A chicken house quandary

[HighFlight]

^this

You won't want a race to the bottom on price if neighbors put their houses on the market.

I just sold 2 properties and found doing the disclosures to be nerve wracking. I over disclosed most would say, but I still think of things that maybe I should have written in, and I think I will feel a little worried for a year or so after the sales are final.

A couple of thoughts I came away with from my recent sales:

If you decide to disclose the 'farm', maybe add a few other disclosures so there isn't one obvious reason you're selling.

Know in advance a real estate agent will want to disclose anything you tell them to avoid liability.

I have a feeling getting the sale done sooner is a lot better than later, both for getting the most money out of the place and peace of mind.

Best of luck, your next place is going to be great.

Our stated reason for the quick move is to be closer to our daughter who is in Tampa FL. She moved to FL about 4 months after we closed on our current house. I just won't share how much closer we will be to her.

 

[Aerides]

I now need to get on the small projects that were for the spring.

Or not. Get it listed tomorrow and start packing.

 

[euro]

Or not. Get it listed tomorrow and start packing.

This! Get ahead of the game - for all you know, many (or most) of your neighbors are evaluating their options already. Be the first listing, not the 10th...

 

[Sunset]

The evil side of me sees an opportunity here to get a permit for a chicken house in a area, buy up all the houses cheap when they scramble to sell, then cancel the permit and make bank.

I'd think a submission for a super fund site or creation of a waste dump would work as well

 

[Sunset]

You can sell it for more than what those companies will give you. Once we got offers from a few and they were truly ridiculously low. .....

+1

We got an offer in the mail and they offered us about 70% of the value, less than we paid for it 20 years ago !!

 

[Caskem]

And of course if you do sell, you'll have to disclose the chicken ranch to the new buyers. Tough situation to be in. I wouldn't want it either.

I don’t think that is correct. You must disclose material problems with the sale property. It’s on a buyer to do due diligence.

 

[Sanbenito1]

I’d sell, but you’ll still have to disclose the chicken ranch. I lived next to neighbors who had 16 hens on a quarter acre and while everyone is rightly focused on smell, what drove me more crazy was the flies, and the rats that were attracted by the food scraps they tossed everywhere. In my opinion there are many reasons for towns to not allow them- they are worse than barking dogs and, like dog owners, chicken owners are oblivious to the disturbance their hens cause. BTW, my father and grandparents were commercial poultry ranchers, so my tolerance is probably higher than many

 

[respond2u]

You could get some really big outdoor fans and fox spray...

 

[lawman]

You are over reacting..Lived next to 2 huge egg houses for years..Only time I ever even slightly smelled them was during clean out..Talk to those who live near some..

 

[sparky08]

I don’t think that is correct. You must disclose material problems with the sale property. It’s on a buyer to do due diligence.

Maybe different rules for different areas?

When we were looking, the realtor said he was required to disclose that the neighboring property was one of three possible routes for a high voltage powerline.

We waited until that route was eliminated before we moved forward with the offer.

 

[HighFlight]

More information: I went and talked to the individual who owns the chicken houses. He lives about 150' from the front of the complex. He seems to be a nice guy and was willing to chat when he realized I wasn't trying to be belligerent or looking for a reason to stop the project (we do live out in the county). He's finishing up the current 4 houses (35,000 birds each), raising broilers for a major company. Planning on 2 more houses very shortly, probably after the current 4 are completed. Long term plan is for more chicken houses (maybe 10-15?) on his property and he's got the room for them (over 70 acres). It is zoned Forestry agricultural residential-somewhat interestingly so is our neighborhood.

Based on my Google research, I don't think the odor will be a significant issue for a while (dry litter and contained within the houses), but the truck traffic (feed, birds in and out every 38-40 days) may become tiresome.

 

[HighFlight]

You are over reacting..Lived next to 2 huge egg houses for years..Only time I ever even slightly smelled them was during clean out..Talk to those who live near some..

I grew up with 400' caged layer houses-50,000 birds and 130 cases of eggs daily. In the summer you could smell the houses well before you saw them. Plus the smell of the incinerator as we burned the dead birds turned me off of fried chicken for years. So based on my personal experience, it's not an over reaction but a prudent response to the reality of a big operation.

 

[Stormy Kromer]

More information: I went and talked to the individual who owns the chicken houses. He lives about 150' from the front of the complex. He seems to be a nice guy and was willing to chat when he realized I wasn't trying to be belligerent or looking for a reason to stop the project (we do live out in the county). He's finishing up the current 4 houses (35,000 birds each), raising broilers for a major company. Planning on 2 more houses very shortly, probably after the current 4 are completed. Long term plan is for more chicken houses (maybe 10-15?) on his property and he's got the room for them (over 70 acres). It is zoned Forestry agricultural residential-somewhat interestingly so is our neighborhood.

We are working hard on getting ready to move. Based on my Google research, I don't think the odor will be a significant issue for a while (dry litter and contained within the houses), but the truck traffic (feed, birds in and out every 38-40 days) may become tiresome.

This was a good idea. Would he be interested in buying your home ? It appears he is going to be heavily invested in this project for a long time and may want to own your house for himself or future children or hired help.

 

[Walt34]

I don’t think that is correct. You must disclose material problems with the sale property. It’s on a buyer to do due diligence.

Disclosure laws vary wildly from state to state and county to county, sometimes city by city or town. One BIL bought property with high tension power lines going through the property and the seller had to disclose it in writing. Although on that two-acre lot you'd have to be literally blind to miss them so the requirement seemed rather pointless. Nonetheless it was the law in that area.