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I don't know a whole lot about buying real estate but me and my wife are interested in buying a plot of land in California to build a small home on.
As we have looked at various listings through online sites like Landwatch we have noticed that there are many more plots of land in remote areas than are listed.
How can we obtain info on all the plots in an area? Plots that are not listed anywhere for sale online?
Don't forget that not all vacant lots will be for sale. Some folks buy up lots as an investment for the future or to later build on those lots for themselves. I suggest you consult a local Realtor with access to the MLS. Some information is not available in in the public record and not easily found on your own. Finding out who owns a lot may be of no use if they aren't planning to sell it.
It's just that the listings that I can see online in the area in question are from persons or companies that have bought some vacant lots and have put them up for sale.
Nothing wrong with that.
But such listings represent maybe 1 out of 20 lots in the areas that interest us.
Which makes us wonder how many of the unlisted plots might be for sale at lower prices. Bear in mind these are vacant, undeveloped plots of land. They've apparently been that way for a long time.
Perhaps we could contact owners directly and induce them to sell?
But we don't know how to get info on ownership and related details for plots that are not generally listed for sale online anywhere.
Yes, some lots were undoubtedly bought for possible later build but the areas we are looking at are very remote.
What's odd is that all the lots in the area have water and electric hookups available in subdivided plots.
It's like someone laid out the subdivisions, went through the expense of laying in paved roads and utility access, and then abandoned the whole area.
A great deal for us mind you but we don't want to limit our lot pick from only those listed for sale online.
Go online to the County Assessor's office in which county you think you might be interested in buying. You can do an online search by street name or district name or subdivision name.
Once you've got the area you are interested in, you will also likely find a plat map of the subdivision. Click on the individual parcel number and take a look at the assessor's data. If there's a house on the lot, it will give some details as to the size, number of rooms, date built, etc. If there's no info on the house that's on the lot, then you can probably assume that there is no house on the lot.
Generally, the owner's name and address will appear in the info for that parcel. Send them a letter and ask if they want to sell. You might be surprised how many say "yes", but their price may not be realistic at first. However, if they genuinely want to sell, they may be willing to negotiate.
Of course, it helps if you have some idea of the neighborhoods that you might be interested in. If a neighborhood is fully built out, then you won't find any vacant lots for sale. Again, it helps if you are somewhat familiar with the neighborhood. If you have a street name or address of a vacant lot or a neighboring lot, that helps even more.
Sometimes you can knock on the door of a neighbor and inquire as to who owns the lot, but often times the neighbor may not know much about the owner of the lot or how to get in touch with them. That's where the Assessor's Office records come in handy.
Ownership of property is usually available in County records, often online.
I agree with that, but it won't show if a home or lot is for sale and that is why I suggested asking a Realtor. In most markets, the cost and date of a lot/home sold will be available but since Real Estate is local, YMMV.
It's just that the listings that I can see online in the area in question are from persons or companies that have bought some vacant lots and have put them up for sale.
Nothing wrong with that.
But such listings represent maybe 1 out of 20 lots in the areas that interest us.
Which makes us wonder how many of the unlisted plots might be for sale at lower prices. Bear in mind these are vacant, undeveloped plots of land. They've apparently been that way for a long time.
Perhaps we could contact owners directly and induce them to sell?
But we don't know how to get info on ownership and related details for plots that are not generally listed for sale online anywhere.
Yes, some lots were undoubtedly bought for possible later build but the areas we are looking at are very remote.
What's odd is that all the lots in the area have water and electric hookups available in subdivided plots.
It's like someone laid out the subdivisions, went through the expense of laying in paved roads and utility access, and then abandoned the whole area.
A great deal for us mind you but we don't want to limit our lot pick from only those listed for sale online.
As others have suggested, the county appraiser's office can provide the owner's information for every one of the lots in the area you're considering. If you're lucky and it's a state where they're fairly progressive with their data, you can probably get this just sitting at your computer.
Why not compile a list of the owners of the lots you're considering and do a mailing? Sometimes people aren't thinking about the sale of raw land they're holding until someone approaches them with an offer to buy.
This happened to me some years ago with a lot that was given to me through the estate of a relative. It was in an area that had been platted prior to WWII, so the lots were narrow and deep by today's standards. You would have to own two adjacent lots to build anything today, so there were a couple of private developers who were buying things up piecemeal over time. A lot of the properties were held but he original (deceased) owner's estates or their heirs, who had non idea what the property was worth nor had any interest in holding it. We discovered this by going through the tax records for the properties, and when we identified the people who owned a number of different lots in the area we were able to contact them and ultimately sell the lot for a reasonable price.
Do your due diligence and you might be surprised. It won't cost much but some paper and stamps and some of your time. And what's the worst thing that can happen?
To find lots that are for sale, you do a couple of things. You contact a realtor in that area and have him check the multiple listing.
Then you get into your car and drive around looking for "for sale" signs. The "for sale by owner" lots will have a crummy little for sale sign on them.
If you Google for sale by owner or fsbo, there are a couple of websites that list those.
Last edited by oregonwoodsmoke; 11-22-2020 at 09:23 PM..
If the land has been subdivided into individual building lots and you are not seeing houses being built, that’s definitely a red flag. Most individuals and or builders develop the land in order to build spec homes so that it gives them an edge in the housing market.
Often they will sell off some of the non prime lots in order to recoup some equity if needed, or they will sell prime lots for a hefty retail price since they loose their opportunity to benefit from the profit of building a new house.
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