WHY IN THE WORLD BUY LAND NOW??
Welcome to Landfox.net!! What you will see when you return to the Home Page and click on “Available Land” is one fine collection of available lots and acreage all over South Central Pa. For now, if you want to know who we are, and what you should know about a land purchase before you buy, read on. CAUTION! This portion of the site is not designed to be exciting or colorful, just informative. So proceed when you’re wide awake!!
Unless you have been living under a rather large rock, you’re probably aware that these are not the best of economic times, sometimes called a recession. What’s the underlying great news in a recession? Prices and interest rates go down with the economy’s numbers. The key is to time your purchase at the bottom of the market before everything begins its upward trend again. Well, that time is here!! Or, you may be a tad late!! While many state’s real estate markets still languish as of September, 2014, we sold a large volume of land between November 2013, and September, 2014. We have not made wholesale price increases just yet, but in certain areas, we have bumped them slightly. (For instance, because of a ridiculous new zoning ordinance in Fairview Township, York County, new lots, especially any under 3 acres, will be impossible to come by. Therefore, our smaller lots had to go up somewhat, mainly because they are now more valuable.) The South Central Pa. area’s average price, and number of sales, have shown increases throughout 2014. The general economy’s monthly numbers show signs of improvement. And the head of the Fed has announced that interest rates will remain low for the foreseeable future. The distress sales (foreclosures, etc.) that were out there have been picked fairly clean by now. So, definitely, NOW IS THE TIME!!
Everyone is well aware that home sales were basically in the tank. Not necessarily so with land and lots. Why? There was a glut of homes on the market, mostly in large developments where a large builder owns everything. Maybe that developer has folded his tent, or for whatever other reason, those homes are not selling. That has a ripple effect, lowering the price of homes
With land, however, there is a continuing scarcity of it, not a glut, for reasons explained below, . Under the guise of “protect the environment” and “save the farms”, your elected officials and bureaucrats are doing everything they can to prohibit the subdivision of available parcels of land into smaller more affordable ones. While the economy was down, and real estate sales were sluggish, the government bureaucracies were all moving full steam ahead with monumental regulations and decrees that make it more and more impossible to provide affordable land. By doing so, the bureaucrats are creating an artificial scarcity of the properly sized, reasonably priced lots and acreage. Scarcity can only do one thing to prices!
Prices haven’t risen much recently, but they haven’t exactly plummeted either because of standard supply/demand economics. The old “they’re not making any more of it” story still holds true. But I can tell you that the combination of the recent economy and the crazy new regulations have land prices just waiting to explode again. The consequence of all this is that very shortly only the rich will be able to afford land (see California.)
People that own property begin to think like free people….
WHY PURCHASE A LOT, OR ACREAGE, FROM US?
The purchase of a parcel of land on which to build your new home, and life, should be a fun, exciting, and relatively simple process if you understand just a few basic concepts and primary safeguards. Assuming you have narrowed down the area in which you want to live by school district, township, location relative to work, or other factors, you have already found the best place to start … the Landfox.net website for Harry H. Fox Jr. Land ! Our land meets all the qualifications (spelled out below) to guarantee you a fully approved property where you can choose your own builder and build whenever you want. The lots and acreage you see on this site are almost all exclusively owned by Harry H. Fox, Jr., or by companies of which he owns, or is President, or myself. I have been Harry’s Subdivision and Sales Manager, Project Coordinator, and exclusive licensed agent for nearly twenty years. Chances are, I have been involved in every property or subdivision on this site since the day it was a sketch on a napkin. By calling me, you will not be dealing with a typical “go-between” between Buyer and Seller, but with someone who knows as much as can be known about any of these properties.
We have over 50 years experience in land subdivision and sales in the South Central Pa area. We understand the market and how to properly establish the value of a parcel of land. You benefit from our experience and our desire to maintain that long-standing reputation that we have earned through fairness and honesty. We always set a fair price on each lot or parcel. Even in these economic times, I don’t know anybody who would sell their land back to us for the price they paid. (In the past 20 years, we’ve only had 2 lots that got turned down for financing due to the appraisal.) We will obviously treat everyone fairly, and with respect, because it’s likely we’ll meet you or your friends again someday.
