The Basics of Marketing Your Land
Advertising and Promotion
Properties are commonly advertised through real estate agent Web sites, Internet search/listing services, classified advertising and real estate guides and multiple MLS systems.
Even with all these advertising avenues, " For Sale" signs on land are still remarkably effective. Many REALTORS® promote their Web sites on the sign and use brochure boxes with the signs to market the property. When appropriate, and with your permission, your REALTOR® may send a mailing about your property to neighbors. Sometimes one of them has a friend or relative who always wanted to build and live near them. You never know how far reaching the benefits of word-of-mouth advertising by friends, relatives and neighbors can be.
Showing Property
To prepare your land for viewing, make it as clean and accessible as possible. Always look at your land from the buyer's point of view.
Quick tips for best land presentation:
- Make sure your weeds are abated.
- Check your property periodically for discarded debris or fallen trees.
- Determine if there are any encroachment problems and disclose them to your agent.
How Long Has Your Land Been on the Market?
Professional appraisers sum up their entire body of knowledge in three words: " Buyers make value." Your land is worth as much as a buyer will pay for it.
If your property has been on the market for months, it’s a clear message that the lot may not be worth what you're asking for it. This is particularly true if there haven't been many prospects coming to see it. What you do at that point depends on whether you really need to sell, and whether you're working with a time limit.
If you're not really motivated to sell soon, you can always wait - years if necessary - and hope inflation will catch up with the price you want. The problem is that in that time, your land begins to feel shopworn. Buyers become suspicious of a property that's been for sale for a long time.
If you really do need to sell, with your REALTOR® discuss a schedule for gradually dropping your price until you find a level that attracts buyers. There's no point in saying, " We simply can't sell our land." Anything will sell if the price is right.
If You’re Buying Another Property
You may wonder what will happen when you're selling one property and buying another – how will all the details work out? This is a common situation and REALTORS®, lawyers, and title and escrow companies have plenty of experience in arranging contracts and loans so that the two transactions dovetail smoothly.
And should you sell your land first then buy or buy first then sell? Ideally, it’s best to find a property you like and make an offer subject to selling your current property. This generally works in a normal market. However, in a “hot” market most sellers will not accept a “subject to sale” offer. In this case you need to sell your land first and then buy a new property.
If you find that you need to buy the next property before you've received the proceeds from the present one, lending institutions can sometimes make you a short-term " bridge" loan to tide you over between the two transactions. Make sure you fully understand the exposure and emotional investment before proceeding with this type of loan.
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