Buying real estate without owning the land

Buying real estate without owning the land

Member since 2008 · 10 posts · 0 votes

I was wondering if anyone had an opinion on owning a property without owning the land. A little background:

The property is located on Cape Cod Massachusetts which is very busy in the summer. The property is a cottage. I am considering buying this cottage because the price is low and there is good rental income, plus when not being rented, I could use it as a vacation home.

The only thing that concerns me is the fact that the association owns the land and you pay association dues. What I need to find out is if it is like a condo where the land is actually owned by the owners of all the units (ie a 10 unit building each owner owns 1/10th of the property) or if it is like a mobile home park where the owners lease the land and have no land ownership rights.

I was wondering if anyone had any opinions or experience in this situation.

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  • Real Estate Investor · Portland, OR · Member since 2008 · 1k+ posts · 23 votes
    18y

    I would make sure you understand and read the association documents very carefully.

    How long can the cottage remain there?
    Who controls the association?
    Do you have any voting rights?
    Is this common for the area, or is this area unique?

    These are some of the things that I would want to know! Also, for tax and financing purposes, this type of transaction may be more difficult to finance and to sell later on.

    Be careful and check it out well!

  • Real Estate Consultant · Phoenix, AZ · Member since 2008 · 20 posts · 3 votes
    18y

    As long as everything is in writing you should be set. A friend of mine did this and he is just fine.

  • Real Estate Investor · IN · Member since 2008 · 38 posts · 0 votes
    18y

    Ask the association or others living there.

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