Tips for Selling Land

Selling land is more of an art than a science.  Barring commercial-use property (land zoned for industrial use, offices, etc.), most land buyers want a “special” parcel for a new home, recreation use, hunting, etc.  What does that mean, and what can land sellers do to help their land sell?

Here are five ideas to help land sellers.

1. Have and use photos of wildlife on your land. According to a recent Landthink article, 59.6% of hunting land buyers said it’s “preferred” or “appreciated” to see photos of actual wildlife on the land.  Buyers who want to build a home, especially rural buyers, are no different.  Unless you are in the right place at the right time, you will have the best luck capturing wildlife using common trail cameras.  Though trail cam footage never looks perfect, buyers understand that catching photos of skittish wildlife is not easy.  In addition, game-camera photos also lend credence to the photos being real when compared to professional photography!

2. Continuing with photos and videos, use a drone! Drone photos and videos help buyers understand the property’s true size, features, and locations of those features.  While drone work is never cheap, it pays off in a higher sale price.

3. Consider reasonably priced improvements that make the property more attractive to buyers. Clear away brush and debris.  Remove the remains of illegal dumping entirely from the property; those old “farm junk piles” are not acceptable!  Make and keep the property accessible to buyers.  I’ve been through plenty of land with overgrown and impassable trails.  How is your buyer supposed to fall in love with your land if they cannot navigate on foot, much less in the comfort of a vehicle?  You may want to create shelter and plant food for wildlife too.

4. Have well reports, septic reports, and a survey available. Better yet, have all of these and clearly stake the corners of the property.  Do you know where the land will perc for what type of septic?  Where is water available?  How deep must a well be drilled to reach water?  Where are the property’s boundaries?  Your buyer will have all of these questions.  Have these items ready to answer those questions!  Your buyer will be grateful and more likely to make an offer.

5. Who can buyers call for legal information? While it might seem helpful to have information relating to schools, building code, restrictions, etc., available, this can lead to trouble.  For example, you are told that X high school serves your property.  You tell this to the buyer.  The buyer buys, builds, and discovers that Y high school serves your property.  Unless you can prove that a government official represented X, this is an excellent way to get sued.  Instead, have the phone number and other contact information for the local school district, applicable zoning and planning offices, the area code inspector, etc.  Give this information to potential buyers to help them do their own research.

Do you have land to sell?  My name is Mike and I am a broker associate and Realtor with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage of Brookfield, WI.  It’ll be my pleasure to discuss getting the highest possible price for your land!  You can contact me here.  I look forward to speaking with you!