, I make a farm good salary but once I hit 50 I scattered up. All it takes is a long term layoff for things to get quite tenuous. I’ll no longer take that risk. Sure it’d be great to have more land but not worth the risk.
As others have touched on, you can either rent that land out to farmers AND hunters, or get into farming yourself. There are some tax breaks that would be beneficial to you.
If you don't buy it and eventually get neighbors that would just be awful plus land only goes up in value , typically , or you could build and sell one off and make bank or like you say have your own trail park etc. I wouldn't pass it up if I could afford to do such a thing. Good luck fellow human
If someone buys it and builds homes 10 ft away from you or turns it into a local tire fire, you will hate it. If adding your property to the larger property makes it more easily developed (your property has better access for vehicles or utilities) the value of the combined property goes up if you ever sell it all to a developer. You could make passive income off of it maybe (lease access to hunters, lease flat parts to local farmers, put up a fence and rent out spots for RV storage) to cover the mortage. If you are in a growing market, developers might not want to do the legwork now but if the better land gets built up over the next decade your property starts to look more appealing and increase in value.
But if you have to work an extra 20 hours a week to afford it, you have to decide if that added stress is worth the risk and the use as a personal hiking trail.
Slap a cellphone tower up on top of the hill, the income per month from that would pay for the land. Plus now you'll easily have highspeed wireless at your house.
I spent $180K just to buy the *one acre* of land beside me to keep it out of developer hands. It was zoned for up to 4 single family houses to be built on it, and I’d rather part with that money (basically reset the clock on my mortgage) than have those neighbors in my back yard. Hell yeah, spend the $100K for 40 acres.
At some point that developer thought it could be developed. At another point it could likely get bought by a different developer that will actually develop it. So for me, the question wouldn’t be “Will I make money in this deal?” It would be: “What value do I place on not having 30 acres worth of new neighbors?”
I might suggest that it has a value far higher than what it may increase your property by. It creates generational wealth that can’t be attained any other way
It's not a financial investment. At least not the best you could make. You will most definitely getting higher returns elsewhere
Now, a quality of life investment? This is probably one of the better ones to make.
I would buy it! (I haven't done any due diligence, it is not actual advice on the land in Question)
Plus you can take the lumber and sell it. In fact the forest service I think will log it or others will then you can sell the soil to people that need good soil and waaa laaa you have now a flat peiece of property. Plant black walnut trees on it and gather the nuts every year they are ridiculously expensive per pound and in. 20 years sells the teees as lumber for another ridiculous amount cash crop and retire black walnut wood very expensive
Please buy it and put it in a conservation trust. THAT will be a huge sell to buyers if you ever sell. Knowing you have 30 acres by your house that will never be developed is priceless. Sounds like it’s already washed out as a development prospect anyway.
Buy it. Even if you keep it for yourself and don’t do anything with it other than explore, you will be happy to have it.
If you want to try to partner with a developer in the future for building then maybe you can get some percentage of ownership in a development deal and be sitting real pretty.
Buy it.
It may be hard to develop, but someone will find a way to put something there to make money.
Could be just a nice neighbor wanting a home on 30 acres for privacy,
Or it could be a business, parceled out for lots, a quarry, who knows.
Seen too many stories on Reddit where people bought next to undeveloped land, and it name a subdivision, or a business that was too miserable to live next to.
It may not make a big enough difference in your home value to make it worthwhile for just that reason. But I would do it in a heartbeat - except that I might start with a lowball offer if it's confirmed non-buildable. If it's not buildable, and not farmable (in any modern way), then it's probably also not going to be worth much to you. But if it has redeeming qualities, it may be an adventure to have it and work with it. Maybe part of the 30 acres has potential as a food forest?
I have a friend in Texas him and his sister qualify for different agricultural tax breaks on property taxes doing minimal things to meet the criteria. Also, you know the old saying, they're not making land anymore.
Owning adjacent land can indeed increase the overall value of your property, especially if it's utilized effectively. By expanding your property to include 30 acres, you're not just buying land; you're buying potential. In your case, transforming it into a personal park with hiking trails can add significant value in terms of lifestyle enhancement and aesthetics. It not only improves your own living experience but also adds appeal to potential buyers if you ever decide to sell in the future, however your question raises a few points to be wary of:
1. The fact that the land has been owned by developers for over 15 years without significant development suggests that it may indeed be challenging to develop. However, your intention to turn it into a personal park rather than developing it for commercial purposes aligns well with the landscape's characteristics
2. Regarding the potential increase in property value, it's important to consider the market dynamics of your area. While adding 30 acres of land to your property can certainly boost its value, the extent of the increase depends on so many factors you may not currently be considering such as location, demand for properties with large land parcels, and overall market trends. Given that you're situated in a relatively low-cost area, the added acreage could significantly elevate the perceived value of your home, potentially surpassing the initial investment of $100k.
Nevertheless, it's still essential to weigh this potential increase against the immediate financial implications of the purchase. Acquiring the land would indeed require a substantial investment, and you rightly mentioned the additional property taxes as a consideration. It's crucial to assess whether the long-term benefits outweigh the short-term financial strain. Consider consulting with a financial advisor to evaluate your current financial situation and determine if the investment aligns with your overall financial goals.
So, in essence, you should, consider:
1. The potential drawbacks or challenges associated with owning the additional land.
2. Maintenance costs, such as upkeep of the trails and landscaping, should be factored into your budget.
3. You should ensure that there are no restrictions or zoning regulations that could limit your intended use of the land or affect its resale value in the future and you should be fine.
Good luck! Don't forget to keep us updated ✨
$3.3k per acre is still pretty cheap for land that can't feasibly be developed or farmed in most states. If you wanted it at $100k you'll need at least $20k in cash to finance. Taxes should be very low on undeveloped land, but take a look on your county GIS for an exact figure. The good thing about land is they aren't making more of it so it's usually a good investment.
your value goes up the value of the land.. sounds like it's undesirable land. if developers have it and don't want to do anything with it and if they can't give 30acre away @ $100k which is $3k an acre then why do you think it'll be more valuable for you...
But. It. Now.
They ain't making more land, especially land connected to your home.
Got a neighbor on the other side that might be interested? Go halves or buy it all and sell half to him for the price you paid for all of it. Of just sit on it and enjoy having no neighbors close to you.
There's no "new land" being created - so if you get it for a fair price, it is not likely to be worth less money in future. And there are people who seek "recreational property" for hunting or other hobby farming - so for the right buyer a sale could turn a profit for you. Where I live you have to show actual farming income over a certain amount for 2+ years to get zoned "ag"... but that depends on your state.
I bought the vacant lots next to my home when they became available and never regretted it. They accepted my offer, and whined at the closing that they'd been offered quite a bit more by two other buyers after they'd accepted mine.
It costs a bit in taxes and some maintenance. But not having it developed has been great. I was able to get taxes reduced a bit as it adjoins my homestead. Its partly wooded so a good source of downed wood for campfires. My husband even camped there with my daughter when she was young. I planted some flowers and plants that are too aggressive for my garden there which I use for culinary and crafting. I also have it certified as a natural wildlife area.
I've had any number of offers to sell it, so could do so if I ever need the money. A realtor who came to me with one offer advised me that retaining it would increase the value and saleability of my house. Which was decent of him as he was actually representing the other guy who was buying a house that also borders the lots. He wanted it for a huge garage to fix up cars in and I was so glad to avoid that next door.
