Restrictions – What you can’t see can affect you
Today, Sam Schneiderman, broker owner of Great Boston Home Team discusses how private property rights can be legally restricted.
One of the most important considerations that a buyer should factor into the purchase of their next home is what they want to do with the property during the time that they will own it. That is important because, contrary to what most people think, property ownership does not give owners the right to do anything that they please to their property. There are various ways that the use of private property might be restricted.
If a buyer has a buyer’s agent, the agent should be made aware of the buyers plans for the property before the offer is written. As a buyers broker, I’ve written offers allowing additional time to research potential restrictions. I’ve also advised buyers to walk away from properties that they could not legally modify to meet their future needs or expectations.
He are some ways that individual property rights might be restricted on individually owned property. Due to space limitations, next week I’ll discuss restrictions for situations where more than one party shares the use of the property:
Zoning:
Municipal zoning can affect an owner’s ability to modify or expand a home or other structures, add an “in-law apartment”, erect a wall or fence, build a patio or deck, or widen a driveway, among other things.
Thinking of buying a smaller home than you need and expanding later or tearing down and rebuilding a garage? Check with the building department and zoning code to be sure that you will be able to do what you want to do.
Before you even think about buying near a commercial property of any kind? Remember that today's office building or nursing home could become tomorrow's kennel or nightclub, if allowed by zoning in that area.
(About once a year I get a call from an irate owner when they discover that the use of the commercial building in their neighborhood is about to change to something less desirable. Shame on them or their agent for not understanding the zoning of the area that they were buying into. That is not the attorneys job because attorneys rarely see the house or area that buyers are buying into.)
See my blog post of May 4, 2009 for more info on zoning.
Deed restrictions:
A deed restriction is a way for a seller to restrict the future use of a property after the sale. Sellers sometimes use them to be sure that their land or home is not developed or changed in the future. (i.e. a single family seller might not want to see her large lot divided into smaller house lots. In that case, there could be a deed restriction placed on the property to prevent subdivision.) On December 6, 2010, I wrote about a seller that wanted to prevent new buyers and all future buyers disturbing their dog’s grave.
Have you ever been surprised by a restriction on a property?
How did it affect your use or potential use of the property?
When did you learn about it?
