Portland, Tennessee Blog

Foe future reference, when there is a question about something like this, make sure that when you make the offer that you have the realtor write that the sale is "contingent on" whatever it is you need or want. Contingencies are quite common for financing purposes, but you can tell your realtor to put in anything you want. The sky is the limit. (of course the seller doesn't have to agree, but then the decision to move forward is your choice)

Example: I got burned years ago when I was looking for a house when 2 seperate houses did not appraise for what the buyers were asking. I wasn't going to pay MORE than what the houses were worth and the sellers were not obligated to sell for less than what they were asking, so I got stuck with the appraisal fees which was deducted from the ernest money. Lesson learned. I ALWAYS tell the realtor to include the following statement on all offers: "In the event that the appraisal falls below the asking price, seller agrees to sell the property for lower amount, or seller will pay for the appraisal and any other expenses incurred as a direct result of this offer, including but not limited to: title searches, septic inspection, etc." (my list is actually quite long, but this gives a general idea.

I hate that this happened to you and you might check with the agency that your realtor is associated with if this would be covered under their "errors and ommissions" insurance. Be sure and tell them that you plan to contact a lawyer if the answer is no, but that you wanted to check for a "yes" prior to doing that since a "yes" would save EVERYONE a lot of time, money, hassel and bad PR.

Hope this helps you either now or in the future.

The minimum amount of land needed for a horse is 2.7 acres. And I was just basically informed that the zoning committee and city council aren't even going to bother considering to change the zoning. So there we have it. 5 wasted acres in a town I am stuck in because of the horrible housing market, all because my Realtor wanted to lie and make a sale, and I was too naive to do my homework first....hope the recession ends soon. Thanks everyone for the input! I appreciate it.

I live in the CITY limits and I have cows across the street, horses behind me, goats, sheep and more cows, Plus a yard full of chickens, ducks, and geese down the street, ALL within City Limits. It is very confusing, but with growth comes new areas, subdivisions, etc, etc that surround land that had and still has Farm Animals. So it's hard to say people with farm animals and want country life should live in the county..... It is currently all over inside the CITY Limits!

People who want farm animals should live in areas that allow for that. Seems to me people who want city life - live in the city, people who want country life - live in the county.

I understand how you feel. Here in town a friend of my wife's has 100ac and cattle.

I think the rule is here 10ac min for horses, etc. but I might be wrong on that.

I am sorry, differences in dialect. By me not being in the 'city proper' - I meant that I am not in the center of town, nor am I in a newer area of town. But the point is being lost. I want to have the zoning laws changed to allow more animals, with regulations. Just like the zoning laws regarding horses - you need a certain amount of land, animal dwellings need to be X ft. away from any human dwelling, there is a limit on the number of animals, the animal's wastes must be cleaned up and properly disposed of daily, etc. My contention is that these ordinances are already in place for horses, why not extend them to other animals?

If this is true.

And there are a few people that seem to think I live in the 'city' proper - I don't.

Then the city can not zone you.

"City Proper" means your outside of city limits thus their rules. Or am I missing something?

The people that have livestock (chickens, ducks, geese, cows, a donkey and horses) have been grandfathered in, they are fine to have the animals that they have. Amazingly, my neighborhood doesn't stink, either.....

Tanya....you stated that numerous people have animals on your street....what kind of animals??? If they have livestock and your area is not zoned for it then it seems that numerous people on your street just might get fined. Good luck to you and your neighbors.

Amazingly, it is pretty interesting - people can have horses, with the expectations that the horses are taken care of - if you let them go, they stink, same with any animal. And there are a few people that seem to think I live in the 'city' proper - I don't. Let me re-iterate. I live on 5 acres that I was told by my realtor I would be allowed to have animals on. This seemed to be supported by the fact that numerous people have animals that live on my street - I don't think my neighbors would have an issue, and the ones I have talked to don't. Deanna - I would have moved out in the "country" if I had known that I wasn't going to be able to have the animals I wanted, trust me. As for my realtor - I have nothing in righting, I went by her word. Again, before I get jumped on for that, I have already said I know now that I should have checked on it. Well, I guess I will have to see how things go in April. Thanks everyone for your input, it is nice to get a feel for how people think about this issue.