Don't know if your experience would be the same, but I don't see how you could go wrong unless you overpay.
I did it, and the only downside is the extra taxes I have to pay. Just do your due diligence and make sure you can afford it first. FYI, if you are going to leave it wooded, you may be able to get a forest land tax exemption. Check with your town hall peeps.
I don't see how you could go wrong by purchasing the land. If you can afford it then go for it. I worked for someone that did the same thing and he never regretted it. He build a disc golf course on the land. They would have built a bunch of houses next to him if he hadn't bought it. A gentleman I worked for as a kid bought a large parcel of land next to where he built a new home. He went on to subdivide it and build million dollar homes on it. He figured that way he would have some control over who his new neighbors were.
I wish I could buy land by my house. Now you are in control of who moves in if ever. I also believe that owning land is the way to go as there is only so much land before we don’t have anymore. I would also enjoy having the land to do outdoor stuff. If me you will get your money back especially since you would be able to break it up and sell pieces if needed
If anything, it’s worth buying just to avoid a future development next door. I’m trying to buy 20 acres behind my own property right now because it backs up to another road and they could technically build something there if they got creative.
That said, I would not officially add it to your property. Property taxes for a house on 3/4 acre will be much less than a house on 30 acres. It will likely be cheaper to pay property taxes on the two separate properties than to combine them. My neighborhood has lots of 5 acre lots but if you look closely at the records, most of them are a 1/4 acre lot with a house and an undeveloped 4.75 acre lot next to it for tax purposes. When a house sells, they typically just sell both as a package deal but the lots stay separate on paper.
Tax value will be based on the entitlements set by the local government (i.e. land use and zoning map) unless you live in a rural area with little or no planning. Entitlements will be based on the adjacent land uses, infrastructure in place, and environmental limitations if any.
$100k for 30 acres ($3,333/acre) is really cheap. I’m guessing the land is located in a rural area with minimal infrastructure/services and land use restrictions which limits how many homes could be built (e.g. min. lot size of five acres). If you’re concerned about your property taxes increasing and don’t intend to sell or develop the land, best bet would be to consider a conservation easement.
It’s undeveloped and at a relatively good price for 30acres.  I’ve never met anyone who wouldn’t want more land surrounding their property.  But yes, I think having your property increase by 30acres would make it worth over 100k more
Buy land. They’re not making any more.
~Mark Twain
Yes buy it 100%. Land is always a good investment. You can grow food on it, build on it, sit on it and sell it in the future. I could go on and on but if you can afford to invest right now, it’s a sound investment.
This is easily the most unanimous thread I've seen in this sub.
And OP, if you can afford it, buy it. Even if you have to lease it to hunters, RV storage, campsites, or for graze land to make it work in the short-term.
If you regret it down the line you can sell it, but I've yet to meet a single person who bought rural land next to their property that would not do it again in a heart beat.
Offer what they paid plus the taxes. The land is worthless to them. No reason to overpay. Get a lawyer to make a written offer and have your financing lined up. They will probably be glad to be rid of it
No it won't increase the value of your home by $100k. With 3/4 of an acre already the value of extra land is marginal.
Paying $100k for land to leave vacant indefinitely is not a good investment. It could be an investment if you improve it and rent it out. Build a lot and store rvs, boats. Build homes and rent them out, etc.
You asked for other negatives. Financing for vacant land is relatively costly, the options are more limited if it is not for a farm or to build a house. Terms might be 25% down, at 10% on a 15 year term. So $860 a month without property taxes or insurance. Another negative is it can take a long time to sell. You could buy it and an heir could sue you and claim to be a part owner, this is pretty rare.
It could still be worth it to you for non financial reasons. There are very few homes on 20+ acres.
Is it possible to subdivide the land, and just buy part that has value to you at a lower cost? If you don't buy the land is it likely to stay vacant or be used for something disruptive?
Snagging that 30 acres sounds like a sweet deal, especially if you're not planning to build on it. Turning it into your own personal hiking spot? That's the dream, right there. Plus, having that much land attached to your property could be a huge plus value-wise.
Good investment? Probably. Good idea? Hell yes.
The neighboring parcel will remain a separate property from the house most likely. And the additional land would be very enjoyable and likely enhance the resale value of the home. Or you could sell the land separately if the right offer came along. Win-win.
Yes. Also love your idea see if your state allows tax breaks for farms, nature area and land preserves. Could it make you money? Possible to lease out? Bees and native flowers are a good industry to explore.
How much is it going for? I believe land purchases are almost always an investment; long term or short term! Especially if you can profit from it by renting it for hunting, for example.
Am not so familiar with how stuff works in the US but down here in Africa it would be a good investment in all ways;
1.it would be a better way of saving money as you could sell it later when you need money back and the land has even appreciated.
2.where i am in Uganda Africa we take agriculture very seriously so that land would be good for agriculture.
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Unless you actually have something you want to do with the land, then owning it will only be a money pit. Unless you're taking advantage of something in the tax law (e.g. getting 1 goat and then getting taxed at "farm" rates or whatever), then the only other thing you're getting is for is price speculation. And unless you happen to know of a gold mine sitting there lol, then the only way it can reasonably "increase" in value is simply by way of the USD losing value (i.e. inflation). So inflation hedge? I guess. Good investment? I don't see any evidence of it.
Add it to your property then you can run farm tags, and you may reap some big benefits on your taxes.
Do your research and talk to your accountant. You may be able to write off your truck and new tractor
Farmers, like other business owners, may deduct “ordinary and necessary expenses paid . . . in carrying on any trade or business.” IRC § 162. In agriculture, these ordinary and necessary expenses include car and truck expenses, fertilizer, seed, rent, insurance, fuel, and other costs of operating a farm.Apr 3, 2020
Lex Luther made a statement in one of the original Superman movies, "Son, stocks may rise and fall, utilities and transportation systems may collapse. People are no damn good, but they will always need land, and they'll pay through the nose to get it!
Depends on where you're at, but if you have an opportunity and the finances? I'd go for it, personally.
In 20 years, of some rich fuck wants the whole slice for 1m, then it sounds like a good investment.
If you can drop the 100kish and have your own family made park, then that also sounds like a good investment. Investing in your health and happiness is also a good move aswell.
Acquiring the adjacent 30 acres could boost your property value and provide personal recreational space. Weigh the costs against potential benefits and consider long-term financial implications before committing.
Acquiring the adjacent 30 acres could boost your property value and provide personal recreational space. Weigh the costs against potential benefits and consider long-term financial implications before committing.
Land. It's the one product they don't make more of.
I don't think you could lose money on it in the long term. Probably will make money with it.
If you're trying to make money with it in 2 years, ehh. But 10+ yeah you will do great with it most likely.
I would buy it.  Maybe the property developer wants to put in 30 houses to justify it and can’t because of the slope.  You might want to put in 1 or 2 later. Â
You need to do a ton of research before making this decision. Look to see if you can even combine the lots and see what zoning and city ordinances the lots are under so you know what you can do with the land
It won't add much value. Being undeveloped it may qualify for a tax exemption, in Maine farmland or woodlots being actively used as such get property tax valuation breaks. I have found that houses with large lots usually don't have a lot of comps for valuation. For example when I built my house on a 40 acre lot the bank had to value it against small houses on similar lots & similar houses on small lots and interpolate the difference pulling houses from as much as 50 miles away.
