So the wife and I have known of a piece of property near here we believe to be around 13 acres that would make for a great place to build a home someday. The views, the access, the topography, etc., are all great. There is an existing horse barn and a few horses being kept there, but no house. It turns out that my sister actually knows the lady who owns the place. She is now in her 60s, had planned on building there, but her husband never wanted to, so they stayed in the city. She just uses this property, and another they rent nearby to keep/board her horses. Now, she has never mentioned anything to my sister about selling the place, but I was considering contacting her to let her know of my interest. I doubt I would approach her as currently wanting to buy NOW, but just giving her my name to let her know if she would ever decide to sell, to keep me in mind. Now, before I do this, do you think this sort of approach is out of line? I've never really done anything alone these lines, and frankly, I don't really have much experience with it. If it is acceptable, what is everyone's opinion on the best way to approach this lady? Phone? Face to face? Email? Mail? Any insight is appreciated.
If you're ready to buy now, I would get an estimate of the value of the land and make her an offer. If you aren't ready to buy now and you mention selling to her, she may turn on to the idea and sell it before you're ready to buy. Is it good land for sheep?
I'd say when you're ready to buy, give her a call, and discuss it. It never hurts to ask, but I'd be ready to pull the trigger when you do so.
I would try to meet her and just let her know your thoughts. The house I currently live in is a great example of this. We loved the house and location and one day my wife got the notion to just stop by and talk to them. She noticed the there were boxes sitting out in the driveway and thought they might be getting ready to move so she stopped and asked . They laughed and said "no way", we just called our adult children and said we have cleaned the basement and all of your stuff is in boxes ready to be picked up. My wife told them if they ever decided to move to please let us have the first opportunity to buy. They politely took here name and number but assured her they had no intentions of moving. Well, about two months later, they called and said her visit had planted a seed in their minds that they really were ready for a change and since he was commuting nearly 60 miles to work and their grandkids lived close to his work, they should just take it as a sign and move. Within 4 hours I had written up a purchase agreement and they had signed it. So in a very round-about way, I am saying; Go for it! You just never know.
Another good thing to do is if they are receptive to the idea of selling, is sit down together and work out a price together based on similar properties that have been sold recently. Situations like this it isnt the time to be looking for the property at a rock bottom price since your admittedly limited in your scope as to choices. What I mean is your heart is set on this property and most likely getting something else just because it is cheaper wont be a consideration. Think along the lines of fare market value, minus 6 percent that would be paid to a real estate agent had the property be listed. Split the 6% between you and both make out ok. Keeping in mind that the primary consideration is to broker THIS deal....not A deal. Good luck.
This is exactly how I got ahold of the land I've got in PA. My dad had roughly 30 acres and his home across the road and we were friendly with the neighbor. I knew the guy was a bit hard up for cash and stopped by one day to let him know that if he would ever consider selling the field that I'd love to get first crack at it. Within a year or so he contacted us and we got it done pretty quickly for a really good price.