Besides understanding the value of a parcel of land, we also have to take a little different approach to our pricing. Number One, we have to price our properties to sell reasonably fast so the money can be re-invested. Number Two, if we set a precedent early on by selling the property lower than the asking price, we run the risk of having to negotiate a different price with everybody who buys thereafter. The next guy’s loan might be based on the appraisal of the lot we undersold, and he may get turned down. I guess we could set the list price, say, $2000.00 higher, then give everybody $2000.00 off that price to make them feel good. But the bottom line is that we like to set a real fair price, and stick with it. I am not saying that this happens in every case. Certain situations, i.e. multiple lot purchases, sometimes call for some preferred pricing.
I can say that the best time to get the best price on a lot is at the very start of sales in a newly approved subdivision. The prices will rise as more and more of the parcels sell, even if there are only 10 or 15 of them. You deserve a reward for helping us get an area started because oft times people are afraid to be first. Also the general real estate rule of thumb is that parcels rise in value as new homes are built, a new road is constructed, and consequently land in that area now becomes more scarce, and valuable.
People that own property begin to think like free people….
Call me!
Patrick McKonly
717-432-9399
YOUR OTHER OPTIONS?
Some land is “listed” with realtors, meaning calling a realtor is one way to track it down. Unfortunately, the financial reward is generally not large enough on a lot sale to have most realtors want to put a lot of effort into helping you find your special land. A few of the lots shown on this website have been listed with realtors and put on the local “multi-list” service. (The provisions of those listings still allow you to purchase that property directly through me.) It is, however, against Pennsylvania Real Estate Commission guidelines for a realtor to show you any properties that are not listed, even though they may even be in the same subdivision. To do so, the realtor must at least first obtain what’s called a “single-party listing”.
To insure a realtor gets paid for their time spent looking for your land, many have resorted to signing you on to a “Buyer’s Agency Agreement”. I would really like to caution you about signing one. The original intent of that agreement was that a specific realtor would be your personal “search engine” in the hunt for a property. However, a “Buyer’s Agency Agreement” has no guarantee of any sort in it, except that the realtor who signed it gets a commission on any piece of property you purchase. I have never seen one that guarantees that a realtor will show or find you x amount of properties to look at each week or month.
The result of this can be that it eliminates quite a few “For Sale by Owners” that you may find in the newspaper, or on a sign, or through word of mouth. The Buyer’s Agency Agreement basically states that someone is required to pay the realtor a commission, regardless of who did the work of finding, showing, and selling it. Chances are the private seller is not willing to pay the commission. Otherwise it would not be for sale by owner. I have seen cases where buyers have been forced to pay a realtor a commission over and above the price of the property in order to be able to purchase a property from a private seller, just because they signed a Buyer’s Agency agreement.
Make no mistake, there are some good hardworking realtors out there who will perform by the Buyer’s Agency Agreement’s original intent. But if you do decide to sign one of these, insist on the realtor putting some performance guarantees of their own in there. The good hardworking realtor won’t have a problem doing that. In fact, the best realtors don’t really need that agreement because they will go out and find what you are looking for because they consider that to be their duty anyway. And they will agree that, if they did not get the job done, they do not deserve to be paid. They really don’t want to be paid for their time for showing you all the wrong properties. I would suggest if you do sign one, make it for a very short duration to see if the realtor is really going to put forth the effort for you, or whether they just want the commission on whatever you buy.
All of this does not mean I am not willing to cooperate with Realtors. In fact, we depend on the good, hardworking ones to help us find some of our projects. The objective here is to avoid a situation where you and I do all the work to find the right land for you, and then have the realtor call me and say “I have a Buyer’s Agency Agreement with these people. You owe me…” It happens quite often, believe me.
I can say that going through me directly will help you avoid a bunch of unnecessary fees. But if you have already signed a Buyer’s Agency Agreement with a specific Realtor, if either you, or they, will call me, we’ll work something out so everybody’s happy. You’ll get the parcel of your choice, and everybody will be within the Pennsylvania Real Estate Commission guidelines.