Amazingly, it is pretty interesting - people can have horses, with the expectations that the horses are taken care of - if you let them go, they stink, same with any animal. And there are a few people that seem to think I live in the 'city' proper - I don't. Let me re-iterate. I live on 5 acres that I was told by my realtor I would be allowed to have animals on. This seemed to be supported by the fact that numerous people have animals that live on my street - I don't think my neighbors would have an issue, and the ones I have talked to don't. Deanna - I would have moved out in the "country" if I had known that I wasn't going to be able to have the animals I wanted, trust me. As for my realtor - I have nothing in righting, I went by her word. Again, before I get jumped on for that, I have already said I know now that I should have checked on it. Well, I guess I will have to see how things go in April. Thanks everyone for your input, it is nice to get a feel for how people think about this issue.

Tanya,
It is unfortunate that your realtor blew it on this one, but I have to side with those who are against a rezoning. I live on 2 acres, and most of my neighbors have that, or more. I know I would not be happy to find livestock in a neighbors yard, regardless of the number or type. I don't want to sound heartless, because if I were in your shoes, I'd be very angry, but that does not change my mind about changing the zoning laws.

I don't know what your neighbors would think, but one option might be to get ALL your neighbors to sign a petition FOR allowing the animals. That might be a better first step, though it still may not get you what you want.

I don't know much about real estate law, but I would talk to a reputable realtor and get their opinion. Of course, even if he/she did something wrong, you options are probably limited.

Sorry you had to go through this after moving from California, it's not a very good way for the town to welcome newcomers!

I have two property's across the street from me. One is a dump and I do mean dump and the other has Chicken's. I will tell you I would take the Chicken's every time. I also have Cow's, Goat's and Horse's In the area and they are much better neighbors than most people. Most people think that if someone has a few (5 or 10) Chicken's that they will smell Chicken crap all the time. Well it takes more than that.

Tanya you should just move out of town where you can have what you want. It's quieter, more relaxing, No city taxs and only takes a couple minutes to get into town. Trying to get something done in this town is almost impossible. Moving is easier.

DebraP,

I really think you missed the general point of my post.

In my opinion, There is not much difference between the two.

I didn't say I wouldn't mind living next to people who had chickens, I simply stated that I don't see much difference between living next door to someone with chickens or someone who has a dumpy property.

Both are not appropriate and both would bother me.

While I understand the point of the thread, I do not understand how people can complain about living near chickens and not near or next to a property that is an eyesore.

I am not disagreeing with you, I am simply stating that it is my opinion that there is not much difference between the two. If your going to stand against people having chickens etc...then you also strongly stand against people being allowed to have these ill maintained properties within the city limits. I am simply attempting to draw a parallel between the two issues.

I mean no offense toward you at all.

Jw, I'm glad that chickens would not bother you.
If I lived out in the country where chickens would be expected they wouldn't bother me either. Inside the city limits is another matter.

The purpose of this thread is to have the zoning changed in order to have livestock inside the city limits. Next door to someone that probably doesn't want chickens either or they would have moved out into the country. This thread has nothing to do with living next door to a dump or all the dumps in this town.

Can you honestly say that if you lived in a nice area of town and had nice houses all around you, that you wouldn't get upset if one morning you woke up and next door there were chickens, goats, etc?? I think any one that takes pride in their land and neighborhood would be upset.

All in all I think changing the zoning is not fair.

DebraP,

I understand your concern with livestock etc....

It makes me wonder if the same people who are concerned about the livestock being within the city limits are also concerned about living next door to a home that is not cared for, has junk strewn around the yard, refrigerators on the front porch, couch's sitting out in the back yard, I could go on and on.

These types of places also need to be held accountable. Luckily I do see some action on this scattered around town.