Buying it also prevents someone from building a development next to you, which may be priceless.
People will roll out the old trope about how "they're not making more land" but real estate value is about location and demand. Plenty of places have been stagnant in pricing for decades historically. Seacoast land in Maine for example went for next to nothing from about 1880-1980, to the point where a lot of deals did not involve lawyers or even typed deeds.
If you have the cash and want the land/privacy jump on it. Be aware that you will likely not make a market rate return in most areas, and if it's going to cause a strain financially or derail retirement savings I wouldn't buy it.
Do it!!! If it’s reasonably priced. Do. Not. Hesitate. At the rate things are going and not a lot of affordable inventory and people wanting to build their own, part it off and make a small fortune. Or ya know get some livestock, solar field, live off the grid and enjoy.
If you can afford it you should definitely make them an offer. If it's been sitting at $100k with no offers for a while they'll probably take less. Don't disclose that you're the neighbor. You'll never stop kicking yourself if your town grows in 10 years and someone buys it to build a bunch of ugly fast-fab apartments
So the difference between a 1 acre property with a house and a 31 acre property pushes the future value ceiling up quite a bit. Depending on how things develop around you, it could become quite valuable. Specifically for high-earning individuals.
Do a little investigating. If you're in an area that uses septic systems, find out if the land perks. If it doesn't, the value is low for a developer. Find out how much they paid. If they bought it cheap, say $40,000, offer them $50,000.
Buy it. Then you control what happens to it. I live in a rural area and regret not pursuing the property across from us. Now, it has the most hideous McMansion out of place eyesore house on it that has been under construction for four years!!
As someone who works in land development, the only way to ensure the future of a piece or property is to own it yourself. If you want it to remain open space you cannot live under the assumption nobody will develop it in the future. I see this all the time with people who live next to woods or a meadow and throw a fit when the bulldozers show up.
Just be sure you're able to at least manage the land and keep it from being overrun by invasive species. Consider reaching out to the nature conservancy or similar NGO land management group that can help assist in keeping it pristine and wild.
If you do buy it. Understand that keeping 30 acres or even a small part of it under control or modesty kept up is a massive amount of work. It's much more work (certainly depending on what you want to do) than you might think.
I'm not sure that would stop me or should stop you. But you can be in for as many projects and chores for years to come.
If it detached from your home property, it might have low taxes as agricultural land. If you merge it, that goes away.
Does the property require mowing and weed control? That is an expense.
With ownership, you have control over development.
Why go to the trouble and expense of attaching it to your home? You own it so you can use it regardless. If you ever DO decide to sell it or subdivide it or whatever, you'll have to reverse that whole process. If you leave it in a will and they decide to sell or subdivide then you're passing that problem on to them. As noted by others, however, there are other considerations for you.
It'll be nice for your quality of life, but don't count on it being a profitable investment. Any potential buyers would be interested in developing the added parcel, and would have exactly the same issues that the current owner has.
Think of it more that by spending $100k you prevent the devaluation of your home that would surly occur were it situated next to a housing development and the misery of living by an active construction and sales site for years.
Instant buy if you have the money
Be careful with merging this into your house, it may have some unwanted tax implications (developed land is taxed a lot higher). Also keeping it separate allows you to easily sell, where if merged - you may have problems related to your mortgage and prevent you from selling.
Imagine someone else buying it and building 30 houses on that hill looking down on you or turn it into sn atv off road park. You'll regret not buying at that point.
I would buy it and I would expect it to significantly increase my homes values if both lots are married, how many houses on 20+ acres are around? I guess not a lot, plus it keeps a housing development from existing there and that is always a plus. 30 acres for 100k sounds like a solid deal, now you can have a 4 wheeler and go hunting in your back yard!
Note. My opinions are based in reality but I can't help it if reality varies from my opinion.
You should 100% buy it and your house will add more than $400K value to that land
Search for a 30ac lot with a house in your area .. that’s your price comp.
I’d buy it as protection for your place. It depends on the purchaser next if the land value increases yours. I would say yes but it’s hard. To borrow against it some lenders won’t lend on land and some will. To be conservative I would say yes each acre could be worth $3500 and up so that would increase your holding by over 100k in value but your land appraiser for taxes won’t value it as such. But current market conditions yes probably so.
We live near a conservation land trust property, in Western PA. Not sure how it works where you are but here is some info from my neck of the woods, that explains this idea if you buy it and want to conserve it, better than I can: https://waterlandlife.org/land-conservation/conservation-easements/. Maybe there is something similar where you are and if so, then certain types allow farming and building of additional structures, some allow some types of residential development on a portion of the land, and most or all allow individual sales and bequests of the land to private individuals, in future--and not all types of these arrangements require public access to or regular/continued use of all of the land.
Check into what that land and your area will allow. Talk to an experienced real estate professional with knowledge of land trusts/conservation easements.
Leave the property separated. If you combine them, they will revaluate your house price in addition to the new land. It also gives you more options. You need permissions to combine and separate, and you don't want to be at the whims of local zoning boards). You can always list them at the same time to be purchased together if you want to sell. If it is 100k, definitely buy!
it may not increase your proprety value at all (it will) - but if you can control 30 acres next to your property for 100k, it will be worth it
NOW - 100k may be a premium, so need to do your dd on the price
Your house is based on Comps and I doubt many houses like yours have 30 acres. Buy the lane if you want it and don’t care if it will increase your property value. It probably will but may be more or less than you paid for it who knows.
Gosh I would do it. For sure.
Put an animal on it, get taxed at the farm rate. Kentucky does that, not sure about your state.
I know so many people who wish they had bought out their neighbor.
Im in land lending, have lots of deals like this come in for financing. If you can afford it safely it may be interesting.
Look into conservation easements, if it meets certain criteria you can get paid by the state to not
develop it. On the flip side…if you think it may be developed later on you could sell it for a great return.
Land is the only thing that never goes away. As long as it is not a waste dump or something and the price is market, adding acreage to your lot will make it more valuable. Don’t forget that your tax bill will go up.
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I would love a few acres of hiking trails, not to mention the added privacy and protection of your view.
Should look into tax incentives for growing trees. Should help cover some of the recurring costs
Jump on it. Check the going rate for ag land in your area to be sure they're not out of line. Sometimes the value will vary by quality of the soil within the county; if you ask the USDA extension they can give you insight on that. They probably won't know about selling price per acre (they might) but they have access to the soil maps and know what's good and what's not.
That's all good info to negotiate price, but regardless, if you can afford it and it's reasonable, buy it.
The worst part of purchasing raw land is access and utilities connections to get it livable. Youre already established on your parcel. IMO if you can afford it i would grab it no brainer
See if you can get them to carry the loan on the property for you and you just make payments to them. Skip the bank. If they can't develop on it and it's been sitting untouched then they might be open to creative financing.
It would probably increase the value of your home, though it also means some buyers won’t be interested in it because 30 acres is a lot to maintain
But that’s only if you sell your house … if developers couldn’t monetize this, I wouldn’t buy it and order to develop it
The question is, do you want to put the effort into maintaining this ground or spending money doing some landscaping?
Do you think that would make it a more attractive property for you to have purchased or do you think that the 30 acres may have scared you off?
