Unwanted Property

street said:
[/B]
Applies to my State and Umbrella policy also.

Not sure in Ga if you can land lock but it is a rare law if you can. Montana is one of very few states that can land lock. It isn't a good law to have from any aspect of life.

Georgia provides a statutory process for obtaining access to a land locked piece of property. O.C.G.A. § 44-9-40 et seq. The process can be described as a private condemnation.
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Now see, that there is how you get rid of the property. Any adjacent owner would rather buy it for $1 rather than have an easement forced across their land.
 
^ exactly. If I was in your state and close, I would buy it in in a heart beat!
 
ExFlyBoy5 said:
We have some vacant land here and there and has had no effect on our umbrella coverage since it's vacant. Now as soon as you put ANY structure on it...then there would be a change in policy. Of course, this is dependent on your state and insurance laws so YMMV.
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Ah yes! This rings a bell when I spoke with our insurance. She asked if we had anything, even a shed. Then she asked if we camped there more than -- I think -- two weeks per year.

My answer was "no" so there was no effect on insurance.

As usual, again, YMMV depending on state and policy.
 
street said:
[/B]
Applies to my State and Umbrella policy also.

Not sure in Ga if you can land lock but it is a rare law if you can. Montana is one of very few states that can land lock. It isn't a good law to have from any aspect of life.

Georgia provides a statutory process for obtaining access to a land locked piece of property. O.C.G.A. § 44-9-40 et seq. The process can be described as a private condemnation.
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There are a couple of ways of doing this, but getting too deep could be considered the unlicensed practice of law since I am not licensed in Georgia (which is slightly annoying since I am more familiar w/ Georgia law than the state laws I am licensed in). Bottom line, there are several ways to deal with this and spending a few hundred bucks with an attorney will get it dealt with in a fairly quick order. Or you could spend that $300 and pay taxes for 12 years. Plenty of info on this thread for the OP to chew on.
 
^ yes, a third party paying the taxes would be a way to get ownership. Not a huge issue is someone wants this piece of land.
 
RunningBum said:
What if someone gets hurt on it?
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One can always find a reason to not do something but considering the remoteness of the land and an even greater remoteness of that happening, its not something that would stop me. That's what insurance companies and lawyers are for.

If it did come to that, they could sue and settle for the land in question. Problem solved!
 
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I'm actually surprised no one on this forum has made an offer!
 
marko said:
One can always find a reason to not do something but considering the remoteness of the land and an even greater remoteness of that happening, its not something that would stop me. That's what insurance companies and lawyers are for.

If it did come to that, they could sue and settle for the land in question. Problem solved!
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(sarcasm) Nothing says "no hassle" like the bolded part. I agree the chances are almost nil, but why deal with any of it? I would do what it takes to get rid of it or not accept it. Even if you don't mind paying the little bit of taxes, it just kicks the problem down the line when you die. I'm guessing the OP's grandfather wouldn't want to be remembered for this investment gone bad. But he kicked it down the line, as the OP's father is doing. Stop it here, I say.
 
OP here - thanks for all the thoughtful responses!

We have talked to realtors a couple of times through these many years. No realtor wants to touch it, for the many reasons highlighted in this thread, plus the local realtors know it won't sell.

This thread inspired me to look deeper into the online presence of this county. It was not easy for me to find (so I missed it on the first pass - operator error, I'm sure...), but I did find a GIS with property records with enough detail to find adjacent property owner's names and addresses. I may pursue that angle. I also discovered that the lot is nominally 0.5 acre, so bigger than I remembered. There was a road cut in in the 70s and you can still see the vague outline on the satellite image. I don't think the lot is landlocked but I don't know who "owns" the road, but it is not county maintained.

I followed the link above (buys unwanted property) and submitted a request for my all-cash, quick-closing offer. We will see what comes back. I expect to be ghosted, but if it is anything above nothing, we will likely take it.

DW is campaigning for us to take it (my sisters would gladly deed it to us) to ensure it never gets developed. The taxes have gone from about $12/year to $24/year since about 2000. That feels like it may be a noble use of the asset that matches our values. OTOH, I don't see the adjacent area getting developed in our lifetimes, so I am not sure we are really preventing anything. It is not a place we would ever go and "hang out" - 3+ hours from home, steep hike up to an overgrown side hill lot. We live in 12 acres of gently sloping mixed hardwoods already.

Thanks once again to all that responded. The responses we helpful and actionable. This is an example of why this is such a great forum! :)
 
LRDave said:
I followed the link above (buys unwanted property) and submitted a request for my all-cash, quick-closing offer. We will see what comes back. I expect to be ghosted, but if it is anything above nothing, we will likely take it.
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Let me know how that works out. I might give that one a try myself.
 
Promptly disclaim it. My former roommate was in a similar situation and did not act within the statutory period.
 
My sister and her husband purchased a few acres in NC 20+ years ago in anticipation of building their forever home. They finally came to the realization that it was never going to happen, but they lacked the iniative to do anything about it. After constantly complaining about it I, along with my other sister, put things in motion. I contacted realtors, none who were interested in listing the property. I then looked up the plats on line, found the addresses of the six adjacent property owners and we sent each a letter indicating we wanted to sell and were offering the neighbors first opportunity before listing with a realtor. We had two solid offers and were able to get far more than anticipated.
 
marko said:
I'm actually surprised no one on this forum has made an offer!
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I am not surprised at all. We seem to be a group of [-]penny pinching[/-] frugal people with a goal oriented plan. IMO, buying a small undeveloped lot in the middle of nowhere would just delay attaining that goal. Or we have already met that goal and are satisfied with what we have.
 
jpjr said:
My sister and her husband purchased a few acres in NC 20+ years ago in anticipation of building their forever home. They finally came to the realization that it was never going to happen, but they lacked the iniative to do anything about it. After constantly complaining about it I, along with my other sister, put things in motion. I contacted realtors, none who were interested in listing the property. I then looked up the plats on line, found the addresses of the six adjacent property owners and we sent each a letter indicating we wanted to sell and were offering the neighbors first opportunity before listing with a realtor. We had two solid offers and were able to get far more than anticipated.
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There you go OP---an actionable step. If you really want rid of that property, get off your backend and put a minimal amount of effort in.
 
jpjr said:
My sister and her husband purchased a few acres in NC 20+ years ago in anticipation of building their forever home. They finally came to the realization that it was never going to happen, but they lacked the iniative to do anything about it. After constantly complaining about it I, along with my other sister, put things in motion. I contacted realtors, none who were interested in listing the property. I then looked up the plats on line, found the addresses of the six adjacent property owners and we sent each a letter indicating we wanted to sell and were offering the neighbors first opportunity before listing with a realtor. We had two solid offers and were able to get far more than anticipated.
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Just goes to show - It’s easier to get into things than out of things.
 
CRLLS said:
I am not surprised at all. We seem to be a group of [-]penny pinching[/-] frugal people with a goal oriented plan. IMO, buying a small undeveloped lot in the middle of nowhere would just delay attaining that goal. Or we have already met that goal and are satisfied with what we have.
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I would consider buying it IF the annual taxes were guaranteed to not increase for the next 30 years. Obviously, no one can make that guarantee.
 
SIL just dealt with this on a plot in FL. Husband had no will, and so it cost $2000 to clear the title. Then someone did buy it for $5000, but more fees for listing, selling, and transfer.

Bottom line: it would be best for him to give it to a younger person while still alive. Then list and wait a while, someone will buy it, perhaps the neighbor on either side.
 
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