Help! My backyard is zoned for commercial!!

[justoneme]

What is the name of your state AR (only U.S. law)?
We just purchased our dream home less than a year ago. We live in a very nice, quite residential neighborhood that is still in the process of comming along. When we picked out our home, we were excited that the builder/developer of the land stated that the land behind our home would never be built on b/c of a creek that ran through it. It was a beautiful small stretch of acrage with trees, pasture and creek. Well much to my suprise when I looked out my window this morning! Now there is a huge red/white for sale sign listing the property as a commercial property.
I immediately called the realtor who had the listing and was told that the small acerage is for sale for over 400,000 dollars and has been for long before we moved there. He stated that the property owner's decided to become more aggressive about selling the property. The owner is not the developer of our subdivision according to the realtor. I have spoken with all of the neighbor's who's yard will directly back into this property, and thay are just as upset and angry as we are. We were all told the same thing by the developer of our subdivision and that was that nothing would be built back there. We were lied to.
We paid a heft price for our homes, and feel that something needs to be done to prevent this from happening. We even considered putting together an offer to buy the land, but there is no way we can pay that much!! We have put a lot of sweat and tears trying to make this dream a reality.
What steps can we take to prevent this from happening? Is there anything at all? I can not imagine a blinking neon sign in my backyard. This is not a dream home, it's a nightmare! Help!

 

[justalayman]

did your Realtor tell you the property would not be developed on prior to the sale? or was he present when the developer told you? or did you ask him if it was for sale etc?; or; did you tell him what the developer told you about the property?

Was the property listed in a manner your Realtor would have had access to it?

was it listed in a manner the developer would have been aware?

 

[nextwife]

Undeveloped land, unless conservancy or preserved as parklands, always has the potential of being developed. If you do not want the possibility of something unknown being build near you, buy is a well developed area that has no place for a commercial project to go.

Commercial property is very often NOT listed on MLS, and residential brokers do not have access to them.

If you were that concerned you also could have verified it's future potential use with the municipality. FYI, I'm aware of many commercial sites that literally sat unsold for DECADES. Having a For Sale sign doesn't mean you ARE going to see any sale occur there.

And the land that is for sale is NOT "your backyard". It is someone ELSES land BEHIND your backyard.

 

[justoneme]

There is a cut through road that they are building nearby, so I think it would probably be an excellent commercial oppourtunity.
To answer a previous question, no our realtor was not aware of this being a commercial zoned property. When we asked about it, the developer said that it could not be zoned for anything because of it's potential for flooding. He told our other neighbor's the exact same thing.
We are devestated. I realize that "technically" it is not our backyard, but it is within feet of my backdoor. We didn't want to live in the city, and I think it's unfair to assume when you move into the country, you might potentially have to live next to a Waffle House.
A couple of years ago the subdivision next to us had something very similar come up, but we didn't live around here then. The neighborhood got together and prevented a commercial build from occuring. I just wanted to know what steps we might could take to prevent this from happening. Does the developer who knowingly provided false information upon selling this property have any liability? Shouldn't they have to disclose this when residential property butts up to a commercial property? I know that our last house we lived in was near an air base, we had to sign a letter of acknowledgement.
If anyone can help, that would be great!!!

 

[justalayman]

When we asked about it, the developer said that it could not be zoned for anything because of it's potential for flooding.

Maybe that was his honest understanding of the situation. If so, you would have no claim. He had no duty to check out the property. The onus was upon you to perform your due diligence as to the possibilities for the land. You had your own duty to investigate the developers statement with those able to answer it with a legal authority.

 

[alligatorob]

What steps can we take to prevent this from happening? Is there anything at all? I can not imagine a blinking neon sign in my backyard. This is not a dream home, it's a nightmare! Help!

Sure, just buy it.

 

[LeeHarveyBlotto]

How can you tell when a developer is lying?

His lips are moving.

 

[HomeGuru]

What is the name of your state AR (only U.S. law)?
We just purchased our dream home less than a year ago. We live in a very nice, quite residential neighborhood that is still in the process of comming along. When we picked out our home, we were excited that the builder/developer of the land stated that the land behind our home would never be built on b/c of a creek that ran through it. It was a beautiful small stretch of acrage with trees, pasture and creek. Well much to my suprise when I looked out my window this morning! Now there is a huge red/white for sale sign listing the property as a commercial property.
I immediately called the realtor who had the listing and was told that the small acerage is for sale for over 400,000 dollars and has been for long before we moved there. He stated that the property owner's decided to become more aggressive about selling the property. The owner is not the developer of our subdivision according to the realtor. I have spoken with all of the neighbor's who's yard will directly back into this property, and thay are just as upset and angry as we are. We were all told the same thing by the developer of our subdivision and that was that nothing would be built back there. We were lied to.
We paid a heft price for our homes, and feel that something needs to be done to prevent this from happening. We even considered putting together an offer to buy the land, but there is no way we can pay that much!! We have put a lot of sweat and tears trying to make this dream a reality.
What steps can we take to prevent this from happening? Is there anything at all? I can not imagine a blinking neon sign in my backyard. This is not a dream home, it's a nightmare! Help!

**A: it appears you did not complete due diligence prior to your home purchase by verifying zoning and use of the "commercial property".

 

[rowz]

Trust everything that people tell you.....then VERIFY that it is correct.

The forst part you did......but neglected the second.

Maybe you will learn to like waffles.

 

[justoneme]

The property is owned by the contractors of our subdivision. Apparently the realtor is being very quiet about this. We found this out today. They are on the brink of going broke b/c they have been living on construction loans and aren't selling houses.
I understand that this is "their" property, but he intentionally misinformed us and the entire block that butts up to this property. Can we not request some sort of retaining/sound barrier wall to be built up to divide our property? If we can't stop this from happening, shouldn't he be required to keep residential and commerical seperate??

 

[pauper_72]

OP - "The owner is not the developer of our subdivision"
OP - "The property is owned by the contractors of our subdivision"

​

 

[rowz]

You did not do your homework.

The uses ARE seperate.....you lot line happens to be the end of residential area.

Go to the local agency in charge of zoning and see what "buffer-zones" may be required for commercial usages.

Of course, YOU are free to build a wall of silence on you property. If it is limited by code to a height that you feel is ineffective you are free to request a variance from the rules and hir a noise abatement expert to do tests that will help you prepare for your hearings on the matter.




OR**************is there something specific that you would like to hear?

 

[HomeGuru]

Trust everything that people tell you.....then VERIFY that it is correct.

The forst part you did......but neglected the second.

Maybe you will learn to like waffles.

**A: yes you can't see the forst from the trees.
I'll have some blueberries on my waffles.

 

[xylene]

First, you could haggle em down... but let run some numbers

$400K split 10 ways is $40K (thats a guesstamate of neighbors)

You would be looking at 8k up front and then like 300 bucks extra a month on the house.

Run it a as an HOA park. everybody wins.

Privacy and open space isn't free.