How Does Raw Land Sell?

What Is Raw Land?

• Raw land is land that has never been developed. This means there is no water and sewer hook-ups or septic and well facilities. Utilities have not been run onto the land and there has never been a building erected on the land. In order to sell raw land, you can stick a "for sale" sign and hope for the best, or you can take steps to insure your land will have the best chance of selling.
  
  

Sell Your Land

• Obtain a survey of the parcel. You may have had one done when you bought the land, and as long as nothing has changed, it will be fine. Make sure the corners of the parcel are clearly marked. Take the survey with your parcel identification number on it to your zoning office and ask what the current zoning is on this parcel. Ask for a copy of the zoning laws for this particular zone and put it in your file. Anyone looking to buy a piece of land knows what they want to use it for, and if your parcel isn't zoned for or can accommodate what they want, they won't be wasting your time.
  If you don't already know, find out if the parcel can be serviced by city water and sewer or if the buyer will need to install a septic system and a well. If they will need a septic system you may want to have some engineering done to make sure this is possible. You will have to pay for this service and it will make the parcel more salable but you can sell without it. The buyer will most likely want to have this done and will give you a contract stating it is subject to the tests showing they can install a septic system.
  Obtain a copy of your current tax bill and place that in your file also. Not only does it provide the amount of taxes you're paying on the parcel but it also has the property identification number on it. If you have title insurance on your property, put a copy of it the file. Whether you or the buyer pays for new title insurance, a discount can be given for a reissuance of the insurance.
  
  

Pricing and Marketing

• You can pay an appraiser to do a formal appraisal of the property and put the parcel up for sale yourself, but that requires you to do all the marketing for the property. There are many places to market real estate online these days. The most popular are Craigslist and eBay. But it is much easier to hire a real estate broker that specializes in raw land. They will do a market analysis and put a price on the parcel that is comparable to what other parcels like yours have been selling for. This is not an appraisal, just a market comparison. They also know where the buyers for your type property have been coming from in the past and can market directly to them. Brokers who specialize in raw land or the particular zoning usually have a list of contacts and investors that they can contact. They also have a network where they can get your parcel known by other brokers almost immediately. Depending on the market conditions at the time, these brokers can have your property sold usually within 6 months.