You may be wondering how you can find a buyer to sell your land to, but without the help of an agent…
Selling land or property without a realtor may seem scary, but it is not as complicated of a process as it may seem. Owners of land or property have been selling privately for years, long before the real estate agent profession existed.
If our ancestors can conquer the art of selling property without a realtor, then so can you! Let us help you learn how to sell land without a realtor today!
In this piece, we will guide through the processes that you need to know about selling vacant land without an agent— we’ll outline the steps that you need to take.
Finally, we’ll present you a small checklist of some of the paperwork that would need to be prepared when selling land without the help of real estate agents.
We hope that, with this short piece, you’ll have the information to make better decisions, as well as have a better understanding of the land market and land buyers.
Do You Really Need a Real Estate Agent When Selling Vacant Land?
No, you do not. Although, it really depends on how much effort you want to put into your land sale.
The basic premise of selling vacant land without a realtor is all of the work an agent would take on becomes your responsibility from marketing to negotiating with buyers, writing contracts, and communicating with an attorney or title company.
Selling land without a realtor saves the land owner money in terms of commission. But, the amount of time spent learning how to sell land effectively and executing what was learned, may not be worth the money saved on agent fees.
If you’re one of those property owners who dislikes doing little research about things that are not in your field of study or interest, then chances are you would want a real estate agent to help sell land for you.
Here, the commission that you would have to pay to the realtor would not matter because you most likely would not have been successful in selling the land to buyers for the right price.
Selling land without a realtor would requires patience and great effort on your part. If the thought of doing research already discourages you, then you’re better off at the hands of experienced real estate agents.
Steps to Selling Land Without a Realtor
Here are the steps that you can follow in selling vacant land without a realtor:
1. Study Your Land
If you have been holding onto this parcel of raw land for quite some time, then chances are that you don’t need to study your land and that you can safely skip this step.
If not, then this step is crucial for you to get that sought-after deal for your land.
Studying your land means knowing the various features that it possesses. It can be the fact that it is in the right location or that it has key features that other properties do not possess such as electricity.
Whatever it may be, the job of every owner in selling property is to discover every selling point of their vacant land. You can use this information in the rest of the steps to successfully sell your land yourself.
Always remember, though, that selling a piece of land is highly different compared to selling a home. Some principles may be relevant, but most will not.
2. Create a Profile for Your Target Land Buyers
This step answers a simple question about securing a sale for your land: “Who are the buyers that I want to sell my land to?”
It’s a basic market principle that you should focus on a certain class or type of land buyers rather than, say, everyone in the market.
The reason for this is that marketing techniques need to be focused on a certain class or type of potential buyers. This focus is important because it would be wasteful for you to allocate a large budget for marketing just so you might attract buyers who aren’t even interested in the type of land you own.
To find the right buyer is to aim at a target with a scope. Sure, you can aim at a lot of targets, but having only a dozen bullets aimed at one target instead several targets is a better situation for finding a relevant land buyer.
Generate interest for your vacant lots or property by knowing your potential buyers and then building your strategy around them.
3. Ready Your Land
Similar to how a real estate agent cleans up residential properties for an open house for home buyers, your land should be ready and presentable for when a land buyer wants to pay it a visit.
You can save money by doing this step yourself. Otherwise, you would have to incur some cost to get some help, especially if you own undeveloped land or a piece of land with natural water in it.
As the saying goes, first impressions matter. Your land listings are no exception if you’re not selling to an online buyer.
To increase your chances of attracting buyers and securing that sale, give your land some grooming. You can plant wildflowers around key areas, remove debris, or cut the grass. Try to make the land presentable to prospective buyers.
4. Settle On a Price
So your land is ready, and it’s looking spry. You might think that the property is now ready for listing, but don’t list your vacant land just yet– you need to settle on a price first.
Pricing land is not just based on calculations. There is a feel to determining the right price that typically requires a thorough understanding of the overall land market.
As an individual doing a one-off land sale, you can price land in a variety of ways. The easiest way is to consult a real estate agent and have them give you an estimate on what would make a good deal for you and your land.
