How Much Would You Pay To DOUBLE Your Backyard?

TorontoRealtyBlog

It's been 3 1/2 years since I first blogged about this topic, which on its own, should tell you just how long it takes for some developers to put a shovel in the ground!

The house next door to my mother's is on a strange "L-shaped" lot, whereby a small, irregular piece of dirt behind her back fence belongs to the house next door.

Back in 2014, I wrote about my discussion with the developer, and how much he wanted for the land.

But today, the newly-constructed houses on the lot are about 70% complete, so I wanted to show you the land in question and get your opinions…

So what do you think?

Are you enthralled by the opportunity to clear-cut that small piece of land, even it out, rake in a load of topsoil, throw down some sod, and give it a fresh look?

Or does it look like good place to bury a body?

My mother's backyard is about 29-30 feet deep (from the back deck), and that piece of land behind her is 30-feet wide, by 29-feet deep (I said "30" in the video, but I was rounding up).  Wouldn't it be nice to double the size of her backyard?

Back in 2014, I explained that the developer had acquired the 45 x 139 foot piece of land (which has a 75-foot width at the back, due to the 30 x 29 foot square attached, forming the L-shape) for $425,000.

Apples-to-apples, simply looking at the cost of that square footage, in the context of the acquisition of the entire lot, the piece of land in question would be "worth" $51,895.50.

But that was four years ago!

Did I miss my chance?

Was I crazy to spit in the face of that paltry $50K for a piece of dirt?

Now how about this: if these new houses sell for $800,000 each, then does the price of that piece of land rise significantly?

Or what about the other side of the coin; what if the buyer of that house, probably making a 10% down payment, sees little to no value in an odd piece of land, annexed to his or her backyard.  What if that buyer would relish the opportunity to add $10,000, $20,000, or $30,00 in cash?

We could argue this any number of ways.

But four years after the original post, and now having seen the piece of land in question, I'm eager to get your valuations.

Because the developer has played his hand – he wants this piece gone.

He's asking my mother about it every day, and does not want to seem to go to market with these two new homes, and that L-shaped backyard…

The post How Much Would You Pay To DOUBLE Your Backyard? appeared first on Toronto Real Estate Property Sales & Investments | Toronto Realty Blog by David Fleming.

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