right of way

[debodun]

What is the name of your state? New York

About 15 years ago, I acquired an 8-acre vacant piece of land. Just prior to its sale to me, the previous owner had sold a frontage strip of it to the county where it's located because they wanted a right of way to straighten a large curve in the the road there. Now I want to sell it which opened a can of worms I didn't realize. The realtor I asked to help me sell it said that because the small wedge cuts across the front of the lot (see crude diagram below), it may not have legal frontage now and the previous owner shouldn't have been allowed to sell it in that condition (it was a private sale - I just paid the owner for it and he gave me the deed). She suggested that I contact the county and ask if they are ever going to act on their plan to take out the curve, and if they aren't, ask to have the ownership revert to me. Since she is a realtor, not a lawyer, I was curious if her advice was sound or not. I don't want to have to pay for something I'm going to turn around and sell anyway. Thanks in advance for any opinions on this.

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[BelizeBreeze]

And did you ask the city this question?

 

[justalayman]

What is the name of your state? New York

About 15 years ago, I acquired an 8-acre vacant piece of land. Just prior to its sale to me, the previous owner had sold a frontage strip of it to the county where it's located because they wanted a right of way to straighten a large curve in the the road there. Now I want to sell it which opened a can of worms I didn't realize. The realtor I asked to help me sell it said that because the small wedge cuts across the front of the lot (see crude diagram below), it may not have legal frontage now and the previous owner shouldn't have been allowed to sell it in that condition (it was a private sale - I just paid the owner for it and he gave me the deed). She suggested that I contact the county and ask if they are ever going to act on their plan to take out the curve, and if they aren't, ask to have the ownership revert to me. Since she is a realtor, not a lawyer, I was curious if her advice was sound or not. I don't want to have to pay for something I'm going to turn around and sell anyway. Thanks in advance for any opinions on this.

QUOTE]

first determine if it has legal frontage or not. Then if not, determine if the seller could legally sell it.

If they couldn't legally sell it, sue the origianl seller for your money back.

If they could legally sell it, take whatver efforts are required to determine if reversion of the wedge is a possibility.

If not, try to pawn it off on some other sucker that can't build there either but understand that since you would have knowledge of that fact, you would be required to disclose that info.


You have too many what-ifs and might-bes to get any sort of true answer.