Another option is “For Sale By Owners”. or Fisbos as they are known. Finding them is generally just pot luck. Chances are those sellers are not totally schooled in what must be done in order to sell a piece of land. Many times they will want to have Buyers pay for the perk tests and other requirements. Sometimes these transactions may turn out to be great deals because they avoid realtors fees, etc. Other times they may turn out t be a nightmare because neither Buyer nor Seller knows exactly every item that must be in order for a proper transaction to take place. If you go this route, please, just be sure you have the proper assistance in getting the details properly handled. Call me for help if you wish.
There’s another possibility where entire subdivisions are exclusive to a couple builders. In other words, there are one, two, maybe three builders allowed to build in an entire subdivision. Be careful. Oft times these places will make the lot or land price appear comparatively low. Because you then have a limited choice of builders, you will have nothing with which to compare the home construction cost. The “real” price of the land is then built into the cost of building the house. I’m not saying this is always the case in these projects, but I guarantee you this happens. By allowing you your choice of builders on our land, you can really save a lot of money by getting bids on your house from multiple builders. There sometimes can be as much as much $30,000 or $40,000 difference between Builder’s bids on the exact same house plan.
The public’s normal perception, when they see any kind of real estate price, is that they are supposed to make an offer somewhat lower than the asking price. That has been the standard program for years; 93% of the asking price is where the final price was to finish. Consider a Buyer’s Agent representing your interests and another realtor representing the Seller. Neither of them makes any money unless you purchase the property, so how fairly do you think they are going to represent you? Unfortunately, because the others are generally the professional negotiators as compared to yourself, you end up paying more than you should for the property, even at your 7% off negotiated price.
Most of what follows is fact. However, beginning with the “WHAT GOES INTO PRICING?” section, there are instances where opinion, mainly mine, is inserted. I am a pro-growth, minimal government regulation, common sense libertarian environmental conservationist (not “environmentalist”), who believes you should be able to live in a clean, safe environment on your own land, free from interference from all the overbearing, drivel-spewing, power hungry bunch of government bureaucrats who want to run your life. I will update that portion of the site regularly as new trends and regulations come about.
People that own property begin to think like free people….
Call Me!
Patrick McKonly
(717) 432-9399
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW BEFORE PURCHASING LAND!!
SITE INVESTIGATION AND PECOLATION TEST REPORT
The number one thing your new property must possess is a valid Site Investigation and Percolation Test Report if the property is not serviced by public sewer. More commonly known as a “perk test”, this report must show your land is suitable for an on-lot sewage disposal system. (More often than not, when a property is one acre or more, public sewer is not available.) Without a valid perk test, your new land is not buildable, and is in no way guaranteed to pass such a test in the future.
A perk test can show your lot is suitable for a variety of septic system types. Most common today is the sand mound system. In really terrific soil your parcel may still “perk” for an in-ground system, sometimes mistakenly called a “standard” or “conventional” system. Not so long ago, DEP also approved another type of system called an at-grade system. Think of it as a sand mound without sand. Or an in-ground system built partially above ground. It is somewhere between an in-ground and a sand mound in both size and price. There are several other types of alternative systems available, but the three above are the most common. In the event one of our parcels qualifies for one of the newer alternative systems, I will certainly inform you of all of the facts about that system. New, and/or alternative systems are not necessarily bad. However, they can get expensive.
The “limiting zone”, “perk rate”, and “slope” shown on the perk test determine which type of system must go on a certain parcel of land. The size and price of each of these systems varies depending on these individual numbers on each perk test and the number of bedrooms proposed for the house to be built. The price for each is all over the spectrum depending on which contractors do the installation. Therefore you should be very careful to request the itemized price for the system!
