Can you subdivide to pay for bulk of land?

[Davong Rattanasavanh]

I'm interested in building a custom home and desire 1-2 acres for myself but 1-2 acre lots are outrageously priced. Is it better to buy in bulk (say 10 acres) and hold it to subdivide later OR can I try to recruit other like minded buyers into going into a deal of splitting up a large acreage at a lower cost/acre? I hear that if you write the contract up right you can make the sale of the property contingent upon getting 2-3 other people involved to purchase 2-3 acre tracts each upon closing...is that even possible and how would you even find these partners?

[Ralph S.]

First, you'd have to be sure the land is subdividable. Buying a 10 acre parcel only to find the city/county has a 10 acre minimum on lots would scuttle your plan.
Even if it could be split, you still would run into minimum lot sizes and various regulations on road frontage, utilities, etc. It is really a parcel by parcel thing.