Trash on potential property?

So I took a look at some acreage today and found that there is some trash strewn about the property.  This includes maybe 20 tires, a pile of shingles, a pile of drywall (would have to test to be certain it is not asbestos), a toilet, some fiberglass insulation among other things.  The property is 28 acres with about .5 acres of it that has been used as a dump.  

In your experiences, is this typically something that would automatically rule out the property?  I do plan to raise livestock and farm on the property at some point, obviously nowhere near this mess, but I am still concerned.

Any opinions or advice?


Thanks!

If we ruled out all of the property that had something bad done to it, there would be no where for anyone to live. It sounds like mostly surface litter. The thing to be really worried about are fluids that can seep into the ground water. Big piles of wood with lead paint on them can also be a problem. It sounds like you may need to spend a few hundred or a few thousand , getting that stuff to the dump and you'll have a nice property. Use the mess as leverage to get a better price. And maybe turn that little section into forest, instead of putting your garden there.

Thanks Dale.  Fortunately this is all under power lines which will be next-to-useless land anyways.  I am basically omitting 8 acres as useless from the total land package. The problematic acres are near the front of the property which leaves the creek that runs back to front free of any pollution.  Fortunately, even with that considered, it is a good price.  I still have 20 acres which is more than enough.  I can haul off most of it myself so I am not too concerned.

I'll have the creek water tested for any real concerns in case something weird is going on upstream that I am not aware of.

Thanks again!

If you really like this parcel of land, may I suggest that having the landowner remove all trash/debris before the closing date be a contractual clause in your offer for the land. The worst that can happen is they reject it. I think it might be worth a try.

Any spraying by the power company to maintain that right-of-way for their lines?  That would be a concern to me.

James Freyr wrote:If you really like this parcel of land, may I suggest that having the landowner remove all trash/debris before the closing date be a contractual clause in your offer for the land. The worst that can happen is they reject it. I think it might be worth a try.

Thanks James.  Sounds like a good idea.

Phil Gardener wrote:Any spraying by the power company to maintain that right-of-way for their lines?  That would be a concern to me.

I have to contact the county about that.  I am not sure if they are.  Currently it is pretty thick in blackberries, poison ivy, etc.  If they have been spraying it hasn't been this year.

A buddy just bought some acreage. The Finance company's inspection dictated the trash be removed before closing. It was so little that it seemed pointless. He had to send pics from similar angles showing it's gone. If it's a condition of finance, and most potential buyers would need to finance, I'd put the burden on the seller. Unless its a super super deal.

Tires are not so simple. At least not in texas. Easiest disposal is to a tire company and pay their disposal fee of $2 to $4 a tire. Dumps won't allow them unless they are quartered.

Lots of people grow hay or other crops under power lines. If the land is suitable for that, They might let you take over management. Where I live, the land owner can take over management of stuff like that, so long as they agree that no tree will grow beyond a certain height. Those eight acres could be used for grazing or for anything else that prevents things from growing up into the power line. You may have to sign a contract, agreeing to do that, but power companies aren't looking for weeds to cut.

If you are going to take over management, it would be a good idea to gather up every bit of trash, and then see if the power company has a giant brush hog that could come in and mow everything down. Once that's done, you take over.

Trash on a property has never bothered me. In fact it's beneficial in that it acts as a bargaining chip on the price. I've purchased several properties in the past by including "trash does not need to be removed" in my offer. I've always been able to knock off at least $1000 off the purchase price for trash the size I could haul away myself for free or cheap. In fact, one property had an old car and a small airplane on it, plus old trailers and storage tanks. We knocked several thousand off the purchase price by agreeing to allowing the trash to stay. After moving in we offered free scrap metal to anyone who wanted it, you cut it up and haul it away. Got every bit removed for free with no work on our part.

Thanks for the advice everyone!

I will be contacting the county tomorrow to determine if they have been spraying the area or if they have just been mowing down the brush under the power lines.  Since there are two creeks that run directly underneath the power lines, I am hoping that there is a good chance that they have not been spraying.  It sure looks like it has not been sprayed in a long time.  The brush is at least 4 ft high there.

Unfortunately, the plat was misread and the power lines run diagonal across the property, which explains the price.  However, I still have about 10 acres on each side of the power lines and about 3 acres across the street that I will likely sell at some point to recoup some of the cost.

I'm excited to see how this works out.  I'll update this thread once I get more information.

Thanks again everyone.

I would probably follow the advice to make trash removal a requirement as part of the contract. You say that about half an acre has been sued for dumping. I'd be concerned that the half acre is concealing something nasty that you can't see at present, and might only be revealed once the land clearance starts. That risk should either be on the seller, or factored into the sale price in some transparent manner.

For example, what you describe sounds fairly benign - but you can't know for certain that there isn't a bunch of asbestos debris buried in a heap of other junk.

Re power lines - If you don't want the company on your land potentially spraying and clearing, then it is in your best interest to keep that land under control. I'd consider fencing it and putting some goats in there. They will browse the shrubby growth for you.