If you’re the proud owner of some land in Gainesville and are entertaining selling the property, listing by owner is a great way to sell your land. Selling land is entirely different than selling a home which means you should be able to do it on your own easily. The advantage of selling land by yourself in Gainesville is avoiding costly commissions that come with hiring an agent. But if you’re not familiar with the process, you’ll want to learn more about selling land without a realtor before you put the place on the market. Below we’ll cover all you need to know about selling land on your own in Florida, including helpful tips, benefits, and the entire process so that way you’re prepared to sell your land successfully.
Tips for Selling Land in Florida
Selling land is a little different than selling a house but the good news is it shouldn’t be that complicated. Below are three helpful tips that will help you get started!
Tip #1: Get to Know Your Ideal Buyer
People who are looking for land to purchase are not the typical people buying houses. Buyers in the market for dirt usually already have an idea of what they’re looking for in mind, so understanding their plans is a good way to sell the land. Say if they’re planning to build a vacation home, point out the gorgeous views, the proximity to local attractions or amenities, and other highlights of your lot that fit their plans. Your land location will be one of your biggest selling features, so make sure you emphasize its prime location.
Once you understand the buyers who would be most likely to purchase your land, you can better equip yourself with info that is most relevant to them. If young families are purchasing most of the vacant lots in the area, having information about the local schools, restaurants, and shopping may help seal the deal. If land nearby has been sold for commercial real estate, providing buyers with demographics and other information may also help make their decision.
Tip #2 Avoid Banks and Financing if Possible
Most sellers will provide financing so that the buying process is easier on both ends. When selling a home in Gainesville, most buyers must go to the bank for a loan to purchase the property. But selling land is a bit different. People can go to the bank for a loan to buy property, but it usually ends up being a long-drawn-out process.
So another solution that owners (looking to sell) offer buyers is seller financing. Seller financing helps buyers avoid taking out a large loan and just pays the seller in smaller monthly installments. This option allows the buyer to avoid high-interest rates from the bank, provides the opportunity for a smaller down payment, and the ability to skip the bank digging into credit histories or past employment.
However, this option only works if you’re in a good financial position. If selling the land helps you avoid foreclosure or bankruptcy, you’ll need to find a buyer who could pay the entire amount upfront.
If you’re considering offering to finance, make sure you still get proof that the buyer can pay the agreed-upon amount each month, and make sure you get a lawyer involved to create an agreement that you both sign.
Tip #3 Get The Land Ready for Inspections
Another one of the tips for selling land in Florida is to get the land ready for buyer inspections. When selling a property with a house, it is much easier to entice buyers with a residence. However, if you have an empty lot to sell, you will have to work hard to convince the buyers.
You can do this by keeping the land clean and free of unnecessary trash. Make sure to mow the grass. If you have trees or plants on the property, you should keep things maintained and trimmed- so the land is presentable at all times. This will increase your chances of getting the lot sold right away.
Selling Land Without a Realtor in Florida
If you have available time to list and sell your property, why not try selling land by yourself? The nice thing is it isn’t like selling a house; besides keeping the lot maintained, it’s not like you need to make repairs, declutter, clean, and stage like you would with a home.
The only issue that comes with selling land in FL without a realtor is if you just don’t have the extra time to sell, market, or handle phone calls and emails. The other thing you’ll need to remember is selling land by yourself will take some time. You’ll need to find the perfect buyer willing to take on buying an empty lot. And just in case, make sure you know what to do if the listing expires.
Benefits of Selling Land Without a Realtor
There are several benefits of selling land on your own, including having control of the selling process and no listing agent commissions. Working with a real estate agent is nice from the standpoint that they will handle a majority of the selling process, but you’ll end up paying 2.5-3% in commissions. So a huge benefit of selling land without a realtor is that you can keep several thousand dollars upon the sale of your property.
Don’t forget though, buyer’s agents usually charge a commission too (2.5-3%)
Process of Selling Land Without a Realtor
If this is your first time selling real estate or it’s been a while, it’s important to educate yourself and have answers to questions a prospective buyer will ask you. If you’re going to do this without a realtor, it is important to know the answers to questions like:
- What is the lot zoned for?
- What are the zoning laws?
- What are the flow rates from the existing wells?
- What type of septic system is in place?
- Can it be built on and what are the building requirements?
- Are there liens on the property or deed restrictions?
- Is there or will there be an HOA fee?
These are all questions a real estate agent would know to ask, so since you’re selling land by yourself; it will be on you to figure out the answers before you make things official.
Create a Land Selling Checklist
You’ll also need to make sure you get the necessary documents ready to sell land without a realtor. Since you’re taking on the role of an agent, you’ll be in charge of all the behind-the-scenes work they usually handle. The realtor makes phone calls, gathers documents, sends emails, and schedules the meeting to make the transaction run smoothly. If you’re not working with a local real estate agent, you’re in charge of all of those things. Below is a brief land selling checklist on how to prepare to get things done on your own:
Final Takeaways
Selling land in Gainesville by yourself does have the potential to save you quite a bit of money. But you’ll just be exchanging that for time and effort that it will take you to sell on your own. Keep in mind that if your buyer uses an agent, there still will be a commission for their realtor, so ideally, it’d be helpful to find a buyer without an agent.
If you don’t think you have the extra time or energy to handle your property’s sale, you can always consider selling another way- selling to a we buy houses in Gainesville company. Although, your first thought may be, “I was under the impression these companies only purchase houses.” They actually buy land, vacant lots, abandoned houses, old houses, and new houses. They purchase all different types of residential real estate. So if you’re saying, “I need to sell my property fast,” working with a local home buyer would be perfect!
This would be an ideal opportunity for you to make a direct sale versus hiring an agent or selling by owner, and here’s why:
- Homebuyers pay in cash, so they can make you an offer within 24-hours and close within 7-days.
- Homebuyers are investors and usually understand the land purchasing process, zoning, and building.
- Homebuyers don’t use realtors, which means no commissions or service fees.
- Homebuyers help pay closing costs which can add up to 2.0-5.0% of the purchase price.
If you’d like to work with cash home buyers in Gainesville, Sell Your Gainesville Home Today would be a perfect choice to handle buying your land. They are a local Gainesville home buying company that is family-owned and operated. They are a BBB accredited business with an A rating and have 5-star ratings with Google.
So, if you’re looking for a fast way to sell your land without a realtor, consider working with the Sell Your Gainesville Home Today team!