How Come No One Told Us About This When We Were Buying a Home?

-by Don Berthiaume

Development, it’s bound to happen.

Simply because there is a large open field, or the property
you’re looking at borders woods, doesn’t mean it will or can
stay that way in the future.

I could rattle off instance after instance where home buyers
who may have just closed on a property, are being notified as
an abutter that they hadn’t heard about previously, was taking
place right next door to them.

On that note, here are a few questions that, as a home buyer,
you need to raise as you look around the property and
neighborhood:

* Are there any subdivisions, large or small, or plans that
are expected to be coming before the planning board that would
affect your prospective neighborhood?

* Are there any ongoing or existing subdivisions or plans that
would adversely affect your purchase decision?

* Is it likely that the neighborhood could be redeveloped for
another use?

Most municipalities have a Master Plan that gives a plan of
action for how the community is or could be developed in the
future. Often, discussion is by area, neighborhood or grouped
by use.

One of the things you should check out is if there are any
changes planned in the short term or long term for the
particular area of the city or neighborhood in which you are
looking to live.

Neighborhoods go through transitions that include development,
stability, and decline/redevelopment. Some areas are in
transition from one use to another.

Other areas are slated for actual zoning changes perhaps to a
much higher density because of the dwindling supply of land
that can be developed.

Getting caught in the middle of such a transition may make
resale much more difficult and life at the old homestead less
desirable if development occurs all around you that you
weren’t anticipating or told about.

Zoning ordinances dictate what you can or can’t do in a
certain area of the city, including what uses are allowed to
exist.

Review a zoning map of the area to answer the following
questions:

* Is the residence you’re looking at in a residential zone?

* Does the property border a different zoning district?

* Does it border a commercial or industrial zone?

* Does it border another residential zone that
preserves a lower density?

* Does it border another residential zone that allows
for a significantly higher density?

* Does it border a mixed-use zone?

* Does it border an historic zone or district?

* Does the property straddle more than one zoning district?

* What is the effect on minimum lot size requirements?

I have experienced each of these scenarios being at issue with
a property I was involved with at one time or another, either
as a sales agent, real estate appraiser, as a member of the
Zoning Board, or as a property owner.

The advice here is plain and simple.

When buying a home, be sure to do your homework. Don’t be like
many home buyers who fail to understand as much as they can
about the home they want to buy and end up disenchanted with
their financial investment.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Don Berthiaume gives you the questions you need to ask when
buying a home. For more details, and for a free 4-part mini-
course in home buying, visit this site now:
Buying a Home at http://www.homebuyerdefenseguide.com

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