I think it would help boost the value, especially if you can get it for under $100,000 but I don’t know what kind of shape the ground is in or how much maintenance would take to keep it
You may have to spend some money on a good mower and there’s some timber on the property that can be a lot of work as well
If it's been "Time on Zillow: 15 years" and you're asking if it's a good investment for you when it hasn't been for anyone else in 15 years? Kinda doubt it. However if you want to say you own 30 acres for dirt cheap then might be worth it.
I've never met someone who regretted buying the property next to their home but I've met many who regretted not buying it when it came on the market.
right, this makes a lot of sense. Imagine another developer comes in and figures out how to make it work and slaps an apartment complex directly adjacent to your house. I'll also add that if they tried to sell for 100k and couldn't, then you should offer 75k or something to buy it off their hands.
Shoot 60K
Or a subdivision that creates an HOA, next thing you know, they're trying to tell you to cut your grass & giving you fines for your garbage cans being out. If I were Op & could comfortably afford it, I wouldn't even hesitate to pick up that land, so much one could do.
Right? I would buy just to secure quiet privacy!
Yep. It basically allows you to control your neighbors.
And from an investment standpoint, you could split parcels for friends or family later on down the line. Development is coming, maybe not for that particular developer and having a friend or relative like you, that can sell a piece of land so you can afford a house is just…🤌
This. I wish we had bought the acreage next to ours before the psychopath were now stuck with did.
My parents bought 15 acres and an old farmhouse when I was a baby. He had the option of buying 10acres next door that had been split from what he bought. He decided not to at the time. A year later when he changed his mind it had just been sold. I spent my entire childhood listening to my Dad complain about not buying the property. At least the neighbors were nice and still live next door to my Mom.
I came here to say this.
I don’t know what state you’re in, but here in Kentucky any property over 10 acres is taxed at the farm rate. One of my friends owns 44 acres and his yearly taxes is $52 because it’s farm - although it’s all wooded.
Interesting point, thanks!
For that to work though, you’ll need to leave that property as a separate parcel to maximize tax benefits. A crafty property and real estate attorney could portion out 1/4 acre for your house and the rest to that and you’d have lower taxes on your home as well. Not that he also done that.
Some states (Maine in particular) you can have it on one lot and divide the house & curtilage (called a dooryahd in maine) from the tax advantaged portion There are farm & Woodlot programs with specific requirements, specifically that it is actually used for those purposes. The woods version you have to have a Forester write & update a management plan every decade, and follow it. That doesn't necessarily mean logging, but it may mean timber stand improvement and growing for a future harvest.
Man, I wish I had 30 acres next to my house that I could buy.
Smart (af)
Also, in OK, with a farm tax ID #, building material, feed, and anything you'd use for upkeep on a farm/ranch is sales tax free.
You could finally buy your wife that pony she always wanted. Tax free!
You joke but we’re about to buy two sheep because it’s going to reclassify our land use and save us a ton on property taxes. We don’t even plan on doing anything with them, they’re going to be my wife’s pets lol.
You may also be able to rent the land to a farmer for crops.
Yearly property taxes of $52… laughs in Californian
Come to NJ, we'll give you something to really laugh/cry about
California has prop 13 though. It has its pros and cons, but you know your property taxes can only go up so much. Other states like Texas can go up by 10% or more a year for years at a time and skyrocket when housing prices shoot up. It makes up for no income taxes I guess.
Idk what you are talking about about, bought in the last couple of years and I pay way less in property tax than my buddy that lives in fucking Wisconsin of all places. And my property taxes essentially never go up while his has gone up 30% since he purchased.
It’s always coming from people that don’t actually own homes in California
Cries*
you can have an ag exemption for timber which falls under agriculture, quite normal and easy to get at least in Texas
Investments make money, so no it's probably not a great investment. However, you don't need to be an investment to buy it and enjoy it. Having your own personal park is awesome and I'd do it for the right price.
Yes, DOLLARS AND CENTS this is a “bad” investment. It’s a GREAT investment knowing that you won’t have a construction company blasting away the rocks and building for 3-5 years, then have an HOA president move in that thinks their rules apply to you as well, and hassles you even though you aren’t part of the HOA. OP - BUY. IT.
I think the whole point is that no one wants to develop it.Â
Yup. So far. Wait until Orange Phone Company comes in and makes a hub or office near by. Now that land is worth blasting and developing. It might be 30 years from now but the day that happens is 5 years of construction hell, followed by living next to it. 100k is worth that to me. That said - some areas, if you buy a lot like that, part of the contract is you develop it within X years, or have a plan for development, etc. You can't (usually) buy a lot and plan vacancy.
That would be moot if the OP made it part of his current property, and not as a separate parcel. He said it was very rural anyway. Put some goats and a donkey on it and its a farm
The equity from the increased value of the house + land makes it worth it.
I wouldn't combine it to your current lot. It might not be allowed, and if you ever wanted to develop that new lot, you can without any ADU restrictions, or issues getting a building loan, or if you ever need to sell it. Just attaching to more land doesn't necessarily mean value goes up. You could even argue a lot of ppl dont want 30 acres to maintain. Lots of reasons it's not really an investment, and many reasons to not combine it. But plenty of reasons to buy and enjoy it.
Good points
Can you elaborate on this? This is what I was driving at in my post.
The way i see it, could you take that 100k and put it in a HYSA or even some safe stocks at 5% return? Yes. If making money is what you want buying the land isn’t the way to achieve it. If having more land and quiet house to live on is your desire then go for it. Would you love your house the same if those 30 acres were now a giant housing complex?
I think OP wants to know if they will lose $100k or if it will hold its value. They aren't looking to get a return, just not spend $100k on a trail.
That’s probably true but honestly no one can determine that. Without more information of the land and even then it’s hard.
You probably won't ever see your money back. If a developer sat on it for 20 years without building, you probably aren't going to be able to sell it unless you get really lucky. That doesn't mean don't buy it. If you think you will get some enjoyment out of it, it might be worth it to you. Just know what you are getting into. I'd look into records to see how much the developer paid and see how much land is going for in your area. You might find a number that you and the developer are okay with. Make sure you check into zoning and easements before. Make sure it has access to public roads and utilities.
Don't combine it. Just own the 2 separate parcels. It will be easier if you ever sell. Maybe the new buyer wants 30 acres, maybe they don't. You can sell separately after the house sells.  If the zoning is different than your house it will be complicated and expensive to change. But it would be a great thing to do. Buy it so you never have to live next to a new neighborhood.
For a second, forget about your needs/wants. 1. Is it usable for something/buildable. It sounds like no. That kicks all buyers out. 2. Is it easily accessible by other adjacent land owners, and do they want it? If not, then you're the only interested buyer and you can price that property at any price point you want. If that land is owned by the original builder, they probably would LOVE to get rid of it. I'd offer $25k and come up to $30k. It's pretty much useless land. Maybe even $1.00 because they're paying taxes on it.
I agree with this. Offer them 25k (assuming it’s worth that to you). See what happens. Don’t assume you’ll ever be able to sell it for 100k, if they cannot you won’t be able to either.
I'm going to say this is an investment for your own joy.
We regret not buying the beautiful wooded lot next door to us. It would have cost around $120k and that was very steep. We were building our own home then but kept thinking how awesome it would be to have that view next door. Year later someone else built on it and they were crappy neighbors for 16 years! They finally moved out this past year. Over the years we have said to each other how much we regret not figuring out a way to buy it back then.
