13 Oct 5 Tips You Need Know Before Selling Your Land

Are considering selling your land?

Do you own land in a potential growth area that may be suitable for residential development? If so here are 5 things you should know before selling your land.

1. Clean up the land!

   Beautiful online pictures may get you interest from potential land buyers, but when they come to see you land in person, and they will, if they see garbage strewn on the property or in the fencing, or if there is old junk laying around, you may lose the sale before it even begins. Remove anything laying on the ground. Just like selling a home, “curb appeal” matters. So the very first things you should do? Clean up your land.

2. Have it Surveyed

   Sure, this will cost money, but eventually you are going to have to do this to sell they land anyway. There is nothing like getting to contract and your buyer discovers the parcel of land is less than “advertised.” Know exactly the lot size you are selling, where the property lines are. If you don’t have the survey done before you list the property, you and your buyer may be in for a surprise. On the other hand, buyers will be impressed if you have already taken care of a survey.

3. Know the Local Zoning / Environmental Laws

   Do your homework on local zoning and environmental laws. If your buyer should want to split the property in half, you will need to know the local zoning laws and how they pertain to your property. Be sure you understand if wetlands are on your property. Everything you need to know about local zoning rules and environmental laws can be found by searching online.

4. Be sure all of the owners are committed to sell

   This may seem obvious, but sometimes there are family members or business partners who aren’t really ready and suddenly decide that they want to exercise their say so to kill or postpone the sale. A good idea is to give one person in the ownership group power of attorney to act for the group. This will usually draw out any reservations in the group in the process of determining who will represent the group

5. Be aware of the tax implications of selling

   If this land has been in your family for a long time with no adjustment in the basis, you could be in for a large capital gains tax. Make sure you talk to your accountant about the tax implications of selling you land before you put your land on the market.

Ready to sell, but not sure about some of the above?
Schedule a free consultation with our team to help guide you through the process of selling your land.