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I have been considering whether to get a Realtor to help me with land purchase. Honestly, the Realtor won't make much out of it since I looking in range of only $20K to $60k max.
When I contacted Realtors, including seller agents, regarding land I seem to get a slow or no response. Possibly because they prefer not deal with such transactions.
Should still try handle search and transaction myself or actually try find a Realtor?
I have been considering whether to get a Realtor to help me with land purchase. Honestly, the Realtor won't make much out of it since I looking in range of only $20K to $60k max.
When I contacted Realtors, including seller agents, regarding land I seem to get a slow or no response. Possibly because they prefer not deal with such transactions.
Should still try handle search and transaction myself or actually try find a Realtor?
If you want a land agent, you might look at land listings, and find an agent who lists land. That agent will most likely also work with buyers, too.
You want an agent who has sold raw land before, and not someone who only sells cookie cutter tract housing. Too many residential agents think land is "easy" because there is no house. Really, it is a bit different transaction, and can be a bit more difficult selling land.
Listen to MikeJaquish above. Most real estate agents only sell single family dwellings. They do not really understand land sales, and do not even know how to find small partials of land like you are looking for to bring them to your attention.
Find a Realtor in your area, that specializes in land. They can locate land that you will never even find out about otherwise. They are like a small fraternity, that know each other and work together, and they know who to call about what you are looking for.
Type in Realtor.com (your city)(land) Is a place to start. Find who is offering land, and call them and tell them what you want, and price you are looking at. Let them do the work for you, and even if it is not a big sale, they will still rather have a quick sale of land, than wait for a big sale to come along who may not come along.
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
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And what precisely is a realtor going to add to your land purchase transaction? (Apart from 10+% commision... common with bare land)
a realtor is NOT going to do your due diligence.
Do you know how to read a plat map?
Can you find the survey stakes?
Can you go to planning and validate zoning / uga / soil / drainage / access and land use?
Are you able to wade through a legal description with easements? / grants (sometimes for minerals / use / water / access / neighbors / heirs...)
Do you know how to use a transit? (or laser)
Can you evaluate soils? (For septic perk / drainage / well)
PLEASE note the access requirements (road egress) Stuff like that can SHUT YOU DOWN. (county permits). some lots are not acceptable, and many with 'shared; roadways are a lifelong hassle. (don't go there)
Ask your realtor if they can do this stuff (probably not), certainly NOT to a point of assuring their findings with a bond / written commitment.
Either do it yourself or use professionals (Surveyors and lawyers / and planners) NOT realtors / marketing agents.
A realtor will salivate all over your contract if they can walk away with $6k for no work.
Do you think a Realtor can help in negotiating the price? Or would I be able to negotiate a lower price if the buyer didn't have to pay my Realtor?
Maybe you get a better price.
Maybe a professional helps you avoid a mistake.
You are concerned about an agent not wanting to do the deal because the commission is too low, but you are worried about getting a lower price by avoiding that "too low" commission?
Probably you will find that a listing agent will keep the whole commission, or almost all, if they are the only agent involved.
First thing you must consider is, how are you going to find the right property without a Realtor. They are going to have nearly all of the for sale land listed. Rarely will you find a parcel by yourself, and usually the reason it is not listed, is that no Realtor wants to list it because he owner is unrealistic on the price they want, as just one reason.
If you want to find the best piece of land for your use, you are going to need a Realtor as they will have it listed.
BUt: we are looking at land currently to build on. FOR one {or any}location, BEFORE writing offer {which never happened due to what I found out} I:
1} called the Zoning board office and talked to the zoning officer. He may hold all the keys to what you do on a property. ASK LOTS OF QUESTIONS. If you are lucky, he will offer additional advice, depending on how busy he is. Allow him to call you back at his convenience.
2} Called the Assessors office. To verify current tax info, asked about our plans to build {specifics of # of rooms, type, # of baths, sqftage, architectural type, # of floors, etc. The more info you can give them, the better as then they can give you a more accurate taxes quote.
3} called the utilities offices. Found out the cost to connect to city services{water, sewer}, and then private utilities {electric}. $10k to connect to city water/sewer, approximately $3k-5K for electric.
4} Called the permitting office {may be same as zoning} to find out costs associated with getting permits.
5} find out approximate cost to build from 3 local builders. {we have some plans already}
6} checked into modular availability {allowed to be installed, cost to order, delivery, foundation costs, etc}
AS mentioned, you DON'T Want surprises AFTER you bought.
For example: on the "most perfect double lot" we found, was represented as having something it did not. By talking to the Zone officer, I found out it was MISREPRESENTED by the owner, who THOUGHT it was a "complete listing".
By talking to the assessors office, I found out no cost to change the two lots to one lot for tax purposes.
By the Zone office, he suggested we may want to later sell one of the lots, a thought we hadn't had, nor one of building a second house on the "other lot", to sell or rent.
AS mentioned DO YOUR DUE diligence BEFORE YOU find out your dream lot is your worst nightmare!!!
AN AGENT WILL NOT DO IT FOR YOU. In fact the listing agent did NOT know there was NO nat. gas on the property! he went by what owner thought.
Another property we looked at turned out it had {major} "water issues".
We scrapped the idea of that "perfect property"!WHy? It was misrepresented, and we changed our minds.
We are embarking on another property, more costlier for one lot, but again, I will call all the above to be sure of issues!
PS I don't have to, but knowing our buyers agent won't make much, I plan to tip him depending on how well he treats us. An extra he doesn't know about yet!
I have bought cheaper land in the price range you are talking about using both a realtor and not a realtor. It depends on the area and the amount of acreage you a buying....
In rural areas, if you know what you're looking for, a realtor can be unnecessary IMHO.
In my latest land purchase I negotiated with the seller directly, no realtor on either side. Got my own survery and went to a title company who does most of the work with land purchases anyways. It worked out nicely and I believe I would of had to pay a decent amount more if I had used a realtor. Probably my best land purchase thus far.
On my first land purchase, it was listed with a realtor. It worked out good too but he got a hefty commission (10%) on the deal which would of been money in my pocket had I been able to deal with seller directly. It still worked out good and everyone was happy.
A local knoweldgable survery and a good title company can be all you need, but I guess it depends on your area and how comfortable you are. A lot of land is for sale in rural areas that is not listed by agents. Sometimes land that isn't for sale, turns out to actually be for sale, if you can contact seller directly.
If a realtor is very knowledgable of the area and specializes in land sales only, I would feel more comfortable using him/her rather than a run of the mill realtor who mainly sells homes. In the former case you may get information and access to parcels you otherwise wouldn't, in the latter case you would probably be looked at as not really worth their time as there would be little commission involved. Good luck.
It's easy to find things without a realtor. We live in the 21st century not the 3rd.
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(don't go there)