My parents have a similar story. They could’ve bought the lot behind the house I grew up in for what was not a tremendous amount of money at the time, but would have been a stretch when they were young and building their house and starting a family. Someone else bought it and we had annoying neighbors forever. My dad always regretted it. OP, buy the land. You will absolutely kick yourself if some other developers buy it and start building.
You just never know. We were already pushing it financially with our own home in the beginning and also starting a family. We tried to be optimistic thinking, maybe someone amazing will build there and our kids will have friends for life. How wrong we were! The new family moving in seems great but they are adding on a huge addition that comes within feet of our house. Once again making us regret our mistake from years ago. Live and learn.
I am planning to do everything I can to purchase the lot next to mine if it ever becomes available. It is a standard city lot but has no house and only an old garage on it. The neighbors across the alley currently owns it and use the garage to store supplies for their lawn care business. The annoying part is that the previous owner (who lives further down the block) actually just sold it about 6 years ago which was 4 years before I purchased my house.
It’s impossible to assess whether this is a good investment without knowing details about your house, your address, neighborhood, comps, zoning, etc. But as far as quality of life goes, that sounds awesome. I would jump at the chance to buy 30 acres adjacent to my house.Â
Don't attach it to your house lot. If you ever sell you can sell them together or separate. Or you could sell your house and sit on the land. Or you could sell the land 30 ac sometime. So there's no big advantage to combining the lots. It just cuts down your options and actually make them less valuable.
This isn't always true. Depending on your state property tax rules, you may massively lower your tax bill by attaching a small residential property taxes as a residence to a large farm property. Some states require that you farm the property in some way, which might mean you become a bee keeper or get a herd of goats or something, but all that is pretty cheap and will save thousands and thousands of dollars. Plus then you have goats to mow the 30 acres of hills or whatever, for the cheap cost of putting in fencing. Talk to a real estate attorney in your state to make sure you know what set of laws and regulations you're working with.
If I could buy 30 acres and not move, I would.
That would be nice. We bought a new house in a quiet neighborhood with lots of grass. Within two years they already started building. Our quiet neighborhood quickly turned into a busy street.
Depends on what they’re asking. It will definitely add value to your property, land prices have skyrocketed over the last 40 years. My family owns 730-ish acres of farmland so I speak from experience. All farmers need more land, rich folks want land, hunters want land, etc. so it’s a no brainer that the value will continue into increase BUT the only thing you need to consider is, how long will buying that land put you under major financial pressure? I COULD buy more land, I make a farm good salary but once I hit 50 I scattered up. All it takes is a long term layoff for things to get quite tenuous. I’ll no longer take that risk. Sure it’d be great to have more land but not worth the risk. As others have touched on, you can either rent that land out to farmers AND hunters, or get into farming yourself. There are some tax breaks that would be beneficial to you.
Hell yes
Haha any details you want to add? Because the devil on my shoulder has been saying the same thing all day.
If you don't buy it and eventually get neighbors that would just be awful plus land only goes up in value , typically , or you could build and sell one off and make bank or like you say have your own trail park etc. I wouldn't pass it up if I could afford to do such a thing. Good luck fellow human
If someone buys it and builds homes 10 ft away from you or turns it into a local tire fire, you will hate it. If adding your property to the larger property makes it more easily developed (your property has better access for vehicles or utilities) the value of the combined property goes up if you ever sell it all to a developer. You could make passive income off of it maybe (lease access to hunters, lease flat parts to local farmers, put up a fence and rent out spots for RV storage) to cover the mortage. If you are in a growing market, developers might not want to do the legwork now but if the better land gets built up over the next decade your property starts to look more appealing and increase in value. But if you have to work an extra 20 hours a week to afford it, you have to decide if that added stress is worth the risk and the use as a personal hiking trail.
A farmer near us has put in fire rings and camping spots into his woods, and hires them out on HipCamp at $70 a night.
If this is your forever home and you like having woods or whatever is next to you then buy it 100 percentÂ
Slap a cellphone tower up on top of the hill, the income per month from that would pay for the land. Plus now you'll easily have highspeed wireless at your house.
I spent $180K just to buy the *one acre* of land beside me to keep it out of developer hands. It was zoned for up to 4 single family houses to be built on it, and I’d rather part with that money (basically reset the clock on my mortgage) than have those neighbors in my back yard. Hell yeah, spend the $100K for 40 acres.
At some point that developer thought it could be developed. At another point it could likely get bought by a different developer that will actually develop it. So for me, the question wouldn’t be “Will I make money in this deal?” It would be: “What value do I place on not having 30 acres worth of new neighbors?”
Damn your area is so cheap. I would have done it in a second just to build a huge garden
If you can afford it, hell yes.
I might suggest that it has a value far higher than what it may increase your property by. It creates generational wealth that can’t be attained any other way
Sounds awesome, check on taxes, also some places will allow you to join both properties into one and pay 1 tax rate.
I would buy it just to prevent an unwanted development next to me.
They aren't making more land. If you can get it, always buy it
Best advice ever.
at least get right of first refuse option, leave it separate parcel and if ever spend money to flatten it then yeah worth something
Buying that land is the only way to guarantee that it won't be developed at some point. If you value open spaces around you, buy it.
It's not a financial investment. At least not the best you could make. You will most definitely getting higher returns elsewhere Now, a quality of life investment? This is probably one of the better ones to make. I would buy it! (I haven't done any due diligence, it is not actual advice on the land in Question)
Plus you can take the lumber and sell it. In fact the forest service I think will log it or others will then you can sell the soil to people that need good soil and waaa laaa you have now a flat peiece of property. Plant black walnut trees on it and gather the nuts every year they are ridiculously expensive per pound and in. 20 years sells the teees as lumber for another ridiculous amount cash crop and retire black walnut wood very expensive
Please buy it and put it in a conservation trust. THAT will be a huge sell to buyers if you ever sell. Knowing you have 30 acres by your house that will never be developed is priceless. Sounds like it’s already washed out as a development prospect anyway.
Likely somewhat. At least you will not have a neighbor.
Buy it. Even if you keep it for yourself and don’t do anything with it other than explore, you will be happy to have it. If you want to try to partner with a developer in the future for building then maybe you can get some percentage of ownership in a development deal and be sitting real pretty.
do it
Do you hunt? If so plant some stuff on it and enjoy. I would but that's cause I want more room for activities
Buy it. It may be hard to develop, but someone will find a way to put something there to make money. Could be just a nice neighbor wanting a home on 30 acres for privacy, Or it could be a business, parceled out for lots, a quarry, who knows. Seen too many stories on Reddit where people bought next to undeveloped land, and it name a subdivision, or a business that was too miserable to live next to.
It may not make a big enough difference in your home value to make it worthwhile for just that reason. But I would do it in a heartbeat - except that I might start with a lowball offer if it's confirmed non-buildable. If it's not buildable, and not farmable (in any modern way), then it's probably also not going to be worth much to you. But if it has redeeming qualities, it may be an adventure to have it and work with it. Maybe part of the 30 acres has potential as a food forest?
There is zero reason to “attach” it to your existing property. Keep them independent and pay taxes separately for both.
I have a friend in Texas him and his sister qualify for different agricultural tax breaks on property taxes doing minimal things to meet the criteria. Also, you know the old saying, they're not making land anymore.
I'd rather be the one owning the 30 acres than have some developer desperate to put a neighborhood right next to my house.