A Seller should always supply you with a valid “perk test” at the Seller’s expense. Because it is based on the number of bedrooms in the house, getting the design of the system, and the actual obtaining of the Septic Permit are most often the responsibility of the Buyer. A septic system must be located on the area of the lot where the perk test was performed. Often times buyers “re-perk” a property at a location that is more suitable for their plan of utilization of the entire piece of ground. But never, ever, purchase a piece of land you plan to build on unless it is contingent upon receiving, or already has, a valid SITE INVESTIGATION AND PERCOLATION TEST REPORT!!
SURVEY
In purchasing a piece of land, you want to make sure you know exactly where the boundaries are. When a property line makes a change in direction, it is commonly marked with a steel pin driven several feet into the ground, or a concrete monument. Knowing exactly where these boundaries are can affect your building plans. Every township has different zoning regulations that require new structures to be built a minimum amount of feet from a boundary line (”building setback” or “building restriction” lines). Knowing exactly where these lines are will help you to determine how to lay out your house, yard, driveway, and any outbuildings, etc.
Because a pin or monument gets moved or lost does not mean you have lost or gained any property. The purpose of your deed is to legally describe your property in metes and bounds as per the terms of the survey. What is described on that deed is always going to be what you own. Knowing where your physical boundaries are is just a wise way to make sure you don’t make any expensive mistakes in the location of buildings, fences, driveways and the like. Protect those pins or monuments, because it is expensive to have them found or replaced.
PROTECTIVE COVENANTS
Protective covenants are more commonly referred to as deed restrictions. Nobody likes to be restricted, or be told what they can, or can’t do, with their own land. By the same token, nobody likes to see the value of his or her property go down.
Somewhat of a compromise for that situation are protective covenants. Protective covenants are usually a set of common rules that all owners in a certain subdivision agree to live by. They may be as simple as requiring that junk cars not be allowed to rust away on your neighbor’s front lawn, or as particular as “you must have x amount of bricks on the front of your house”. The important thing is, if you want to let junk cars rust away in your front yard, do not purchase a piece of property where this is prohibited by a protective covenant on your deed. Sometimes protective covenants are a separate document recorded in the county courthouse. Your settlement agent should make you aware of any such covenants, if the Seller, or the Seller’s Agent does not.
On our properties, we try to reach a happy medium. Again, keep in mind, when I say subdivision, ours are generally anywhere from 5 to 25 or 30 lots, not hundreds of lots. Our protective covenants are usually slightly more defined than a township’s zoning ordinances. Sometimes they include some of the township ordinances just to be sure you are aware of them. We try to set the covenants so that every time you want to turn around, you don’t have to get permission from an association. In fact, we avoid homeowner’s associations wherever possible. We just try to put some common sense protections in there so that you will live in a clean safe environment where everybody’s property values will go up. I also guarantee you that I will make any protective covenants known to you, so we don’t foul up any of your plans for your property. (We’ll leave that for the government).
WATER SUPPLY
Most times if an area does not have public sewer, it probably will not have public water either. Therefore you will have to drill a well. Wells in the south-central Pennsylvania geology are usually not a problem. An average well in the south central Pa. area will usually run anywhere between 150 to 350 feet deep. Sometimes if you are located over ironstone, you may need to drill at least 400 feet before you start hitting water. Some people think it’s voodoo, but I prefer to have someone come out with a “divining rod” to help determine the best spot on the land to drill for water.
There are varying opinions as to how many gallons per minute are necessary to run a household. If you consider, even at 3 gallons per minute, your well is producing 180 gallons per hour. Plus there is approximately 1.5 gallons stored in each foot of the reservoir (the drilled hole). In a typical 300 ft. well, that means there is approximately 530 gallons available, and is being replaced at 3 gallons per minute (180 gals/hr). That amount of water will normally take care of the needs of a normal household with plenty to spare.
There is a common misconception that public water and sewer is less expensive than having your own private sources. When comparing the two, you must take into account the thousands and thousands of dollars you must pay in tap fees to hook up to the public sources, as well as the fact that you will be paying that quarterly bill forever. At some point in the not too distant future, the cost of the public sources surpasses the private systems you’ve installed. And being that the public sources are a monopoly, those quarterly bills (and rates) are never going to go down, while the private source will eventually be totally paid off.
