Short Sale - Florida property - Questions

[ChooksinChoppers]

I can't wait to hear about the farm I have been looking at, but it's a short sale so I hear they take forever! Does anyone have experience on how I would find out if the property floods/has flooded/is maybe wetlands? We had quite a bit of rain last time I saw it and while there wernt puddles all over, the ground was really boggy in a few areas and there is a large pond/lake next door (actually partially on the property as well) and when I saw it, it was FULL ....I just can't figure out where it drains to. The property next door is vacant and over grown so i can't see if it has standing water or not. The back 2 or 3 acres look like nothing grows there but I think they just had cattle back there and no proper pasture so its long dried looking grass stuff....arrrgh! I wish could drag an expert out there. I would hate to buy 5 acres and only be able to use 1 acre of it. Bonus is, the soil there, up the front part anyways, is dark and rich looking. Can you say veg garden?

The house is/was in the process of remodeling and has new wood flooring installed in the master and the rest of the flooring is still in boxes in one of the closets. Enough to do the whole house! The kitchen has brand new solid wood cabinets and new countertops, plus recessed lighting.
The master bathroom is half finished and needs tile and one wall finished, a beautiful round sink/bowl on an expensive looking round cabinet with marble top and a new modular shower/tub. My favorite area is the huge sunroom on the back! 15ft x 28ft

What I don't understand is why would the old owners go to all that trouble, expense and work if they knew the place was going back to the bank?
The land is fenced and cross fenced but the cross fencing is a mix of 4ft chain link

Why? perimeter fence is barb wire. There is a huge long pole barn with concrete floor that they used as a vehicle repair shop judging by the amount of "junk" and oil spots in there, which we would convert to a stable. 2 run in "sheds" which need to be torn down. And at the front, next to the house is a small building/workshop? with a bathroom that I would remodel into an efficiency apartment.

I am going to try to get out there again soon and wear better "anti cow pie" shoes instead of sandles

this time so I can walk the whole boundry. The cow and the bull ? I don't know who they belong to, but have been roaming the whole place including up by the house.

The other question is....it is zoned multi family. Why? Because of the apt next to the house? Better tax break? It should be Ag, everything else around it is, with horses and cows all over the place. I don't understand enough about real estate to figure that one out.

 

[SillyChicken]

Not sure what you have in Fl, but we have a GIS site on line that shows all the arial photos of properties, flood planes etc. Try checking with the township they can tell you the zoning of the property and every thing you'll need to be aware of. You can also search for topigraphical maps of the area to see where the low lying areas are.

Good luck with the house. The old owners could have had something happen that was unexpected... loss of job, moving to keep a job, death, illness..... life happens!

 

[Mattemma]

Congrats on the new place! I would try your local county auditor web page.Sometimes they have propertymap records online for land,and you can find out all about flooding,mines,and septics when you punch in the things you want the map to display.

Not sure on the zoning.Maybe you can buy the land around you.More is always better. Get a property survey done.We had ours done AFTER we bought the place,but before we put up a fence.We were off by 3-4 feet on both sides. Fencing is expensive.They probably did what they could afford at the time.

I hope you get all the stuff you saw.Sellers often clean out a place just before the new owners get the keys.Maybe take pictures or a video of EVERYTHING on your next inspection.

Enjoy your new place.Hope you get in there soon.