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I was considering purchasing a house with a decent size lot. I would like to split the lot to build a home. The neighbor has told the seller that you can't split the lot per restrictions. I haven't been able to track down the original deed with the restrictions. I was just curious as to who enforces the restrictions. The city said as long as you can meet the requirements, it can be split and they don't get involved. It was also my understanding, if the the neighbors do get involved, it can be very costly for them. I don't want to breech any restrictions but I also don't want to take a neighbor's word for it. I imagine I'd have to get an attorney involved to actually research it.
The first thing you need to do is get a copy of these deed restrictions. A bit of research at the court house should find them if you just get the name of the owner of one of the properties in the development. What the city told you doesn't apply to the deed restrictions. The city is only interested in their own restrictions and codes, and many cities aren't even interested in that! I'd much rather live in an area protected by good deed restrictions than depend on most cities to enforce their zoning laws.
BTW, if I were going to bet money on the outcome of whether you're allowed to divide a lot in that community, I'd bet that you CAN'T divide a lot. This is based on my experience with the deed restrictions I've seen in the past. To the best of my recollection, ALL of them have prohibited further dividing of lots as shown on the original plat. If they had wanted smaller lots in the development, they would have drawn them smaller and made the profit themselves from the greater number of lots. Why set up restrictions on lot size, house size, lot usage, etc and then allow one person to change it? Doesn't make sense, IMO.
As I've said, get a copy of the deed restrictions and read them for yourself. You'll likely find that the lots can't be divided. Or have an attorney do it for you.
Do you have a particular issue with one or more violations of the restrictions?
Relatives had a neighbor making noise and asking them to go in to hire a lawyer for one requiring cedar shake roofs. Their comment was basically "while we don't like Mr. Howard putting on an asphalt roof, we prefer any new roof to deteriorating ones in terms of property values, and don't want to sue our neighbor, even though we think he's a cheap boor, and don't want to give lawyers money for an outcome that we'll see little to no meaningful benefit from if in fact we do achieve it."
None of the other neighbors cared enough to go in on the lawyer either. He didn't hire the lawyer. Probably because he didn't want to push it if no one else cared that much.
I contacted the Register of Deeds office. They don't show anything recorded.
Should we interpret that to mean that nothing was recorded on the restrictions, or that they were just unable to find it? I would say that it is the latter.
Typically, you start with a current owner's deed and then start tracing it back to previous owners until you find the deed that it's recorded in or find the reference to where it is recorded in the record books. That's how you find it.
I was considering purchasing a house with a decent size lot. I would like to split the lot to build a home. The neighbor has told the seller that you can't split the lot per restrictions. I haven't been able to track down the original deed with the restrictions. I was just curious as to who enforces the restrictions. The city said as long as you can meet the requirements, it can be split and they don't get involved. It was also my understanding, if the the neighbors do get involved, it can be very costly for them. I don't want to breech any restrictions but I also don't want to take a neighbor's word for it. I imagine I'd have to get an attorney involved to actually research it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by beckycat
I contacted the Register of Deeds office. They don't show anything recorded.
It may be how the neighborhood is zoned. My house is zoned GR3, which means basically 3 units/acre maximum.
Thus, if my neighbors next door wanted to split their 1/2 acre lot, they couldn't, as far as I'm aware, as it would exceed the max density allowed. However, the corner lot down the street that's .7 acres could, in theory (but probably not due to grading/drainage.)
Conversely, the house that backs up to mine is zoned GR8, 8 units/acre. In theory, the guy behind me could take his .51 acre lot and divide it into 4 1/8th acre lots. That development is much closer to the city water and sewer main, we're all on septic.
It may be how the neighborhood is zoned. My house is zoned GR3, which means basically 3 units/acre maximum.
Thus, if my neighbors next door wanted to split their 1/2 acre lot, they couldn't, as far as I'm aware, as it would exceed the max density allowed. However, the corner lot down the street that's .7 acres could, in theory (but probably not due to grading/drainage.)
Conversely, the house that backs up to mine is zoned GR8, 8 units/acre. In theory, the guy behind me could take his .51 acre lot and divide it into 4 1/8th acre lots. That development is much closer to the city water and sewer main, we're all on septic.
Actually, it's zoned for 8 units per the city but I understand what you are saying. It definitely can be done if there are no restrictions in place.
It may be how the neighborhood is zoned. My house is zoned GR3, which means basically 3 units/acre maximum.
Thus, if my neighbors next door wanted to split their 1/2 acre lot, they couldn't, as far as I'm aware, as it would exceed the max density allowed. However, the corner lot down the street that's .7 acres could, in theory (but probably not due to grading/drainage.)
Conversely, the house that backs up to mine is zoned GR8, 8 units/acre. In theory, the guy behind me could take his .51 acre lot and divide it into 4 1/8th acre lots. That development is much closer to the city water and sewer main, we're all on septic.
This may be the case with the deed restrictions. The restrictions are stating the lot must be at least 8500 sq ft. to have a dwelling. I am not sure it can be made into 2 lots that size. It does not state that you can not split the lot. I have to look into it more.
"No residential structure shall be erected or placed on any building lot that has an area of less than 8,500 sq ft or a width of 70 ft at the front building set line."
The said lot is 17,859 sq ft with 50 ft on the front. If I am interpreting this correctly, this tells me as long as I can meet setbacks, this lot can indeed be split. There is no mention about not being able to sub-divide any lot. There maybe some truth in what the neighbor has expressed since this is the only lot in the subdivision that could be split. All of the other lots can not meet this requirement.
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