THE PURCHASE
Once you’ve found the piece you want to purchase, the next step is putting it “under agreement”. The Agreement of Sale should specify at least the following; a description of the property, a valid “perk test” is or will be available, clear title is promised, protective covenants are specified, a survey suitable to both parties is or will be completed, and an estimate of your probable closing costs. These guarantees must be in there at the least. Our agreements go well beyond this. Therefore, you will be aware of everything you need to know about your property. (Much of our agreement is to bring you up to speed on all the lovely new government regulations that I love so much.) Our common practice is to include a full-fledged copy of the entire 24 x 36 recorded Final Plan.
Many times these agreements also include a financing contingency. This means that if you cannot obtain a loan for the property by the terms specified in the Agreement, your deposit money will be refunded to you. (See below for financing information.)
Once the Agreement of Sale is signed, and the deposit applied, you become the equitable owner of the property. From there, you proceed to the bank to apply for financing, or, if you are paying cash, the Agreement goes to your title abstract company, or attorney, for the title search and preparation of documents for settlement.
CLOSING COSTS
Closing costs are fairly simple for land compared to a house purchase. Your two main costs are title insurance (explained below), and title transfer tax. The title insurance usually ranges a little less than 1% of the purchase price, and the title transfer tax is 2% of the purchase price. Most times, Seller pays 1% of that, and Buyer pays 1% of that. Other than that you will have some Settlement Agent document preparation fees (around $200.00), pro-rated real estate taxes, and sometimes a recreation fee reimbursement, and occasionally a Homeowner’s Association fee. If there are more fees than these, be sure to fully investigate them. (Be sure to check these costs with your closing agent and bank both. Some realty companies have taken to charging additional fees for closing that should be part of the commission.)
Sometimes a purchase will have an additional fee or two that is specific to that property, but the above are the normal ones. Whatever the costs and fees are, the estimated costs should be itemized and given to you at the time of Agreement. Your settlement agent will get it down to nickels and dimes a couple days before settlement.
FINANCING
There are generally three routes to go when financing a parcel of land. The first is a home equity loan on your current home, which is paid back, in full, when that house is sold. This approach has its benefits in that it does not require a down payment, just monthly installments, and the interest on the home equity loan is usually tax deductible. The downside is that if you default on the loan, the bank just takes your house.
Another approach is a conventional lot loan. Generally this requires 10% to 20% down, and you can set up the balance for up to ten or twenty years depending on how low you want the monthly payment to be. The interest rates are generally just a little higher than a normal home mortgage. Normally the up-front costs for this type of loan ranges anywhere from nothing to $300.00 for application and appraisal fees. Be careful about getting a loan from an institution that has a bunch of other miscellaneous fees tacked on.
The third option is to obtain a construction loan. In order to do this type of loan, you will need to have all of your house plans finalized, your builder contracted, and be ready to build as soon as the loan is approved. A construction loan is usually set up to cover a six-month period of actual building. You usually pay interest only during that period. After construction is complete, the construction loan rolls over into the permanent (20 or 30 year) mortgage at a second closing.
With most lending institutions, you can usually roll a lot loan into a construction loan, then in to a permanent mortgage. The equity you have built up into the lot loan then becomes part of the downpayment on the construction loan and permanent mortgage.
CLEAR TITLE
Prior to settling on your new parcel of land, you need to know that it is free of all liens, encumbrances, easements and the like. To be certain of this, you will hire a title abstract company or an attorney to handle your settlement. They will perform a title search to determine that your property is free of the above, and that there are no obstructions of any sort to you being the one and only clear owner of the property. Regardless of what the bank, or anyone else says, you have the absolute right to choose your own Settlement Agent (title abstract company or attorney).
