Hints to help close a rather unusual real estate deal?

[valsecito]

I'm looking to buy a very humble piece of real estate 2000km away in a remote, depopulating area. Very much a buyer's market. Looking to buy within ~1km from local friends. Five or six empty houses/ruins around. A cash strapped land rich neighbour has repeatedly offered my friends to buy some of his property. Someone else owns the most interesting piece though. She's inherited the place and is living in a different country. My friends tell me they have never seen her or anyone else on that plot in the seven years they're living there. Owner might or not be interested in selling.

What would be a good strategy for tackling this?

Some more random info:
* Significant other is from near there. Moved to the other side of Europe for me, learned my language, works very hard. S.o. would love this as a link to roots.
* After some renovation, this has some potential as a tourist rental.
* Expected purchase price is ~5-10k€.
* We have a _very_ limited budget for this. Overpaying would bring us uncomfortably close to a liquidity crisis.
* Buying the place will save me ~700€ in business expenses per year, inflation linked.
* Friends would take care of the place. They live in a humble place with no real space for guests/family from further away...
* The place is obviously very illiquid, but s.o. and I think the above makes up for that.

[secondcor521]

1.  Ask the local taxing district for the contact information for the owner of the property.
2.  Contact the owner and express your interest in buying their property.
3.  Give them your contact information.
4.  Wait and see what happens.

[Mr. Green]

1.  Ask the local taxing district for the contact information for the owner of the property.
2.  Contact the owner and express your interest in buying their property.
3.  Give them your contact information.
4.  Wait and see what happens.

This is pretty much the only thing you can do. I've done it and bough property as a result. If writing a letter, consider hand writing it. People like personal and are more likely to respond.

[Car Jack]

Pass.



It sounds like unknown costs could put you under.  I don't see some compelling reason to buy.

[valsecito]

Pass.

It sounds like unknown costs could put you under.

The cost associated with real estate purchases is simple and clear here. The ongoing tax and insurance situation too is really clear. The place has no utility bills. It has a historical inalienable right to a legal address. We can use that for our tiny local llc, saving us the rent we currently pay. Depending on the purchase price we're prepared to pay, this alone would be a 6.8% to 13.6% recurring return (growing with inflation).

Maybe you are trying to warn us after me write "overpaying might bring us close to a liquidity crisis"? You're probably right about that one! Our disposable income is soon to roughly double, and our savings rate to skyrocket from near zero to 50%. So the smart thing might be to wait for a few months. Property in this area is going nowhere anyway...

I don't see some compelling reason to buy.

We do see it. We should probably be patient for a little longer. Whether or not on purpose, your comment made that clear to us. Thank you.

[valsecito]

Pass.

It sounds like unknown costs could put you under.  I don't see some compelling reason to buy.

Update!

We took your advice and waited a bit more than a year. Our liquidity position and savings rate are so much stronger now. Our 7.5k offer got accepted.

Once closed, the property will immediately yield an annual 8.94% net return in saved llc rent. Net return, so after taxes, utilities and other recurring expenses.

The next steps are already offering themselves:

- berry farm. Close local friends are interested in using part of the land. The soil composition is apparently perfect for their specialty: cultivation of a highly labour intensive berry very much in demand in the cosmetics market. Free land maintenance and beauty products for the wife doesn't sound too bad!
- renovation. After renovation, the place has potential as a countryside holiday rental. I will explain how we plan to tackle that in a mustachian way in a separate post.
- (potentially) business address rental to trustworthy acquaintances only. I will elaborate and ask for advice in a separate post.