There are several areas, particularly around the perimeters of town that need attention, don't see much being done there.

My point is, I think I could handle chickens much better than I could living next door to a junkpile or a falling down house.

DeeAnna wrote on another thread:

Tanya, I think you shouldn't expect re-zoning for your property to allow for livestock or any animals. I don't think livestock belong in the city limits. If you had intentions of having farm animals when you moved here, I think you should have moved out into the county where you could have whatever you wanted. Honestly, I don't think it fair to your neighbors to ask for re-zoning.

Posted by: DeeAnna at March 1, 2008 09:04 PM

I have to agree. I would be very upset if chickens appeared in my neighbors yard one day.

JW, Thank you for your thoughts on this subject, I posted this for Tanya who is the one that this occurance relates to, and hopefully she will read every bit of your post because you really summed it up in a nutshell. Having been a realtor myself I understand completely what you are saying, and is very accurate! Thanks - Judy

Judy,

sorry to hear of your issue. I am a real estate appraiser, and I learned very early in my carrer to never rely on a Realtor. In my experience they rarely will ever do the proper footwork to verify many things like they should. I run in to this lack of either competence or dilligence all of the time.

Yes, there are good realtors out there, but the bad ones seem to make a mess of things for the good ones.

This is definately an issue that should have been properly disclosed to you prior to your purchase. In my business we call this due dilligence. Obviously there was a lack of dilligence on the part of your realtor. It is the part of the realtors job to educate you on what you are preparing to buy, so that you will be an informed buyer. Particularly when you specifically requested a certain type of property.

I would certainly let your realtor know of your displeasure with their lack of competence.

It brings a question to my mind.....did this realtor mis-lead you? If they did....there are avenues you can pursue.

Your probably not going to have much luck with the city council. The way they will see it is if they do it for one........You know the rest.

Tanya

Unfortunately many areas in Portland are zoned differently and many realtors believe it or not will not take the proper steps in answering questions, rather rely on the owners knowledge who as well may not have the right answer. One would think that with 5 acres it would be ok to have various farm animals, but I believe the vague understanding I have is no fowl, or swine within city limits. However, I have a neighbor down the road from me that has a yard full of chickens, ducks, roosters etc, such a wonderful sight to see....:(

Having lived near a chicken farm as a child I can tell ya it's not fun playing out doors, I know this is not what your intentions are but one thing leads to another when regulations are not enforced, and before you know it, well.... For example look at the trashy machine place on 109S they have been after them to clean it up for years and nothing gets done bcause they would rather fight with city hall!

I feel for your situation especially since you asked your realtor before purchasing, perhaps that is where you need to look for answers, they do have obligations to give correct information when asked or say "I DON'T know here is where you should call first to find out" This is an investment on your part in our city and one I'm sure you didn't take lightly, hope you can find a happy medium and enjoy.

I agree, sometimes people can get to be a nuisance with their animals, but I would think that those would be the same people that would have the animals no matter what the zoning laws said. It is all about proper animal management (as far as the chickens go) ~ Pit Bulls are a whole different subject. lol - I have yet to see someone die over a chicken bite. lol - I'm glad your kids can go back outside.

I agree, sometimes people can get to be a nuisance with their animals, but I would think that those would be the same people that would have the animals no matter what the zoning laws said. It is all about proper animal management (as far as the chickens go) ~ Pit Bulls are a whole different subject. lol - I have yet to see someone die over a chicken bite. lol - I'm glad your kids can go back outside.

My neighbors had chickens after Easter. This was totally annoying as they kept getting loose and ending up in our yard. They managed to get into our fenced back yard so we had neighbors knocking to get permission to get their chickens etc. They also had a pit bull over there in the back yard at one point. This thing barked at my kids when they went outside to play and acted like it was going to tear through the fence to get them. They were scared and quit going outside all together. I don't know what happened to the dog but eventually it was gone and we were glad. Over all I would rather have a neighbor with a braying donkey for 4H then a pit bull. Just think of all the money people could save all over town and the parks department if they invested in some goats.