Most times, if you have a loan on the property, you will be required to take out a title insurance policy as well, which guarantees against any defects in the title search. (It’s similar to carrying “collision” on your car if you have a car loan). This should be a one-time fee that is based on the price of the property. The dollar amount comes right off a standardized chart, and is the same no matter what company you get it from in the state of Pennsylvania. Some attorneys and settlement agents have taken to charging this fee a second time if you do not build within a year of purchasing the land. You pay it a second time at the settlement of the construction loan. They give what’s called a “reissue rate” at that time, which is about fifteen per cent less than the first rate. That maneuver still has me confused. Some do it, some don’t. Nonetheless, it’s best to check out your Settlement Agent’s policy on that prior to hiring them to handle your settlement.
SETTLEMENT
After the above business has been taken care of, the big day finally comes when the land becomes yours. By this time, your settlement agent should have told you the exact amount of money you will need to settle on the property. You will need to bring that money in a cashier’s or bank certified check made out to the Settlement Agent. The reason for the certified funds is that the settlement agent will need to write out a bunch of checks to various parties, and he or she must be certain that those checks do not bounce. You will also sign the final financing papers and a “HUD 1 Settlement Sheet” which itemizes the various costs to both Buyer and Seller. From that point on, it’s all yours and the fun begins!!
CONCLUSION
Now, more than ever is an excellent time to purchase land! Even if you do not intend to build for a while, prices will never be “flatter”, if that’s a word to describe real estate prices. Interest rates are historically low. Banks have reverted to sound loan practices rather than the idiocy of before. And even though the economic downturn has slowed sales, the misguided rules and regulations of subdivision that I love so much, have been moving full steam ahead. Therefore, land prices are just waiting to explode, (not to mention the hyper-inflation that’s coming with our administration’s brilliant economic policies). It’s my opinion that South Central Pa. has almost certainly reached its real estate bottom, and come early 2012, you’ll see prices starting to inch back up. One nice thing about living in a conservative area like south-central Pa. is that the good times are never crazy good like some areas, and the bad times aren’t nearly as bad as a lot of those places either.
Remember at the beginning I said a land purchase should be relatively simple. Well, it is. Find a piece you like. (Call me first). Make sure it is perked, surveyed, has clear title, and has zoning and protective covenants that suit your needs. Hire a title company or attorney to double-check all this. (Although I am not connected to any builder, closing agent or financial institution, I can give you plenty of referrals so you can have them compete for your services.) From there, it is yours to put your signature on, and mold and shape to fit your dreams!!
Should you choose to pursue any of the land offered on this website, I guarantee you we will do our best to make your purchase just this simple. Hopefully, we can help you obtain land that is not only a sound financial choice, but land to call your own that you will enjoy for the rest of your life!
People that own property begin to think like free people….
Call me!
Patrick McKonly
(717) 432-9399
ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS
WHAT GOES INTO PRICING?
Of course, originally the owner, developer, or subdivider invests a ton of money into the original purchase price of the larger parcel. Then the subdivision process starts with a bunch of money spent on his application, legal, engineering, and government fees. This process used to take six months. Now it’s more like two years, or more. After subdivision approval, there are the improvements costs: roads, utilities, stormwater management facilities, etc., etc., And obviously once these millions are put out, the owner wants to make some money on his investment.
There are obviously no two pieces of land exactly alike. Therefore, it is tough to say what the price should be on any given parcel. Assuming similar sizes and locations of two parcels, there are some general characteristics that help determine the prices. Wooded property generally costs more than open land. Land with water; a stream, pond, river, or ocean, will always cost more. You will always pay more for a parcel that has a great view that can’t be obstructed. Land that borders a golf course runs higher. A Lot on the “outer rim” of a subdivision is generally more than a similarly sized interior one. A parcel on a cul-de-sac will be higher. All of these are part of the old adage: location, location, location. Price, price, price is every bit as important. All land will sell at the same pace if the price is right.
The initial “building acre” or portion is the part that has the most value. Then the residual acreage is usually valued at a different (lower) price per acre. (This is also how taxes are determined.) After that, these other location factors kick in to determine the final value.
The most common misconception is that developers or sellers are asking extraordinarily high prices for land and making fortune upon fortune off the sale of them. The fact is, the margin of profit in the sale of land drops each year. The main reason is that the cost of getting subdivision approval to sell a piece of land gets more and more expensive every year. With the addition of each new government-imposed step, study, and regulation required for subdivision approval, the costs of subdivision approval have been skyrocketing.
