I guess land listings or those looking to buy land can be prosperous, relevant to where your market is. However, I found that my desire to follow-up with those looking to buy or list land is simply not there. Does anyone else turn down land listings or help those looking to buy land? MY school of thought is to focus energy where there are results and land is not one of them. Thoughts?

I am very picky about what land listings I will take. Most of the time I will not take land listings unless it's something that I know will be a good seller (such as a buildable waterfront lot or a piece that backs up to state forest/state game land).

I take land listings if the seller is realistic. Don't like to work with buyers on land and usually don't.

Depends on if you are talking commercial or residential.

At one point I had about 24 land listings for commercial at the same time but very few sold.

Nothing to do with my marketing or me just the only land moving is banks and the FDIC dumping land at liquidation values. So either a regular seller has to dump at those prices as well to sell or I won't take it.

With commercial structures being bought for much less than replacement cost there will not be a market for raw or partially developed land in most areas. The only person doing that is paying cash and buying real low so if they hold it in 3 to 4 years they can double to quadruple their cash investment.

I am focused on income producing properties that are stable for great CAP rates and then distressed income producing with value add potential.

That is what is selling in my market now and for the next few years.Everything else for me is a waste of time.

Yeah, it would definately depend on the situation. For some reason, I have been getting a lot(no pun intended) of calls as of late about land. I hate that internal thought in my heads that says "oh geez" and then I have to do the whole spill about what they are looking for, etc. It makes me feel bad because I know some people do want to buy a home and do want a special piece of land but it's just not worth it. I've thought about asking for a retainer fee upfront that is non-refundable.

I loathe taking out land buyers...I also loathe trying to find the boundaries - a lot of times the markers are NOT present or they are hidden or you could even be on the wrong piece of property all together...lol.

I usually sell a couple of parcels of land every year and some plots are a real PIA.....only got chiggers twice this year....still beats standing on a fire ant mount though.

I think your problem with buying/selling land is:



and not that there isn't money to be made. Buying land can be highly profitable if you have a good idea of where the market is going. As Perky mentioned, anything that backs up to water, or backs up to a state forest is usually going to be a good bet. Land that is in an area being heavily developed or that has plans of being developed in the near future is also usually going to be a good bet.

I've sold a lot of land & it is a bigger pia than houses, oddly enough.

When I worked up in the high desert, it was quite the challenge to figure out where parcels even were with no streets, no landmarks, etc. City buyers always expected to see street signs--hah!

Fortunately, my DH, who is also licensed, was born with GPS in his head & had had a lot of map/compass training from his military days. I swear, that man can find anything. I'd never have been able to do land sales without him.

It was amazing to see how many agents out there had their signs in the wrong places. I think they just guessed.

I find that in my neck of the woods, selling land is a challenge as most people are not able to "visualize" where their house will be built, or their idea of the "perfect lot" changes as we look at lots. Selling land requires a realtor with a very vivid picture of how the buildings can be situated on the lot.

I also found that buyers can't visualize the costs involved in building. Especially in those remote desert areas where there is no water, no electricity, no nada!

I always tried to get them to unerstand how complicated & expensive building on a remote site was going to be. They were always starry eyed about a weekend get away. Sometimes, I would get the nearest water company to write up an estimate of the cost to bring water to the property--that usually did the trick as did a $65K estimate from the well drilling company.

Not all land has a value--some of these parcels are also hopelessly land locked.

I like selling land. I like the 10% Commissions.

I like that there is No need for fancy Appointments to show; and

No Nosey Neighbors (usually) trying to sabotage our transactions; and

No Lead Paint; and

No Asbestos; and

No Mold; and

No Owners who refuse to leave for a Showing; and

No Building Inspectors.

You pretty much get what you can see . . . . not something hiding in the woodwork waiting to come out and reveal themselves in a LawSuit when you thought all was said and done. I can sell the Terrain or the Timber, or the View, or the WildLife. I can sell the "Potential".

We should be as thorough detailing out the Zoning and Lot Lines on Residential Properties as we are on Raw Land; but people make their decisions on the basis of some dorky transient building that was erected there and won't last more than a century or two anyway.

Now, I don't like discovering an Adverse Possession or applying for Variance Permits or conducting those Percolation Tests or locating 50 Year Flood Plains or identifying Class 2 Designated WetLands, or discovering Parcels that straddle two or more Zoning Classifications . . . . but those are small things that you can get used to.

But as I think about it, I like the 10% Commissions best.

I don't like the way sellers squawk about paying a 10% commission because selling dirt has gotta be waaayyyy easier than selling a house . . .

I forgot to mention the complexity of withholding the Subterranean Mineral Rights from the Transaction . . . . and being able to predict how much money might be made by Panning for Gold in some of the Streams that transcend our Parcels . . . . Big Money ! (especially if you can prime the pump with a few nuggets)

I suppose it's all relative to where you live. Typically ALL land I have sold was 10% and minimum 12 month listing.