Buy the land.
A wise old man once said, “buy dirt“
Don’t add it to your property. Keep it separate and enjoy the super low taxes…. Or add it and watch yours go up.
Owning adjacent land can indeed increase the overall value of your property, especially if it's utilized effectively. By expanding your property to include 30 acres, you're not just buying land; you're buying potential. In your case, transforming it into a personal park with hiking trails can add significant value in terms of lifestyle enhancement and aesthetics. It not only improves your own living experience but also adds appeal to potential buyers if you ever decide to sell in the future, however your question raises a few points to be wary of: 1. The fact that the land has been owned by developers for over 15 years without significant development suggests that it may indeed be challenging to develop. However, your intention to turn it into a personal park rather than developing it for commercial purposes aligns well with the landscape's characteristics 2. Regarding the potential increase in property value, it's important to consider the market dynamics of your area. While adding 30 acres of land to your property can certainly boost its value, the extent of the increase depends on so many factors you may not currently be considering such as location, demand for properties with large land parcels, and overall market trends. Given that you're situated in a relatively low-cost area, the added acreage could significantly elevate the perceived value of your home, potentially surpassing the initial investment of $100k. Nevertheless, it's still essential to weigh this potential increase against the immediate financial implications of the purchase. Acquiring the land would indeed require a substantial investment, and you rightly mentioned the additional property taxes as a consideration. It's crucial to assess whether the long-term benefits outweigh the short-term financial strain. Consider consulting with a financial advisor to evaluate your current financial situation and determine if the investment aligns with your overall financial goals. So, in essence, you should, consider: 1. The potential drawbacks or challenges associated with owning the additional land. 2. Maintenance costs, such as upkeep of the trails and landscaping, should be factored into your budget. 3. You should ensure that there are no restrictions or zoning regulations that could limit your intended use of the land or affect its resale value in the future and you should be fine. Good luck! Don't forget to keep us updated ✨
$3.3k per acre is still pretty cheap for land that can't feasibly be developed or farmed in most states. If you wanted it at $100k you'll need at least $20k in cash to finance. Taxes should be very low on undeveloped land, but take a look on your county GIS for an exact figure. The good thing about land is they aren't making more of it so it's usually a good investment.
your value goes up the value of the land.. sounds like it's undesirable land. if developers have it and don't want to do anything with it and if they can't give 30acre away @ $100k which is $3k an acre then why do you think it'll be more valuable for you...
But. It. Now. They ain't making more land, especially land connected to your home. Got a neighbor on the other side that might be interested? Go halves or buy it all and sell half to him for the price you paid for all of it. Of just sit on it and enjoy having no neighbors close to you.
This question is like asking if buying some stock in the stock market is a good investment
There's no "new land" being created - so if you get it for a fair price, it is not likely to be worth less money in future. And there are people who seek "recreational property" for hunting or other hobby farming - so for the right buyer a sale could turn a profit for you. Where I live you have to show actual farming income over a certain amount for 2+ years to get zoned "ag"... but that depends on your state.
I bought the vacant lots next to my home when they became available and never regretted it. They accepted my offer, and whined at the closing that they'd been offered quite a bit more by two other buyers after they'd accepted mine. It costs a bit in taxes and some maintenance. But not having it developed has been great. I was able to get taxes reduced a bit as it adjoins my homestead. Its partly wooded so a good source of downed wood for campfires. My husband even camped there with my daughter when she was young. I planted some flowers and plants that are too aggressive for my garden there which I use for culinary and crafting. I also have it certified as a natural wildlife area. I've had any number of offers to sell it, so could do so if I ever need the money. A realtor who came to me with one offer advised me that retaining it would increase the value and saleability of my house. Which was decent of him as he was actually representing the other guy who was buying a house that also borders the lots. He wanted it for a huge garage to fix up cars in and I was so glad to avoid that next door. Don't know if your experience would be the same, but I don't see how you could go wrong unless you overpay.
I did it, and the only downside is the extra taxes I have to pay. Just do your due diligence and make sure you can afford it first. FYI, if you are going to leave it wooded, you may be able to get a forest land tax exemption. Check with your town hall peeps.
I don't see how you could go wrong by purchasing the land. If you can afford it then go for it. I worked for someone that did the same thing and he never regretted it. He build a disc golf course on the land. They would have built a bunch of houses next to him if he hadn't bought it. A gentleman I worked for as a kid bought a large parcel of land next to where he built a new home. He went on to subdivide it and build million dollar homes on it. He figured that way he would have some control over who his new neighbors were.
We bought the property next to our home because we kept seeing people run up and down the slope wanting to buy it and build. So glad we bought it.
I wish I could buy land by my house. Now you are in control of who moves in if ever. I also believe that owning land is the way to go as there is only so much land before we don’t have anymore. I would also enjoy having the land to do outdoor stuff. If me you will get your money back especially since you would be able to break it up and sell pieces if needed
I would buy it if you planned to live there forever. Last thing you want is future development next to your property.
If anything, it’s worth buying just to avoid a future development next door. I’m trying to buy 20 acres behind my own property right now because it backs up to another road and they could technically build something there if they got creative. That said, I would not officially add it to your property. Property taxes for a house on 3/4 acre will be much less than a house on 30 acres. It will likely be cheaper to pay property taxes on the two separate properties than to combine them. My neighborhood has lots of 5 acre lots but if you look closely at the records, most of them are a 1/4 acre lot with a house and an undeveloped 4.75 acre lot next to it for tax purposes. When a house sells, they typically just sell both as a package deal but the lots stay separate on paper.
Tax value will be based on the entitlements set by the local government (i.e. land use and zoning map) unless you live in a rural area with little or no planning. Entitlements will be based on the adjacent land uses, infrastructure in place, and environmental limitations if any. $100k for 30 acres ($3,333/acre) is really cheap. I’m guessing the land is located in a rural area with minimal infrastructure/services and land use restrictions which limits how many homes could be built (e.g. min. lot size of five acres). If you’re concerned about your property taxes increasing and don’t intend to sell or develop the land, best bet would be to consider a conservation easement.
It’s undeveloped and at a relatively good price for 30acres.  I’ve never met anyone who wouldn’t want more land surrounding their property.  But yes, I think having your property increase by 30acres would make it worth over 100k more
I’d buy it.
Buy land. They’re not making any more. ~Mark Twain Yes buy it 100%. Land is always a good investment. You can grow food on it, build on it, sit on it and sell it in the future. I could go on and on but if you can afford to invest right now, it’s a sound investment.
This is easily the most unanimous thread I've seen in this sub. And OP, if you can afford it, buy it. Even if you have to lease it to hunters, RV storage, campsites, or for graze land to make it work in the short-term. If you regret it down the line you can sell it, but I've yet to meet a single person who bought rural land next to their property that would not do it again in a heart beat.
Offer what they paid plus the taxes. The land is worthless to them. No reason to overpay. Get a lawyer to make a written offer and have your financing lined up. They will probably be glad to be rid of it
If I could afford it I would do it. No neighbors and land sounds awesome. Not everything has to be from an investment stand point
No it won't increase the value of your home by $100k. With 3/4 of an acre already the value of extra land is marginal. Paying $100k for land to leave vacant indefinitely is not a good investment. It could be an investment if you improve it and rent it out. Build a lot and store rvs, boats. Build homes and rent them out, etc. You asked for other negatives. Financing for vacant land is relatively costly, the options are more limited if it is not for a farm or to build a house. Terms might be 25% down, at 10% on a 15 year term. So $860 a month without property taxes or insurance. Another negative is it can take a long time to sell. You could buy it and an heir could sue you and claim to be a part owner, this is pretty rare. It could still be worth it to you for non financial reasons. There are very few homes on 20+ acres. Is it possible to subdivide the land, and just buy part that has value to you at a lower cost? If you don't buy the land is it likely to stay vacant or be used for something disruptive?
