This might be a dumb question, but are there ever situations where it’s illegal to sell real estate that is landlocked?
This kind of property is useless for any purpose I can think of, and because it’s not usable for anything, are there any legal hoops to jump through in order to sell? Or to take it to an even bigger extreme, is the owner of a landlocked property ever forbidden from selling it?
@seanjean said:
This kind of property is useless for any purpose I can think of, and because it’s not usable for anything...
Just because if seems useless to you doesn't mean there aren't others who could find use from it, even if their reasoning is impractical and only in their heads. Plus they could always create an easement, which would make it a lot more useful by creating access that wasn't there before.
I guess you'd have to ask an attorney to be sure, but I can't think of any reason why it would be flat out illegal. There might be some disclosure requirements in some states, where the buyer has to verify that they're aware that the property is landlocked before they buy it - similar to the house-selling disclosure requirements required in most places regarding lead based paint and asbestos, but to just say it's ILLEGAL? I can't see how that would ever be the case.
@charlotteirwin They could access the property by helicopter, drone or airplane, possibly.
Depending on state laws, in some states you can sue neighboring property owners for access.
Also many peoplebuy these on the cheap and then offer to buy access from neighbors, thus quickly increasing the value of the property.
Finally, some send a "neighbor letter" to surrounding owners that desire to expand their land buy buying the landlocked parcel... Seth even had a video about one like this in NM.
I have a large parcel now that had access only at one point, and made it very difficult to access off the highway. I contacted neighboring parvel owner about selling me an easement there and they at first refused, but now are selling me their entire 12 acres. I will create the easement and then sell that parcel as well.
I'm not an attorney, and I don't know every law in every place around the world... but I can't imagine any scenario where it would be illegal to sell a landlocked property. To @charlotteirwin's point, a property's usefulness or value is more in the eyes of the buyer and what they think they want to use it for. Just because it seems to lack value in one person's eyes doesn't mean nobody else in the world will find it useful... even if their plan is to just own the property and do nothing with it (which a lot of people do, by the way).
Landlocked properties can actually be a great deal for a land flipper because they're landlocked, which makes it very easy to negotiate the buy price very low (buying it at a low price is of utmost importance here, because it will obviously be a harder sell when the future person doesn't have legal access when they buy it).
@seanjean With the cheaper desert squares, being landlocked isn’t that big of deal. When I first started, I sold a ton of those. What’s more important, is that the property is in active land market and you’re buying it cheap. Those kind of lots will sell, landlocked or not.