Re: What happened here
Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2020 5:38 pm
A few years ago a distant relative of ours in the US died without leaving a will. She had never
married and had no children or any immediate family. So the executors traced every living
relative in the world and divided up her estate between them. That was kind of interesting
as it threw up a few relatives that we had no idea existed
This woman lived in some tiny backwoods town and had inherited a house and a bit of cash
from her parents. What I found interesting is that in her assets were listed two houses, two
small rental homes and two blocks of bare land. When I used google earth to visit the town
and search for the blocks of land, one was like 8 or 10 acres of bare flat farm land with a
road frontage, and the other was similar but with trees and houses on the blocks either side.
I forget what the valuation of the land and other property was, but I do remember thinking
it was cheap !!!
The town looked to be small... maybe a couple of thousand people with just the basic stores
and service providers found in a rural area. I guess that would mean limited employment
opportunities which would keep property prices low. I don't know what kind of town planning
you have in the US ? Looks like you can buy a land and build a house more of less anywhere ?
Here in NZ the situation is very different. There are planning regulations that cover the whole
country. One cannot simply buy a block of land and build a house Not without complying
with a raft of planning laws. The regulators set the minimum block size for subdivision; want
to know what earthworks you plan to do, how you will treat and dispose of waste water,
where your driveway will connect to the road outside your block, what activities you are
planning for the land etc.
If you want mains electricity you will be raped by the power company. Then the County will
assess your property for land taxes, require engineers reports for any earthworks that changes
the profile of the land by more than 3 feet, require you to file plans for your proposed house
and charge you for inspecting and approving the plans.
It used to be nearly impossible to get a permit for a lifestyle block, now it's just difficult
Cheers... jondee86
married and had no children or any immediate family. So the executors traced every living
relative in the world and divided up her estate between them. That was kind of interesting
as it threw up a few relatives that we had no idea existed
This woman lived in some tiny backwoods town and had inherited a house and a bit of cash
from her parents. What I found interesting is that in her assets were listed two houses, two
small rental homes and two blocks of bare land. When I used google earth to visit the town
and search for the blocks of land, one was like 8 or 10 acres of bare flat farm land with a
road frontage, and the other was similar but with trees and houses on the blocks either side.
I forget what the valuation of the land and other property was, but I do remember thinking
it was cheap !!!
The town looked to be small... maybe a couple of thousand people with just the basic stores
and service providers found in a rural area. I guess that would mean limited employment
opportunities which would keep property prices low. I don't know what kind of town planning
you have in the US ? Looks like you can buy a land and build a house more of less anywhere ?
Here in NZ the situation is very different. There are planning regulations that cover the whole
country. One cannot simply buy a block of land and build a house Not without complying
with a raft of planning laws. The regulators set the minimum block size for subdivision; want
to know what earthworks you plan to do, how you will treat and dispose of waste water,
where your driveway will connect to the road outside your block, what activities you are
planning for the land etc.
If you want mains electricity you will be raped by the power company. Then the County will
assess your property for land taxes, require engineers reports for any earthworks that changes
the profile of the land by more than 3 feet, require you to file plans for your proposed house
and charge you for inspecting and approving the plans.
It used to be nearly impossible to get a permit for a lifestyle block, now it's just difficult
Cheers... jondee86