Yes, I’ve heard the phrase ‘beggars can’t be choosers’. But when land popped up in the EXACT area we were looking, we had to act. The owners split over 100 acres into a handful of parcels. The two that we felt had the best view and minimized amount of wetlands were - well, either too small or not in our budget.
It was a 4 acre parcel and a 20 acre parcel. The 20 acre was too expensive for our budget and the 4 acre was just too small, and wedged into the 20 acre. Not even side by side. Literally the 20 acre parcel surrounded the 4 acre. It would, in our opinion, be weird for both neighbors.
It was our analysis that the two parcels should be reshaped, as seen in the diagram below.
(Current: A and B, Proposed: C and D)
Image not to scale nor considering road curvature.
This would be more on budget, and the size we are looking for - around 10 acres. To break it down, here were our options if we truly wanted to reshape the split:
Ask current owners to re-split then buy 1 parcel
Buy both lots, split on own and sell a parcel - risky!
Work with another potential buyer (pending they want to do this!), write a contract and reshape the parcels between us
Above all, waiting meant another potential buyer(s) could swipe them both! And waiting for Option 3 also was risky because what if that buyer didn't even want to do this? What if their dream was to just have 4 acres?
We ultimately started with Option 1 - we planned to make an offer on parcel B, contingent on a land split. If we didn't make an offer and just did the split, that was again, risky! We wanted to get this in writing.
I did feel my real estate license was giving me some confidence in talking to the agent. However, as all selling agents, he was quick to defend his client saying NO they are not re-splitting these! And explained they split them this past summer. But that didn't make us give up.
We decided to write the sellers a letter, taking the agent middleman out of the picture, to reduce any bias/sway in their decision. That way the message could be in OUR words. We spent Christmas Eve 2021 perfecting this later, because again - we didn't want to wait!
Here's what the letter read:
Dear Seller(s),
We hope you are enjoying the holidays! It has been an absolute pleasure reviewing your properties. My husband and I sent you a letter expressing interest in your property not long ago!
Our most preferred lots are [A] and [B]. In researching the size of these lots, we contacted the surveyor who expressed the reason why he split them the way he did. He mentioned that the driveway should go up the West side of the properties, as shown in the image in red [provided image].
However, the very Eastern part of [B] does have a slightly lower hill than the center areas, and our desire was to get a driveway on that side. Upon meeting a local builder and driveway contractor at the properties, we confirmed we would be able to do so with some excavation work.
With that said, our proposal is to adjust the splits of [A] and [B], upon receiving our offer for Lot [B] with a land split contingency.
The current split is less desirable because if someone builds on [A], their view is subject to the owner of [B]’s usage of their land. Additionally, the current split of [B] has an extremely long driveway with the current 60x600ft deed strip and would still have to make it up the hill anyway, if the build site is on the hill. Therefore, our proposal on the following page creates two parcels with friendlier shapes and more even acreage [provided image].
We know it is not ideal to go through this process again as you recently have. We are proposing to assist in re-shaping the split of these two lots. We’d like to help in obtaining the township approvals and payment for the surveyor, as our goal is to build our forever home on Lot [B].
You can see a better image of the plan on the following page. Keep in mind, as I am a realtor purchasing for myself, I am able to also negotiate down my commission. We hope to work with you and [listing agent] on this, and look forward to hearing from you!
Thank you,
Katy and Kody
[phone number]
Whew! Confusing right? LOL. We included an image of the survey and topography with colors indicated for the desired 're-split' and driveway intentions. *Tip: Here was our strategy to CONVINCE the sellers of Option 1, where the split happened while they still owned the property:
Write a letter to reduce any bias/sway from the agent
Provide an image with a clear representation of the plans since it is 'wordy' otherwise
DO YOUR HOMEWORK/RESEARCH prior to sending letter
Call the surveyor
Contractor and driveway excavator consultation at the property
Ideally check with the local township zoning department - was closed for us due to holidays, but we read the ordinances online
Offer to pay for the 're-split'
Make it clear intention is to write an offer
While waiting for an answer, start obtaining quotes and timing from local surveyors
We were thrilled to receive feedback that the sellers were interested in what our letter proposed. In calling local surveyors two things came into question:
Would the two parcels be legal depth to width ratio? (not narrower than 4:1)
These parcels were just recently split. Is 'reconfiguring the boundary line' considered a new split? Because you can only split once every 10 years
I wanted to confirm these ASAP so we could keep moving forward!
As mentioned, the township was closed for the holidays, but some of the workers were going in. The longer we waited to confirm our split proposal complied with township ordinances, the higher the chance the seller could change their mind OR another buyer would swoop the lots up.
After three emails and many calls, I was either not responded to or told they are too busy catching up from break. Easy to brush someone off over the phone, right? So I GOT UP and WENT there. I don’t like waiting for stuff to fall in my lap. I was so nervous driving there that I was driving them nuts. Then guess what - it went AMAZING. Like the best possible way. They were SO nice and it complied with the township! Woohoo! They did have a call out to the County to confirm, but we were good to move forward. Here were our answers:
Would the two parcels be legal depth to width ratio? (not narrower than 4:1) - Kody measured the lots out on Google Maps, and the ratio was coming in very close. However, the township confirmed for a parcel above 10 acres, it did not have to comply with this rule, nor did we need to apply for a variance. We then wrote our offer up contingent on split [D] being over 10 acres, just to make sure 10.0 wasn't an issue.
These parcels were just recently split. Is 'reconfiguring the boundary line' considered a new split? Because you can only split once every 10 years - this was confirmed by the township and county to be considering a 'boundary line adjustment' and not a split, therefore we were able to revise the boundaries!
*Tip: Don't just call the county or township office you need an answer from. They take walk-in questions all day - go in and find out!
I called a bunch of surveyors for quotes and told the agent we’d like to proceed with our offer via email. We ended up with the surveyor who did the original split because he already had the 'control' stake setup at the property, so it saved money and time.
Overall, this is our dream property. We wanted to make sure the letter and offer worked for them as it did us. If we went too selfish in the letter, it would have been so easy for them to say no. They were doing us a favor, right? As Kody told me, "someone will buy the parcels as is", so they really didn't need to bother. When we all determined we were writing the offer, Kody and I actually went back and asked how much they would want the 10 acre parcel for. It just avoided one last possibility that we could offend them and the whole deal would be blown.
*Tip: Be careful in negotiations to not ask for 'too much.' The whole deal can be blown - be honest with yourself what market you are in, and if the sellers can easily pick the next buyer in line. If it's really your dream land, be strategic in any communication with the sellers/agent.
Ultimately the number they provided was more than we were thinking, but after assessing, we determined it was a completely fair deal to us and them. Actually a great deal for both. How often does that happen? With the views of the parcel (and land prices being so subjective), I think it could have even gone for more money. And the price of our 10 aces, and the new asking price of the 13 acres, was a higher sum than the original 20 and 4 acre parcel prices combined. A real win-win. And for that, we are grateful.
Time to write that offer up and make it official!
Check out our YouTube Vlog of these here :)
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