Selling land?

[IrfaanSE801]

Hey guys,

Ok, I have no clue as to how to go about doing this, so any advice you can give would be appreciated. My grandmother basically left us some land down in FL when she died many years ago (4 pieces in total). My parents thought nothing of it and we (the kids) didn't know, so I never knew to start looking to sell it or do anything with it. Now I'm looking to sell them, but I have no idea how to go about doing this. I found the deeds to the land, but where do I start? I was told going through Century 21 and places like that will probably rip me off and I could get better pricing if I sold it by myself, but I should look for help. Of course that person didn't tell me where to look, so has anyone had any experience in buying/selling property? I'm sure most of you have if you have ever bought a house or land, but I've been a renter all my life, and have no clue. Again, any help would be cool, thanks!

- Irf -

[442w30]

Start by getting an independent appraisal.

Then and only then have a realtor (of your choice - recommended by someone you trust in the area) get a "list of comparables -or like parcels of land sold in the area of the last year or two.
A realtor will try to get you to sign something to let them represent you exclusively for a period of time 6 months is normal. Tell them "no" unless you have some recommendations from someone you trust.

[GodOfRhythm]

And also make sure the realtor's profit/commission percentages are in check and double check any contract penalties in whatever clauses the contract has.

You do not want to be in a situation where the realtor's come up with jack shit, you end up selling the land yourself to someone and you get slapped with a commission eventhough the realtor hasn't done anything in the past 6 months.

[fett]

First, make sure all the owners agree to sell it. Being in New York with the land being in Florida forces you to go through an agent (I would think) on both ends. Before you even approach anyone, know exactly what you own. Are the property taxes current? You can contact the City Hall where the property is and learn how it is zoned. You need to find out if there are any restrictions on the use of the land. Search the web and try and find simular pieces of property. And remember, this is going to be a long process with all kinds of legal matters. Make sure that you have the time and the inclination to do this. And most of all, remember that there is a lot of land in Florida some good and some not-so-good. There has been a building boom there that is getting rather long in the tooth. You may be selling into a rather soft market. Do your research first and foremost. Learn everything you can. Go to a news stand and buy a Sunday Florida paper. Take your time and be prepared.

[fett]

And if you need help get this. http://www.marx-brothers.org/watchin...htm?movie_id=3 It is funny as hell.:ROTF:

[IrfaanSE801]

Thanks guys, gonna ask around for realtors and see how it goes. The land is in our name to be sold or whatever else we choose to do with it, but I never knew it existed till a few months ago. I did a bit of research and it doubled in value this past month because they put in water and power lines, which is why I'm looking to let em go. That movie looks interesting, I'll see if it's on Netflix, I'm hooked on that damn thing now, I've got over 150 movies in queue

[HuntinDoug]

I have bought land three times...and sold land twice. I bought directly by land contract once, and once through a realtor. When I sold a 5 acre lot a couple years ago, I sold it myself with no problem, and made decent money. IMHO, realtors are for people who dont want to mess with the details, or they have money to throw away. Realtors get paid very, very well for doing very, very little.

I found a website that sells contracts for several different land sales. The contracts can be edited to fit your exact situation. The three big things to do prior to selling land yourself is:

1. Go through a title agency. Do a title search on the property. This will insure that nobody can claim rights or ownership of the lot or deed after it sells. They usually go back about 100 years or so. It costs a couple hundred dollars in my state. Well worth it!

2. Have a survey done. The first thing I look for when buying land are the stakes & pins. I owned a house about 15 years ago that had a neighbors fence running well onto my property. The laws in Ohio stated that if this situation stayed the same, and was not contested for 21 years, the property line moves automatically. All I had to do was shoot a letter off to my neighbor stating that the fence was on my property, and everything was cool...no need to move it. I was good for another 21 years.

3. List it exactly as it is. Stating every detail about: Power, water, zoning, schools, ect. Any info you don't tell to the buyer, you can be liable for. This info is fairly easy to find out. Anytime a person lists a property, reators swarm like flies wanting to "handle things" for you. I had one realtor actually pose a a potential buyer when I sold my first home. I saw her 2 weeks later doing a "drive by" showing. By that time, the house was sold.

I'm not trying to bash realtors. I've met one cool one, but I still handle things myself....7% is a lot to shell out. Best of luck....

[hammer84]

I use a real estate lawyer and mortgage broker/agent. My total payout is usually about 1.5 % and it far better service. The buyers have more options doing this way also. Realtors just want to make the sale to get paid. You are much better covering your a** with the lawyer.

[FusionFarmer]

Where at in Florida? I'm up here in the Panhandle , anything in this part of the state I could give a good idea of what the value is. Land has increased drastically in the last few years, $10,000 an acre for rural farm land/woods is pretty common right now, depending on quality and tract size, you could'nt get 2000 an acre 5 years ago, Property close to the beach is crazy expensive, 500k an acre or better, the closer to the beach the more its worth, I bought 160 acres for $450 an acre 14 years ago, and there wasn't a sole around me, now I have people living all around my place

[IrfaanSE801]

Wow, thanks for the advice guys. Fusion, 2 of them are in Lehigh Acres and the other 2 are in Port LaBelle. I forgot which one is worth more, but one set is currently being developed (looks like a neighborhood coming up, but still in very early stages). I have the market value #'s on both of them, but I don't know how much they would sell for. I'm really a newb at this in every sense. I'm 23, barely moved outta the parents house and just found out about this. I need a website that kinda lays out step by step what I need to do and what it all means. Doug, how did you find people to buy the land, if you don't mind me asking? Is there a listing I should know about?

[HuntinDoug]

Doug, how did you find people to buy the land, if you don't mind me asking? Is there a listing I should know about?

They found me. I sold my first house in 9 days useing a local paper...that was 15 years ago. The 5 acres I had I sold a couple years ago in less than 3 weeks. Again I used a local paper to advertise it. I listed it as "surveyed & title searched". If land is in demand in that area, you should have no problem moving it. It may require a couple trips to FL though.

I forget the name of the form website I got my contract from. Just do a search for land sale contracts...you'll find it. If you go with a realtor. Don't sign right away. Negotiate with them. Sometimes you can get thier services at 3 1/2% instead of 7%. Good luck!

[Shotgun]

PM sent.

Keith