Selling undeveloped land and need advice

[supernova]

I have six acres that t I want to sell in the next three years, five at the latest. I wish I could hang on to it, but the economy has made that impossible. The reasons for selling are another subject altogether.

Here's the situation as it stands:

We are in an unencorporated part of the county. I pay taxes to the county seat 10 miles down the road. No city water and sewer here, just wells and septic tanks. We did a perc test about 15 years ago and passed. I would think that I'll need a new one, yes?

We are just outside the city limits if the largeish town in the neighboring county. We have their telephone and mail systems. It's conceivable that in the distant future, we could be incorporated into the neighboring town, but that is very distant.

Right now, it's a tangled free for all of woods, You'd have to get in there with a backhoe to do any farming or building.

The property lies between:
- a renovated small antique elementary school building that is now used as a special needs school/community center that also houses occasional evening concerts.
- another vacant six acre tract that belongs to my sister. So there's school and woods around
- single family homes on 1-acre+ lots across the street.)


I am a complete real estate novice. What I want to know is what are the steps I need to go through to bring it to market and highlight the most attractive qualities about it? What should I be doing to make the tract ready? What should I be looking for in a real estate agent?

[Brickbat]

1. Is there a well and septic on the property now?

I'd look in the paper or online to find real-estate ads for undeveloped land, and find the name of the agent managing these sales and call them saying you're interested in selling. They'll be able to tell you if you need to improve anything and will put together a listing for you.

[supernova]

2. No, there is no well or septic there now

It just woods now.

[damntexdem]

7. Well, does a bear ...?

;-) Couldn't help it.

[supernova]

9. lol

:-)

[RT Atlanta]

3. Some good questions

Water/sewer/utilities will be questions that any prospective purchaser will want to have answered. An updated perc test is probably a good way to go for septic system.

Also, has the property been in your family for a long time? If so, you may want to consider an updated boundary survey (reflecting any county wide zoning/construction set back requirements - if any). A survey will also reveal any encroachments from adjoining properties - questions that a prospective purchaser will surely raise and want you to address.

I would also encourage you to order your own title examination of the property and if there is anything that comes up (e.g. unpaid taxes or easements that may not be used and could potentially be cancelled, etc.) you can go ahead and address these items now.

Essentially, with the foregoing, you are helping to build a property information packet with answers/results to questions a purchaser will want to know.

If you havent already done so, I would encourage you to interview several local real estate brokers (and ask them for references too!) that specialize in selling larger tracts and/or acreage. Most brokerage relationships are such that you only pay the broker when the property sells - and that fee is typically a % of the sale price - for undeveloped land and where you live in the country, that could range between 6-12%).

The broker could also help you regarding "staging" the property - e.g. suggesting areas to clean up for showing, best times of year, etc. - helping you with what really works to sell property in your local community.

[supernova]

8. Thank you for the info

- Updated boundary survey. A good idea esp with the renovated school next door. I have no idea what the zoning laws out here are anymore.

[TNDemo]

4. Just make sure no dirt gets moved before the perc test.

We own some undeveloped land and the guy next to us had started moving some land and then got the perc test. They said they could not do one on land that had been disturbed and it would be like five years or something before they could test again. Not sure if those rules apply everywhere.

If you find a good agent (ask around) then they will know how to advertise the land and its potential.

[supernova]

10. Don't disturb anything

gotcha

[Raven]

5. Free advice is worth just what it costs, but here goes...

I'm a retired real estate lawyer so I do know something about this stuff.

Do you have a survey of the property? Maybe one was done back when you acquired it. You should check the Registry of Deeds in the County anyway, and get a copy of your deed and a plan of the land if one exists.

Find out about your local zoning laws. What's the required lot size for a buildable lot. Can you get more than one house lot on the property? Do you have enough frontage? What are the uses allowed in the zoning district?

Check with the local health dept to see if you need a new perk test, you probably do.

As for a real estate broker...if there is a on-line website for multiple re listings, check it out. See what agents are active and what they're selling. Put a bid out to at least 3 brokerages and have them give you proposals for how they would market your property, what they think it's worth and why, and what commission they would charge. Also talk to friends to see if they know any good agents.

Good luck.

[supernova]

11. See this was the kind of thing I was needing to know

I don't know what the smallest size lot could be here. I'm sitting on 2.5 acres and most who build out here want a large lot, if not a farm.

I do have road fontage, but I think it's less than 1000' feet. I could be wrong. I do have the last survey that was done in 1997 after my mother passed away.

[northoftheborder]

6. I have experience selling small acreages.

All the above suggestions are good. It is good that it is not in a city or town. Some have ordinances that you need to follow such as drainage studies, zoning, etc.. If you do not use a realtor, have an attorney draw up contracts, prepare title, etc.. Attorneys are MUCH less expensive than realtors. Do not subdivide, and sell parts of it off separately, is my advice. Find someone to buy the whole thing, and let THEM subdivide if they want to. Good luck. I'm getting rid of all my real estate; I'm very pessimistic about the economy, etc....

[supernova]

12. Better to sell whole lot

than individual lots off it? That was also a question I've had. You're getting out of real estate altogether? Wow.

The reason for my time frame is that there is a a lot of vacant land for sale in this county and I want that backlog to get gone before I put mine out on the market. Do you think that's wise?

[angstlessk]

13. We bought 25 acres about 20 years ago and just sold it about 3 years ago...

I sold it by myself thorough blogging and putting the land ad on every free site there was...we sold for less than we wanted, but we sold in about a year...I even blogged with a site on how much is would cost to build a home on the site...here is a link to one of my blogs...I made about 3 different blogs..

http://valandforsale.wordpress.com/2008/11/27/estimate-to-build-a-1500-sf-home-in-charlotte-county-va/

here is the one for the 'recluse' in all of us

http://dirtcheapland.wordpress.com/

and the third from wordpress..also had blog in another site

http://virginialandforsale.wordpress.com/

FEEL FREE TO TAKE WHAT YOU THINK YOU COULD USE!

[The abyss]

14. Mineral rights?

Title companies rarely check on mineral rights during any transfer, they focus on surface ownership only.

It could be well worth your while to trace the mineral rights on this acreage. You could hold any percentage or all.

Check before selling.