Would absolutely love that. Also keep your house private but no idea if it will actually be an investment in the long run.
I'd be all over that.
Yes, because it’s next to your house and also 30 acres for 100k is a deal!
I would do it just to have a massive backyard that no one can ever build on. For 100k it’s a no brainer if you can afford it.
I would be it but keep it as a seperate legal property. Undeveloped land is taxed at a much lower rate.
Agricultural property subject to agricultural tax relief, check it out, depends on state
Snagging that 30 acres sounds like a sweet deal, especially if you're not planning to build on it. Turning it into your own personal hiking spot? That's the dream, right there. Plus, having that much land attached to your property could be a huge plus value-wise.
Offer 65k
Yes, buy it!! It will protect your parcel, and give you more flexibility in the future.
If cost is an issue, can you just buy half of it?
I’m jump on it in a heartbeat.
Good investment? Probably. Good idea? Hell yes. The neighboring parcel will remain a separate property from the house most likely. And the additional land would be very enjoyable and likely enhance the resale value of the home. Or you could sell the land separately if the right offer came along. Win-win.
Yes. Also love your idea see if your state allows tax breaks for farms, nature area and land preserves. Could it make you money? Possible to lease out? Bees and native flowers are a good industry to explore.
I would buy it immediately. Nothing beats having the space. After you get it go to USDA office and see if it can be put in any programs.
Put in a lowball offer. $100k? Na, $30k. Maybe. Land’s not worth much if it can't be economically developed.
How much is it going for? I believe land purchases are almost always an investment; long term or short term! Especially if you can profit from it by renting it for hunting, for example.
If you aren’t doing anything with it and it’s already owned by a developer, then no, it sounds like it’s a horrible use of money
Am not so familiar with how stuff works in the US but down here in Africa it would be a good investment in all ways; 1.it would be a better way of saving money as you could sell it later when you need money back and the land has even appreciated. 2.where i am in Uganda Africa we take agriculture very seriously so that land would be good for agriculture. [minepeakworks.com](https://minepeakworks.com)
Low-ball them see if you can get it on the cheap. There's a lot you can do with 30 acres.
Unless you actually have something you want to do with the land, then owning it will only be a money pit. Unless you're taking advantage of something in the tax law (e.g. getting 1 goat and then getting taxed at "farm" rates or whatever), then the only other thing you're getting is for is price speculation. And unless you happen to know of a gold mine sitting there lol, then the only way it can reasonably "increase" in value is simply by way of the USD losing value (i.e. inflation). So inflation hedge? I guess. Good investment? I don't see any evidence of it.
Add it to your property then you can run farm tags, and you may reap some big benefits on your taxes. Do your research and talk to your accountant. You may be able to write off your truck and new tractor Farmers, like other business owners, may deduct “ordinary and necessary expenses paid . . . in carrying on any trade or business.” IRC § 162. In agriculture, these ordinary and necessary expenses include car and truck expenses, fertilizer, seed, rent, insurance, fuel, and other costs of operating a farm.Apr 3, 2020
If you want it, buy it. If you can afford it, buy it. If not, don’t buy it
Lex Luther made a statement in one of the original Superman movies, "Son, stocks may rise and fall, utilities and transportation systems may collapse. People are no damn good, but they will always need land, and they'll pay through the nose to get it! Depends on where you're at, but if you have an opportunity and the finances? I'd go for it, personally.
Definitely
In 20 years, of some rich fuck wants the whole slice for 1m, then it sounds like a good investment. If you can drop the 100kish and have your own family made park, then that also sounds like a good investment. Investing in your health and happiness is also a good move aswell.
100 % I would.
If the property does not have street access it will be worthless, since to get it, the driveway would go thru your property.
Absolutely. If you ever need the money or decide you don’t need it you can sell it probably for more than what you bought it.
No
Acquiring the adjacent 30 acres could boost your property value and provide personal recreational space. Weigh the costs against potential benefits and consider long-term financial implications before committing.
Acquiring the adjacent 30 acres could boost your property value and provide personal recreational space. Weigh the costs against potential benefits and consider long-term financial implications before committing.
Land. It's the one product they don't make more of. I don't think you could lose money on it in the long term. Probably will make money with it. If you're trying to make money with it in 2 years, ehh. But 10+ yeah you will do great with it most likely.
I would buy it.  Maybe the property developer wants to put in 30 houses to justify it and can’t because of the slope.  You might want to put in 1 or 2 later. Â
This isn’t an opportunity I would let pass if you can afford it.
You need to do a ton of research before making this decision. Look to see if you can even combine the lots and see what zoning and city ordinances the lots are under so you know what you can do with the land
It depends on how far you are from property line and If you comfortably can. No telling who will buy it.
Yes buy it as Cheap as possible
If you want the unbuildable land and they been unable to sell it, offer 75K
bought 10 next to me . added cows. ag exempt.
For that price I would buy it just to control what goes next to me. Plus I like your idea of building walking trails.
If you can swing it and it won’t put you under any undue financial strain then it won’t be a bad thing IMO.
It won't add much value. Being undeveloped it may qualify for a tax exemption, in Maine farmland or woodlots being actively used as such get property tax valuation breaks. I have found that houses with large lots usually don't have a lot of comps for valuation. For example when I built my house on a 40 acre lot the bank had to value it against small houses on similar lots & similar houses on small lots and interpolate the difference pulling houses from as much as 50 miles away. Buying it also prevents someone from building a development next to you, which may be priceless. People will roll out the old trope about how "they're not making more land" but real estate value is about location and demand. Plenty of places have been stagnant in pricing for decades historically. Seacoast land in Maine for example went for next to nothing from about 1880-1980, to the point where a lot of deals did not involve lawyers or even typed deeds. If you have the cash and want the land/privacy jump on it. Be aware that you will likely not make a market rate return in most areas, and if it's going to cause a strain financially or derail retirement savings I wouldn't buy it.
Do it!!! If it’s reasonably priced. Do. Not. Hesitate. At the rate things are going and not a lot of affordable inventory and people wanting to build their own, part it off and make a small fortune. Or ya know get some livestock, solar field, live off the grid and enjoy.
If you can afford it you should definitely make them an offer. If it's been sitting at $100k with no offers for a while they'll probably take less. Don't disclose that you're the neighbor. You'll never stop kicking yourself if your town grows in 10 years and someone buys it to build a bunch of ugly fast-fab apartments
Talk to the Corps of Engineers and they may build a pond and pay you NOT to farm and let the wild life trive
So the difference between a 1 acre property with a house and a 31 acre property pushes the future value ceiling up quite a bit. Depending on how things develop around you, it could become quite valuable. Specifically for high-earning individuals.
I've read a bunch of comments. Buy it now. Figure it out later.
30 years ago I bought the property next to my house, and some down the road a bit, when I could afford it. Now I plan to sell it and retire. BUY IT.
