Last week we discussed the process Rich and I went through while obtaining a property in Rockford Washington. In the end, we created two investment grade duplexes and a single family spec home. Over the next couple of weeks we began converting the single parcel into three legal parcels.
Lots & Boundary Line Adjustment in Spokane County
When we were evaluating this parcel we noticed the parcel contained three platted 50′ x 100′ lots. In most incorporated and unincorporated areas of Spokane county you can do a simple boundary line adjustment and turn each platted lot into a legal parcel.
You’ll want to do some homework first.
- You’ll need to make sure that once the parcels are created, they can be built on (or at least used in the manner in which you’re intending).
- Some municipalities require a short subdivision process (or similar, more formalized process) to reveal the platted lots behind a parcel. Not every process is cut and dry, so you’ll want to do a little investigation before purchasing.
- Some towns have minimum lot sizes or other restrictions on building certain types of structures (previous parcels may have been grandfathered in, and newly revealed lots may not be so lucky). Just because neighboring lots have been able to build a certain type of building, doesn’t necessarily mean yours will.
In this case, we were in luck. All three parcels were buildable with either a single or two-family structure. Our original intentions were only to build three single family spec homes, and upon discovering that a two-family (duplex) could be built on the property, we made a strategic pivot. We realized that by building duplexes, we weren’t just maximizing the potential of the lots—we were providing a type of quality rental housing that is often incredibly hard to find in smaller communities like Rockford.
Rich and I have been investing in buy-and-hold units for some time now. We look for quality properties in desirable areas where we can provide quality, affordable properties. Duplex lots can be pricey in Spokane County, and with this project we had three great lots at 20% of the entry price.
We submitted the paperwork to turn the underlying lots into individual parcels. In most cases this looks like a boundary line adjustment. In Rockford, it requires some paperwork with the town, and Spokane County.
Generally you’ll need to provide the following:
- Legal descriptions – you’ll need the starting and ending description (what did you start with and what are you turning it into. Many times the parent legal description is Lots 12, 13 and 14 of SomeTown Subdivision. Your child lots (new parcels) will be described as the legals for each of the three lots (12, 13, and 14).
- A map – a simple map showing a visual of what you’re accomplishing (measurements too)
- Taxes – the taxes need to be paid in full for the parcel.
- Fees – there’s always a fee.
- Structures – Often times, if there is a structure on the property like a shed that may be on or near one of the new property lines, it will need to be removed prior to the creation of the new parcels.
There can (and will) be more requirements on a case by case basis, but overall the process is pretty manageable. If you’re interested in discussing this process, feel free to reach out to us.
With that completed, we needed to wait a week or two for everything to get processed, in that time we began getting our building plans together and talking with the town on improvements that needed to be made to support our project.