Land buyers consider their purchase based on location, features, condition, and price. Sellers often can positively affect condition, features, and price to ensure their property attracts the most interest and stands out from other vacant land listings. This preparation will allow for better marketing, more buyer activity, and ultimately better terms for the seller.

CONDITION

Vacant land is often neglected. Pastures are left for re-wilding, gates sag with the passage of time, and trails become inaccessible. Some simple actions sellers can take will help buyers see the land as being full of potential and not full of work to be done include:

• Keeping all pastures and fields mowed or planted.
• Repairing and painting sagging or rusted gates.
• Cleaning up all trash and debris.
• Trimming back brush from and clearly marking hiking trails and 4×4 roads so buyers can access the property and see the possibilities.

Other condition aspects that affect a property are legal, boundary, or regulatory issues such as:

• Ensuring the property has legal access.
• Ensuring boundaries are clearly understood with an updated survey.
• Understanding zoning and when to have an environmental site assessment or land-slide analysis done to mitigate concerns of possible hazards.

FEATURES

Buyers love a variety of features and clear maps help buyers explore them. A property with some clearings, some woodland, and some water will win the hearts of more buyers (and wildlife) than a completely forested parcel. Some examples of feature improvements are:

• Planting food plots for wildlife and game.
• Clearing a small pasture area or creating a small pond to add new features.
• Getting a septic permit so that buyers will know it will “perc.”
• Adding gravel or regrade roads for easier access.
• Consulting with a licensed forester to create a Timber Management Plan and/or having a Timber Valuation completed so that all parties understand the added value of the timber.

PRICE

Pricing land is both an art and science. No two parcels of land are identical and no two will sell for the same price per acre. Land may also have different highest and best uses that impact value drastically. Comparable sales of similar properties may also be limited, but some market trends can help in defining the best potential price for a property and its location, features, size, and condition. Ultimately, for any particular property, it will sell in the range between the highest amount a buyer will pay and the least amount the seller will take. In our market currently, buyers have many options to choose from with many more properties for sale then there are buyers. These factors make marketing vitally important since it increases the number of buyers interested in a particular parcel, thus potentially increasing the chances of finding a buyer willing to pay a higher price.

HOW I HELP MY CLIENTS SELL

National Land Realty’s marketing tools provide a variety of ways that allow me to meet all of your goals when it comes to selling your property. Our new technology, such as Land Tour 360, that allows individuals to get a full tour of your property without ever having to actually step foot on it, helps your property sell more quickly and more efficiently. This interactive, 360-degree experience features property boundary lines, as well as various points of interest that include photos, videos and key information. Other marketing tools include custom signage, direct mail and email campaigns, aerial and drone photography, and more. Examples of these can be in any of the properties I currently represent.

I also assist some sellers with trail clearing, maintenance, and marking to ensure the buyers can find all of the best features of the property and so that I can highlight those features in marketing materials. Additionally, I advise clients on how to pull together the right team of experts (such as attorneys, surveyors, foresters, and environmental engineers), how to set the right price to get the most interest, and on other factors that improve the chances of the property selling for the best terms possible. And finally, I act as a project manager through the sales process to facilitate the smoothest sale possible.

I help my clients prepare their land for sale and provide them with education and knowledge to make informed decisions. If you’re looking for a professional land broker or need help understanding land issues like this, let me know!