[TowerTalk] CC & Rs...How to REALLY know

[Wes & Linda]

At 10:50 AM 12/31/00 -0800, Lane Zeitler wrote:
>Gents,
>The wife and I are looking at buying some property here in the mountains 
>east of San Diego. Naturally as a ham I want to ensure that I will not be 
>restricted on antennas or tower heights. How do I really know for sure? I 
>have heard that the realators while well intentioned may not always be the 
>most reliable source. Is there ONE source that would know for sure?
>
>Lane
>Ku7i


In my experience, (and I will sound like a cynic) everyone associated with
the real estate business is either a crook or will become a crook. Fellow
Arizonan Charles Keeting leaps to mind.

Despite the adage that once you engage a lawyer, you've already lost, I
highly recommend that you retain one for any real estate transaction.  Have
him review your sales contract and instruct him to perform a full scale
search of all CC&Rs and zoning restrictions.  

If this is rural property (sounds like it is) also verify that you have
legal access to your property.  I would also demand that the seller have a
registered land survey performed with pins placed or found.  If your water
supply is something other than a municipal source or your own well, make
sure what your rights are.  If you have a well, I would look into the
performance and reliability of the source.  Talk to the neighbors about this.

I once had a property in escrow that couldn't close because the title
company discovered that there was a shared well and the sharing agreement
didn't pass muster so they would not write insurance.  I later learned that
the real estate agent had previously "sold" the property and that deal had
fallen through for the same reason and she knowingly tried to sell it to
me.  I lost several months and about a grand in this deal.

The property that I now own was once owned jointly by two brothers. They
subdivided into two parcels via a straw deed.  When we bought, I demanded a
survey as above.  The surveyor wrote a new property description that was
accepted without argument by the title company.  When the other half of the
original parcel was sold to a fourth party, they discovered that the survey
pins were misplaced by 15 feet.  So we had "title" to property that the
seller could not legally convey to us. Fortunately, although this was a
FSBO and we didn't use an agent (learned our lesson), while we drew up our
own contract we did run it by our lawyer.  When the pucky hit the fan, we
had the lawyer file a claim aginst the title company and were paid for our
loss.

Others in the area haven't been so lucky.  There is a lot of subdividing by
private parties who then sell for cash or carry the paper.  Consequently,
the buyers usually don't perform a title search that would reveal that
there is no legal access to the property.  One day they find a fence across
their driveway and wonder what happened.

Be careful and good luck with your antenna farm.

73 and Happy New Year,

Wes  N7WS


>
>


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