Is this land Quitclaim and development rights way to risky ?

Question

Hello all the my extend bigger pockets family : )

I am a Real Estate Agent in Connecticut and a seller has reached out to me for assistances . Since  he does not own the land, he is selling the Development Rights, all engineering work and his Army Corp of Engineers Wetlands Approved Jurisdictional Determinations for a 40-Unit Residential Project. At the closing he will Quit Claim the land to the buyer and they can go build this. The Zoning Density Factor allows for 40 units but a Variance can be asked for and the unit number could be as high as 60 units. he has have appraisals, market studies and a mostly complete Site Drawing for the Project. I know Quitclaim is risky , I am talking to the 2  Land and Zoning Attorney on Tuesday .However, I would love some input for the BP community. I do not sell  Lemons. I believe in providing value in the community and to my clients. Should I accept this project ( I love challenges ) or keep fishing for safer deal?

Muhaimin Khandaker · Answer

I have more info , I am went to Town Hall and called the pervious listing agent. The property wastied up in Probate Court for the past eleven years but a Offer to Purchase hasbeen negotiated and submitted to the Court with the Executor’s recommendationthat the Offer be accepted. Although it has been listed many times over the yearsthere have been no offers. The reason for this is the property is bisected by theCMA, Coastal Management Act, and requires an ACOE, Army Corp Of Engineersreview to build on it. This is a risky undertaking because it requires a lot ofengineering work at great expense to make the application to the ACOE with noguarantees of success. This work has been done and there is a ACOE Permit tobuild. There is also a ACOE Approved Jurisdictional Determinationfor the property. On September 10, 2020, the Probate Court, District of Blank/Blahissued a Decree ordering the sale of the property to MR Seller . The AppealPeriod expired on October 10, 2020 with no objections so the sale can proceed.

What do you guys think ? .. .. I am talking to the lawyers Tuesday ( tomorrow)  but I would love any BP family input.

Lynnette E. · Answer

If he does not own the land a quit claim would be worthless.  I could give you a quit claim to the White House, but since I do not own it, it would be worthless.

Does he have a 100 year lease like some Hawaiian or Indian Land?  What does he have besides a design for land that is not his?

Charlie MacPherson · Answer

@Muhaimin Khandaker  If he doesn't own the land, how can he possibly sell any rights to it?

Run this by your broker, but this seems like a hard no.

Brent Coombs · Answer

@Muhaimin Khandaker, silly question: Who does own the land (seeing as you said the "Seller" doesn't)?

Did I miss something?  Arguably, the land will be much more valuable once the project is complete, so it seems to me that the land ownership should be changed first, not last.  Good luck...