Some of these steps are for the purpose of so-called environmental protection, and are extremely poorly conceived. Other requirements are imposed by people in positions of power who think all subdivision and growth is bad, and they want to squash your right to the American Dream. There’s also a faction that thinks it is in vogue to punish the developer with ridiculously expensive requirements that make absolutely no sense, and ultimately, those costs, at least partially, get passed on to the consumer. Or some prefer everybody to be jammed into “developments” where everybody can see what their neighbor is having for dinner. Therefore, those in charge of zoning set it up so that a more reasonably sized, reasonably priced piece of land is impossible to buy in their municipality.
Some municipalities have imposed “recreation fees” of $2000+/- just for the “privilege” of creating a new lot, supposedly for the purpose of building recreation facilities that you may or may not ever use, but nonetheless pay for. No one is anti-recreation, but how was it decided that only you and I should help pay for everybody’s fun spot? The municipality demands the fee from the developer, but then what do you think happens?
And the worst case scenario, if a private citizen has a real nice piece he would like to subdivide, but the government doesn’t want that done, they may just come in and steal it under “eminent domain”. (See Lauxmont Farms or Carroll Township, et. al.)
Anyway, the developer, or subdivider, can pass along some of this nonsense, but to pass all of it along would make land ultimately unaffordable. Therefore, profit margins have decreased dramatically over the past 8 to 10 years!
Some of these recent government requirements cause a lot of land not to be subdividable at all. For instance, there are large parcels that if they were given to a developer for free, the land could not be improved under current regulations at a cost that would result in affordably priced lots. That in turn causes a false scarcity of marketable land in a given area. That supply/demand imbalance creates higher prices. IN AS LITTLE AS 5 TO 10 YEARS AS THE ANTI-PRIVATE PROPERTY MOVEMENT GAINS MOMENTUM, (OPERATING UNDER THE GUISE OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION), YOU WILL FIND THAT ANY DECENT PIECE OF LAND IS GOING TO BE COMPLETELY UNAFFORDABLE (see California.) The point is that your federal, state, and local governments are imposing so many restrictions under environmental protection and anti-development guises that only the super-rich will be able to own their own land. That’s socialism, or “communism lite”. Bottom line? Get it now! Even though it seems expensive, the day is coming when it won’t be possible.
To prove the point, here is just one example of the latest and greatest of the environmental hoaxes. It is the nitrate situation in the Chesapeake Bay. (I’m sure you’ve gotten the “Save the Bay” flyers in the mail by now). In short, Baltimore and Washington dump nearly raw sewage into the Bay, which is highly pollutant, but supposedly not a major nitrate concern. Meanwhile, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that 95% of nitrates come from agriculture, (manures, etc.), not humans. DEP readily admits as much. Even though humans put a very minimal amount of nitrates into the soil through their own septic systems or public sewer, DEP’s interpretation is that humans should contribute absolutely zero to the nitrate count.
To eliminate the nitrates, DEP says it takes a certain size lot to make sure these big, bad nitrates never leave your lot and head for the Bay. Supposedly, a certain amount of soil will purify, or eliminate, nitrates. DEP requires soils testing to determine what size lot it takes to purify this miniscule amount of nitrates. Depending on soil conditions, DEP’s required lot size in an area might be 2 acres, 5 acres, 10 acres, or the land may not be allowed to be subdivided at all!
To attack less than 5% of the problem, DEP, the other bureaucrats, and so-called environmentalists put the onus on you, me, and developers to produce zero sum nitrates. This reduces the number of lots that can be made from a large parcel. Yet 95% of the problem goes minimally, or totally, unchecked. And raw sewage goes directly into the Bay we’re supposed to be saving. Not only are they doing very little to actually fix the big problem, but the other effect is that the most popular and affordable lot sizes become virtually extinct. Real efficient, environmentally sensible use of land, eh?
People that own property begin to think like free people….
Call me!
Patrick McKonly
(717) 432-9399