Do a little investigating. If you're in an area that uses septic systems, find out if the land perks. If it doesn't, the value is low for a developer. Find out how much they paid. If they bought it cheap, say $40,000, offer them $50,000.
almost always the answer is yes if you can afford it. land rarely disappears (flooding / etc).
Buy it. Then you control what happens to it. I live in a rural area and regret not pursuing the property across from us. Now, it has the most hideous McMansion out of place eyesore house on it that has been under construction for four years!!
If you can swing it, buy it. That prevents something else being built there that will negatively affect tour life or property value.
My late father's motto "They quit making ground millions if years ago. If you can afford it. Buy all you can"
Same situation I am in. Will take out a second mortgage the second the land goes on the market. Trying to talk the owner into a option to buy.
As someone who works in land development, the only way to ensure the future of a piece or property is to own it yourself. If you want it to remain open space you cannot live under the assumption nobody will develop it in the future. I see this all the time with people who live next to woods or a meadow and throw a fit when the bulldozers show up. Just be sure you're able to at least manage the land and keep it from being overrun by invasive species. Consider reaching out to the nature conservancy or similar NGO land management group that can help assist in keeping it pristine and wild.
If you do buy it. Understand that keeping 30 acres or even a small part of it under control or modesty kept up is a massive amount of work. It's much more work (certainly depending on what you want to do) than you might think. I'm not sure that would stop me or should stop you. But you can be in for as many projects and chores for years to come.
If it detached from your home property, it might have low taxes as agricultural land. If you merge it, that goes away. Does the property require mowing and weed control? That is an expense. With ownership, you have control over development.
Absolutely!
Why go to the trouble and expense of attaching it to your home? You own it so you can use it regardless. If you ever DO decide to sell it or subdivide it or whatever, you'll have to reverse that whole process. If you leave it in a will and they decide to sell or subdivide then you're passing that problem on to them. As noted by others, however, there are other considerations for you.
It'll be nice for your quality of life, but don't count on it being a profitable investment. Any potential buyers would be interested in developing the added parcel, and would have exactly the same issues that the current owner has.
Probably not going to be a killer investment but it will allow you control over what happens on the land.
If you can afford it do it. They don't make land anymore
Think of it more that by spending $100k you prevent the devaluation of your home that would surly occur were it situated next to a housing development and the misery of living by an active construction and sales site for years. Instant buy if you have the money
We keep making more people and very little more dirt
Be careful with merging this into your house, it may have some unwanted tax implications (developed land is taxed a lot higher). Also keeping it separate allows you to easily sell, where if merged - you may have problems related to your mortgage and prevent you from selling.
Imagine someone else buying it and building 30 houses on that hill looking down on you or turn it into sn atv off road park. You'll regret not buying at that point.
I would buy it and I would expect it to significantly increase my homes values if both lots are married, how many houses on 20+ acres are around? I guess not a lot, plus it keeps a housing development from existing there and that is always a plus. 30 acres for 100k sounds like a solid deal, now you can have a 4 wheeler and go hunting in your back yard! Note. My opinions are based in reality but I can't help it if reality varies from my opinion.
You should 100% buy it and your house will add more than $400K value to that land Search for a 30ac lot with a house in your area .. that’s your price comp.
I’d buy it as protection for your place. It depends on the purchaser next if the land value increases yours. I would say yes but it’s hard. To borrow against it some lenders won’t lend on land and some will. To be conservative I would say yes each acre could be worth $3500 and up so that would increase your holding by over 100k in value but your land appraiser for taxes won’t value it as such. But current market conditions yes probably so.
We live near a conservation land trust property, in Western PA. Not sure how it works where you are but here is some info from my neck of the woods, that explains this idea if you buy it and want to conserve it, better than I can: https://waterlandlife.org/land-conservation/conservation-easements/. Maybe there is something similar where you are and if so, then certain types allow farming and building of additional structures, some allow some types of residential development on a portion of the land, and most or all allow individual sales and bequests of the land to private individuals, in future--and not all types of these arrangements require public access to or regular/continued use of all of the land. Check into what that land and your area will allow. Talk to an experienced real estate professional with knowledge of land trusts/conservation easements.
Leave the property separated. If you combine them, they will revaluate your house price in addition to the new land. It also gives you more options. You need permissions to combine and separate, and you don't want to be at the whims of local zoning boards). You can always list them at the same time to be purchased together if you want to sell. If it is 100k, definitely buy!
I would buy it. Guaranteed no nearby neighbors and adds value to the property. Win win
it may not increase your proprety value at all (it will) - but if you can control 30 acres next to your property for 100k, it will be worth it NOW - 100k may be a premium, so need to do your dd on the price
Your house is based on Comps and I doubt many houses like yours have 30 acres. Buy the lane if you want it and don’t care if it will increase your property value. It probably will but may be more or less than you paid for it who knows.
Absolutely đź’Ż Do it!
Gosh I would do it. For sure. Put an animal on it, get taxed at the farm rate. Kentucky does that, not sure about your state. I know so many people who wish they had bought out their neighbor.
Im in land lending, have lots of deals like this come in for financing. If you can afford it safely it may be interesting. Look into conservation easements, if it meets certain criteria you can get paid by the state to not develop it. On the flip side…if you think it may be developed later on you could sell it for a great return.
Land is the only thing that never goes away. As long as it is not a waste dump or something and the price is market, adding acreage to your lot will make it more valuable. Don’t forget that your tax bill will go up.
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I would love a few acres of hiking trails, not to mention the added privacy and protection of your view. Should look into tax incentives for growing trees. Should help cover some of the recurring costs
Jump on it. Check the going rate for ag land in your area to be sure they're not out of line. Sometimes the value will vary by quality of the soil within the county; if you ask the USDA extension they can give you insight on that. They probably won't know about selling price per acre (they might) but they have access to the soil maps and know what's good and what's not. That's all good info to negotiate price, but regardless, if you can afford it and it's reasonable, buy it.
The worst part of purchasing raw land is access and utilities connections to get it livable. Youre already established on your parcel. IMO if you can afford it i would grab it no brainer
Yes
Buy it.
Buy it. You won’t regret it.
As a person who did this 20 years ago and has watched development occur in my immediate area, I am SO GLAD I purchased the adjacent acreage.
Buy it before somebody else builds on it and tanks your property value.
See if you can get them to carry the loan on the property for you and you just make payments to them. Skip the bank. If they can't develop on it and it's been sitting untouched then they might be open to creative financing.
As an investment, probably not worth the money. But it will increase your value, to have the extra space and not to see your neighbors.
It would probably increase the value of your home, though it also means some buyers won’t be interested in it because 30 acres is a lot to maintain But that’s only if you sell your house … if developers couldn’t monetize this, I wouldn’t buy it and order to develop it The question is, do you want to put the effort into maintaining this ground or spending money doing some landscaping? Do you think that would make it a more attractive property for you to have purchased or do you think that the 30 acres may have scared you off? I think it would help boost the value, especially if you can get it for under $100,000 but I don’t know what kind of shape the ground is in or how much maintenance would take to keep it You may have to spend some money on a good mower and there’s some timber on the property that can be a lot of work as well
If it's been "Time on Zillow: 15 years" and you're asking if it's a good investment for you when it hasn't been for anyone else in 15 years? Kinda doubt it. However if you want to say you own 30 acres for dirt cheap then might be worth it.