WHO YOU PICK TO BE YOUR LISTING BROKER MATTERS!
Most of my business comes in the form of being a buyer’s broker. I’m a birddog. I scout land listing sites to find what is on the market and I also look for off market opportunities. I have looked at thousands of land listings and want to offer some advice to land owners looking to sell. Use a broker that deals with land on a daily basis. Here is why…when I look for possible land opportunities for my clients, I have a criteria sheet in hand that I have filled out with my client. Some of the main items to consider are:
Size/ Acres
Budget
Drive time
% in fields/% in timber
Water features/Pond, River, Creek
Types of neighbors
Road frontage
Existing house or no house
Topography
Distance to closest town
If you have a land broker bring your property to market, they will put together a marketing package that will deliver all the information to help answer all criteria questions. A land broker will put aerial photos of the property, a location map, photos of the property and other highlights. As a buyer’s broker, I can determine quickly if the property fits my client’s criteria. If there are no aerial photos or a location map, I have to become an investigator and search on county tax maps and google maps to find the property to answer the question of, “does this property fit my client’s needs”/ Depending on my mood and schedule, I may go look for the answers or simply move onto the next property and not include your property as a potential to my buyer
If you do use an agent that is not a land specialist, say a relative or friend that is a residential agent, be sure they include a location map and an aerial photo. Also, let them know that many land brokers are not members of the Multiple Listing Service site. In addition to using an MLS number, they should use a parcel number to help everyone identify the land. If your property has a house on it, five or six house photos with six to ten land photos would be perfect. Putting twenty photos of the house and one photo of the land off the back deck does not help someone looking to buy land. Your initial photo should be an attention grabber so that ordinary people will look at the rest of your information. If your agent has one photo of the property from the street taken out of their car and only one photo on your property’s listing, it is time to get a new broker.
If you have a piece of land that you want to sell, please do yourself a favor, hire a land specialist to bring it to market. They know what information other land brokers and clients are looking for and deliver that information in a professional and simple marketing package.
Southern Land Advisors does list properties for sale and would love the opportunity to bring your property to market with a comprehensive marketing package. SLA has a large network of land brokers and land buyers in the Southeast United States. If you are thinking about selling, give us a call and we will answer all of your questions.
