About 15 years ago the best way to market your rural land was either a classified ad in the local paper, signage off the highway or the local pennysaver. Larger companies would use radio or some other direct marketing piece. All of these marketing strategies were slower and more expensive than the options today. I know we all like to complain about inflation, but in terms of online marketing we’re in a deflationary environment!
With a little computer knowledge, we have at our disposal today the most compelling and powerful marketing platform ever created and it can be accessed from zero cost to less than $30 a month.
CONTENT:
When you first start composing your ad you need to take a deep breath and put on your real estate agent hat. Look at a few sample ads for houses and you’ll notice that they are emphasizing the benefits and amenities of the house. Don’t sell the steak, sell the sizzle. Well, raw land is no different. Take a good look at what makes your land compelling. Mountain views? Water? Hunting? Recreational area? Good access? In the path of development? Trees? Then get out the thesaurus and use some colorful adjectives to describe the area and land. Of course, you will need a section for just the facts like, elevation, access, terrain, deed conveyance, taxes, driving directions, GPS coordinates, sewer, water, utilities, mineral rights, etc. I like to use a simple table outlining all of the basic attributes and facts about the land. This is essential, but it won’t help sell the land. Your language and conviction about the area needs to be conveyed to a potential buyer. More information is always better than less. Once you have our content you need to add images.
IMAGES & MAPS:
Your potential buyer needs more than just the words they need to feel the area via high quality maps and pictures of the parcel and area. You don’t need to have 50 pictures, but you need at least five to give the buyer an idea of the terrain, soil and views as well as the road of where they would access the land. They will need a plat map (call the county for a copy), general area map (I like to use Google Earth for maps) and a topographic map is always helpful as well. You can always contact a local surveyor if you need help preparing the maps and getting the GPS coordinates.
PRICING:
Raw land prices are currently depressed. Be realistic about pricing. Call the County Assessor for the last two years comparable sales and price accordingly. Remember pigs get fat hogs get slaughtered…
FREE CLASSIFIED ADS:
The best place to list for free classified ads today is going to be craisglist.org. It’s a simple no-nonsense interface where you can list the property add images and show the price. The big drawback is you have to continue to edit and update your listing to stay on top of the listing system otherwise it will be more difficult for buyers to find you. This is a good resource to read about how to do this: Stay on top of craiglslist.
PAID AGGREGATOR SITES:
There are a few major paid aggregator sites that list land and do all the search engine optimization work for you so when someone Googles “land in California” they come up first. I prefer a few sites:
Check out eaglestar.net, landandfarm.com, landsofamerica.com and landflip.com. They’re not free, but none of them will cost more than $40 a month for a basic listing which is actually cheaper than eBay and tends to fetch higher prices as eBay buyers are typically deal hunters. These sites have easy to fill out forms requesting all the basic information a buyer will want to know prior to acquiring the land. They have easy to upload pictures and map functionality as well that are similar to craigslist.org. Don’t expect the property to sell within the first month, but you should get some inquiries the first month and if you don’t you will need to edit and adjust your advertisement or switch aggregator sites. Once you have your link to the property start sharing it on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter. You just never know if a friend of a friend might be in the market for your property.
CUSTOMER SERVICE:
You will need to advertise an email address and phone number for people to contact you so you can field additional questions about the property. Most often, people will want to know if the property is free and clear of any liens or encumbrances including back taxes. They will want to know if there are any other closing costs, Home Owner Association Fees and other details regarding the property. Always be direct when dealing with your customers. If you don’t know the answer simply say you don’t know. Typically a surveyor or the local County can help them with what they are looking for. If you are not familiar with deeds and deed conveyance and closing of real estate use a title company. I prefer First American Title and they are everywhere. They will handle the monies, title search, title policy, deed, recording of the deed and pro-rated taxes, etc. Fees will vary and certainly negotiate, but typically the seller pays for the title policy and the buyer pays for half the escrow fees. You can always charge an extra recording fee to offset these expenses.
THIS SEEMS LIKE A HASSLE! WHAT OTHER OPTIONS ARE THERE?
Hire a land broker. A land broker will take a commission, but they will handle all of the above for you and hopefully price it so that you get net what you would have received if you just sold the property yourself. Don’t work with a land broker that charges a flat up front fee even if the property doesn’t sell. Keep on top of them and make sure they are doing their job. Unless the commission is hefty, a land broker isn’t going to care as much about selling your land and may end up just listing on there Web site and letting it sit forever. Communicate regularly with your land broker so your listing remains a priority for them even if it’s just to get you off their back!
The last option is to call a company like mine and field an offer. We will do all the research and make an offer (typically below market value as we need to make money), but it’s quick and easy and we pay all the fees. Try it on your own first though as it’s a fun process and you’ll stretch a bunch of brain muscles you may not be used to stretching. You will need to refresh yourself on marketing, computer skills and getting more familiar about your land.
Leave a comment if I missed something…