Another way is to look at the market value of the land directly. Land sales in the area can also be good indicators. You can also consult land owners nearby, as well.
To get a higher price above market value for your land, you can elevate your marketing strategy to give it a better perceived value for potential buyers. Post on all major “for sale by owner” sites, as well as social media.
You can also sell the land under special or flexible payment terms. For example, you can offer financing, discounts for cash payments, or monthly payments.
The price of a property is usually what buyers look at first, so be sure to have this settled and justifiable to secure that land sale.
5. List Your Land
One of the best things about the internet is that it allows you to do transactions without ever leaving the comfort of your house.
Listing land online may seem complicated, but it’s really not. There are many benefits to selling land online. Most potential buyers will be online and, arguably, the best way to sell land today is to make an online listing for your property.
Creating an online listing can enable you to reach so many more potential buyers than just sticking a “For Sale” sign on your lot.
When you create your listing, don’t forget to include all information from step one that buyers should and must know about your property. This includes the acreage, price, fees and taxes relevant to the property, and any back taxes or liens.
Also, don’t forget to mention if you are restricting your land to residential use only. This information can save you a lot of time and future headaches, especially if a corporation presents you with a cash offer, only to have the sale fall through because they sought your land for commercial use.
6. Market Your Land
Along with listing your land on the market, you should do further marketing to reach any potential buyers.
Gone are the days where you have to post several notices or sign boards along key areas around your county. Now, marketing and selling property can be as simple as sharing posts online.
To do this, you can go on Facebook or Craigslist and either pay for an ad or make posts yourself. If you made a listing online, you can start promoting that in your socials, too.
Old school marketing tactics still work, too. Don’t be afraid to go out and talk to neighbors, friends, and coworkers. Putting up “For Sale” signs around the county with a phone number requires more work, but could lead you to a faster sale.
Normally, it’s your agent that takes care of all this marketing for you. But, if you want to sell land without a realtor, prioritizing marketing will help bring in offers faster.
7. Have Your Documents Ready
Whether it’s a purchase agreement or any other contract, make sure that everything is ready by the time your interested buyer is ready to sign. Conferring with a real estate attorney will help ensure your documents abide by the laws in the state where your land is located.
Your documents should be complete, in order, and presentable. They should outline all pertinent information that you and your buyer spoke about since your selling process started.
If it involves a special type of financing or sale mechanic, make sure that it’s in print. All dealings about your land that involves money should be there. This includes closing costs, as well as any other charges that the buyer is accountable for.
In the next section, we discuss the necessary paperwork for your property sale to go smoothly.
Must Have Paperwork for Selling Land Without a Realtor
Every state requires different documents for selling land. This makes compiling a complete and perfect list futile, as some of those on the list may end up not being needed by you.
Instead, we’ll be noting down some paperwork that is a part of land sales is most states– check your state laws and consult with a real estate attorney to confirm all required documents.
Here is a list of paperwork that is generally needed to sell your property to a potential buyer:
- Purchase agreement
- Disclosure form
- Closing statement
- Title or deed to the property
- Recent appraisal/land survey of the property
- Map of the property
- Proof of income if you claim that the property generates income
- Other contract addendums that you and the buyer may choose to agree on
Ultimately, to get a better understanding of the documents that you may need for selling your land, you can consult an agent or a real estate attorney. Alternatively, you can go online and check which documents you need in your state, county, or area.
Closing Thoughts
No matter who you are or what your background may be, you can definitely sell land without paying for a realtor.
Don’t let your lack of knowledge about the industry dissuade you. Every person can study and learn new topics. With the right attitude, patience, and an open mind, your sale can be successful.
Then again, you can always get in touch with a real estate agent and have everything done for you.
Another option is working with a direct cash land buyer. At Selling Land Fast, we purchase land in cash and can close on your property as fast as 21 days. We are happy to give you an offer over the phone– there are no obligations and no costs.
If you have more questions about how to sell land or how to find land buyers, reach out! We would be delighted to help. (346) 207-1246