Thank you for looking up the lot and giving me that evaluation. The answer to whether the land would add $35,000 of value to my house is definitely not immediately (it is in a very raw state right now…not pretty), and probably not in any kind of short term (less than five years). It’s value would come more from our enjoyment of increasing our living/gardening area – as Ardell noticed, we have a small lot. This is something I’ve been going around and around about in my mind for a while now – it’s good to hear some concrete suggestions, because I didn’t really know what the options were.

Basically based on what she has told me. But also from my experience in other Seattle neighborhoods with smaller lots than current zoning.

On my sister’s street there are several 2,500 sf lots, but now the zoning is sf5000 and they won’t allow those lots to be subdivided anymore. So someone can’t look at the 2,500 sf lots with houses on them and think they can just buy a 5,000sf lot, tear down the house, and turn it into two lots, even though they see that on the street.

There are 16 lots in the Seattle Veggie plat and the majority…about 13 of them, are all .11 acres. Hers is only one of two “short” lots.

There are issues that Seattle Veggie and I discussed briefly by email and I pulled the plat up on my computer after we exchanged a few details. The lot forms an L around her house and has some wetland issues and some other future construction impediments on portions of the lot.

I envision Seattle Veggie would get the portion of the lot that wraps around behind her house, and possibly a bit on the side, leaving the owner of the lot with a building envelope and yard.

Without seeing it in person, it’s a “blog answer” FWIW.

The reason I suggest this is she wants it…she doesn’t want to pay what he needs to get for it (he hasn’t owned it that long)…he won’t get more for it because of the extra sf due to the wetlands and construction issues and neighborhood norms and values. And she indicated the owner tried to subdivide it but was not successful. Doesn’t mean he can’t…but maybe not worth it as the second lot would not be a buildable lot.

Also almost EVERY time I have seen a person want the next door neighbor’s lot, this is what happens. They do a lot line adjustment. Because the person never wants to pay the full value of the lot price just to have some extra land, and they often don’t need all of it, and the diminished value of the shortened lot is not great.

If Seattle Veggie’s lot were the same size as everyone else’s in the neighborhood, it likely would not be a good idea. But her lot is excessively small, even by Seattle standards.

The way I have seen it done is at time of sale. First you get approval for the lot line adjustment. Then you put the lot up for sale as the smaller lot at 5,000sf or so, BEFORE you actually do the lot line adjustment. Seattle Veggies’ money and the buyer of the lot’s money go to escrow at the same time (especially if the owner of the lot has a big mortgage).

The 5,000sf lot is recorded as a 5,000sf lot at time of sale along with Seattle Veggie’s lot getting bigger. You have to work up the paperwork through escrow, and likely an attorney. But that’s the basic framework.

That’s an interesting solution for Seattle Veggie.

But why is it obvious that the lot owner cannot make 2 lots from his .19 acre, when it is 3x larger than Seattle Veggie’s lot?

Is it obvoius only because he hasn’t, or is there city lot minimum’s that come into play?

And, would adding .05 acres to SV’s lot increase it’s market value by the $35K or so to acquire it?

Of course, if it is a matter of enjoyment, that’s a whole ‘nother evaluation.

1. Doing a lot line adjustment isn’t just creating a legal description and attaching it to a quit claim need. It will need to be approved by some governmental authority (e.g. the city or county you’re in). I’ve only been tangentially involved in one of those, so I don’t know much about the process.

2. The existence of a deed of trust could complicate things.

Here’s what I think. The average sized lot in your neighborhood is .11 acres. Yours is .06 acres and the neighbor’s vacant lot is .19 acres. Roughly. He obviously can’t make two lots out of it, as he thought. That means he won’t get more than the going rate for it, which is about $225,000, whether it’s 5,000sf or 8,500 sf. It makes not much sense for you to pay much for it, nor do you need all 8,500sf. You need enough to get up to the same .11 acres as the majority of your neighborhood.

So suggest a price for a lot line adjustment that gets an approval for the 2 lots (yours and his) to remain two lots. Maybe pay him $35,000 or so for the lot line adjustment that increases your lot and leaves him with a saleable lot.

This way if he can sell it for $225,000, plus what you pay him for increasing the size of your lot, he ends up with his money back as to what he paid for it. Probably the best case scenario for both or you.

That’s my $.02

Shoot me your address by email and I’ll post the ballpark value for you.