Thinking about buying a property and wondering if you can divide it?

I was a little skeptical when I attended a class on Michigan’s Land Division Act today. After all, in 1997 I was considered a subject matter expert on that law.

Well, there’s been a little bit of a change.

And it is going to be information that real estate investors and real estate licensees need to know.

Our Executive Director, Alan Jeffries, was scheduled to teach the class. I knew Alan, of course, but I didn’t know the extent of his background. Before becoming an executive director, he had been an assessor, township supervisor, zoning administrator, and real estate broker. He is also still a real estate investor.

In other words, he has looked at land from just about every side of the fence.

His knowledge base is huge.

True, he wasn’t around teaching the Land Division Act when it first came into being in 1997.

I was.

In fact, during that first year, my students managed to throw 32 questions at me that simply didn’t have answers. I started keeping a list of them. Over the years, those questions were eventually resolved.

I think I may still have that list somewhere. You can bet I’m going to look for it.

Alan definitely has his act together, and I learned a great deal from him today. He has also promised to keep me abreast of developments as we move toward the statewide change.

So, What Is Changing?

Here is the part that should get the attention of anyone who owns, sells, buys, or invests in vacant land.

Under the existing statewide formula, the division of the first 10 acres can generally result in four parcels.

Beginning March 24, 2027, that number increases to ten parcels.

There is also a transition period. Local governments have been given authority to adopt ordinances allowing the increased number of parcels before the statewide change takes effect. In March 2027, the new number becomes the statewide standard.

Why Should You Care?

Suppose you own a parcel of land and are thinking about dividing it.

• Do you divide it now?
• Do you find out whether the local municipality has adopted an ordinance allowing additional parcels?
• Or do you wait until March 2027?

For an investor, those questions could affect the potential use and value of a piece of property. For a real estate licensee working with buyers, sellers, or investors, knowing that the law is changing could be very important.

And there is more to this than simply changing a four to a ten. Land division involves access, parcel size, municipal requirements, surveys, tax descriptions and a host of other considerations. As we get closer to implementation and see how municipalities handle the changes, there will be plenty more to discuss.

It is too early for me to put together a finished class on the changes. I want to see how everything develops before I start telling students exactly how the new system will work.

But I can tell you this:

The Michigan Land Division Act is changing, and anyone dealing with vacant land should be paying attention.

As for me?

I’m going to dig through some 30 year old files to see if I can find those 32 unanswerable questions from 1997.

I haven’t been this excited to write a new class since they added gender identity to our various civil rights laws.