Buy House with Acreage - Just for the Land?

[sublimequine]

My other half and I are trying to figure out if it would be plausible to buy our own land for the horses. I own and board 3 horses, and at this point I’m thinking it may be cheaper, or the same price, to own my own property.

Trying to find raw land with electric and water is very hard. However, I can find property with acreage, and utilities, with a house on it. For our price range, the houses are in very rough shape. We are not looking to relocate - we love our current home and just want to buy some land nearby to keep the horses. So the house would simply stay vacant, maybe even eventually demolish it if it’s in bad enough condition.

Is this something anyone has done? What obstacles did you face?

[Mystique]

If I were buying land just for the purpose of putting horses on it and it had a home/out buildings, I would be looking at getting some form of use out of it/them. But that is me, I am always looking to getting some use out of something instead of having a building sitting there vacant. Draws all kinds of varmints. If there were daily traffic in and out of the building it would keep certain unwanteds away. Now looking at a house, would there be any way it could be used as a tack room, feed room, hay storage, storage for other things. Also, depending on the house, I would even look at it for stalling the horses until you have a barn built, if there were no other suitable out buildings. Also, if the house is in nice condition and is rent-able, would you be opposed to renting it? As I said, I am a person who is always looking to get some kind of use out of most everything. lol

[Guilherme]

It depends.

If the house is so rough that it’s uninhabitable then buy the land, raze the house, and you’re good to go.

If the house is rough but could be rental property then you’ve got a supplemental source of income and you’re better to go.

G.

[sublimequine]

I didn’t even consider the rental possibility. Good point. Thanks guys.

[IronwoodFarm]

It depends on what you want to do. If you are financing, you’ll find it easier to get a mortgage with a house on the property. You’ll also have to put less down. That being said, most insurance companies will not insure a vacant house and you’ll probably need a fire insurance policy if there is a mortgage I think Guilherme’s idea is good – look for a house that can be a rental. Not only do you get income and depreciation, but if you select the right tenant, you’ll have an extra set of eyes and ears on the horses.

[clanter]

before you tear it down, check to see if there are any zoning restrictions on the property … if there are restrictions that prohibit or impede construction you can use the existing structure as the bases to rebuild to your needs/desires

[JB]

There’s definitely no law that says you have to keep or upgrade a house on property you buy, barring something historical.

If the house is at the edge of the property, and worth salvaging, then you could definitely think about it as rental property since it’s not really integrated INTO the property. But if it’s more in the middle, like ours is, that could get trickier without the right tenants. In that case, maybe you can replace it with a barn

Definitely make sure the whole property is zoned Agriculture,and even if so, that it’s zoned for what you want to use it for/the number of horses you have. Some areas don’t allow more than 1 horse per 2 acres, for example.

You definitely don’t want to leave a house vacant, as stated. That’s inviting a lot of trouble. It might be ok if it’s small enough and on the edge of the property - goodness knows around here there are a LOT of rural acreage lots with original houses still on them, falling down and all, even in the “back yard” of the new house that’s lived in. But they’re also 100yo houses that are gutted.

Maybe, the old house that should be (or is) condemned can be repurposed into storage if it’s a single story and smaller.

[csaper58]

Is it possible to sell the house, and have it moved off your property?

I agree with renting the house if it’s decent. You may be able to find someone who will take care of the horses when you go out of town, or weather stops you from going to the farm.

[AKB]

If you might ever build on the land, carefully research County regulations. In my daughter’s county, if you put up a new house, you pay a $20,000 impact fee to the county. If you already have a house on the land which you are “renovating” there is no impact fee.

[2DogsFarm]

Definitely research Zoning Regs for future use & to assure you can keep your horses on it.
You need it zoned Res/Ag if you want both tenants & horses on the land.

If the house is not rehabbable could you put a manufactured (trailer) home on the land?
If that is allowed, having the utilities in place would make that a less expensive solution & give you a place to hang out on the weekends or longer with your horses.
Or give you a place to rent to someone & have Eyes on your propertry & horses.

.

[China_Doll]

I would not want my horses on a vacant property. I would want myself or a tenant to keep an eye on them. I would be reluctant with a tenant in the lower income bracket if the house isn’t nice. They could have people over and be riding your horses. Also I would worry about theft or vandalism.

[Jim_in_PA]

Zoning is always local and needs to be part of your research. Factors include dwelling requirements, setbacks and land-use. Always know beforehand what the exact status of a given property is before even considering it for what you propose.

I’m also someone who would be discomforted with not having any human occupation on the property where the horses would be living.

[Equibrit]

I have to believe that it is cheaper to buy the land and get electricity/well.

[soloudinhere]

@Equibrit

I have to believe that it is cheaper to buy the land and get electricity/well.

You’d be surprised. Sure, the dwelling is expensive, but it’s also often the most valuable part of the property and makes it much, much easier to get loans and permits. And when all is done, you can sell it or rent it out.

[pluvinel]

@Equibrit

I have to believe that it is cheaper to buy the land and get electricity/well.

Not quite.

Raw land has a lot of “development” needed before you can plant a house…let alone a barn…on it. Eg.,
>> Electric
>> Septic
>> Phone
Ever price the cost of burying a power line? Not cheap.
Ever have to deal with the Health Department. Not pleasant.

Then there are are all the “regulations” on whether you are planting “new construction” or just “renovating” an existing structure. It is ALWAYS cheaper to “add” an addition and renovate than to plant new construction.

So…my suggestion is the buy the property with the trash house, make it habitable…then rent it…since you don’t care if tenants trash it…then decide what to do next.

[2DogsFarm]

@Equibrit

I have to believe that it is cheaper to buy the land and get electricity/well.

:ambivalence: If only…
Plus adding utilities has to be permitted,

Ballpark for a septic: $10K+

Bringing in electric depends on the Utility provider agreeing (ask me how I learned this) & you may have to pay for a pole.
Cost to wire my 36X36 pole barn & 60X120 indoor (13yrs ago) $9K after I scaled original estimate back 30%

Having well & electric onsite: Priceless

ETA: Equibrit - your avatar looks a lot like a Zoning Commissioner :winkgrin:

[Robin]

Since you only really want water and electric, you may want to watch for any news reports of farm homes that have been lost to fire. If the owner is not going to rebuild, you have a piece of land with utilities already present but no house to have to deal with. Just another possibility to consider.

[js]

@China Doll

I would not want my horses on a vacant property. I would want myself or a tenant to keep an eye on them. I would be reluctant with a tenant in the lower income bracket if the house isn’t nice. They could have people over and be riding your horses. Also I would worry about theft or vandalism.

Ditto on this. I’m not sure I would be comfortable with horses alone or with renters unless you had some really good renters. You might consider having an extra stall or two and renting the house to someone with a horse or two; however, that could come with it’s own set of issues.

[danacat]

I think some other posters mentioned this – but in certain states/counties you can’t just have ‘farm’ land, farm buildings (barn etc.) and utilities without a house on the land – and/or no intentions/plans to build a house.

So definitely check with your zoning board. You don’t want to tear the house down (thinking you don’t need it) and then HAVE to rebuild another house to comply with zoning regulations.

[Minxitbabe]

Sounds like a good plan to me! You are going to get a better deal on the property with a very rough house because it’s going to be hard to sell. I would definitely buy it and plan to tear the house down if you don’t need it. But word of caution maybe have it inspected for asbestos before you buy. Because demolition gets really expensive if they declare that they found asbestos.