Selling Land - Avoiding the Pitfalls

Land is one immovable resource that has the power of quality compound interest. All over the world, people buy and sell land for various proposes. Becoming a landlord or land owner is indeed one of the greatest achievements you can ever make in life. It makes you secure your future especially when you retire from active service.

Indeed, selling land these days demands real diligence and carefulness. Ever since the ages began, man has been in constant pursuance of land. In various villages especially in the traditional African setting, lands belong to head of families who do divide them according to the number of the males in their families. In some parts of the world, major lands belong to the government of the federation while minor lands belong to individuals especially in remote villages.

However selling land has not always been a fun fare. It is one vital decision you must have to really think about before you dabble into it. Oftentimes, people sell their landed properties because of one challenge or the other. Most times, people do so to raise funds for other pressing needs. In any case, there's nothing wrong in selling land but there's everything necessary for you to think twice before you sell. Land is a real income multiplier. It can double your income overtime as the future comes.

In selling land, there are some pitfalls to guard against. You need to be aware of certain factors in order to make the most out of the land you want to sell.

The first pitfall to avoid in selling land is rash decision. You don't need to rush into the selling of the land because of the pressures around. You need think over it and then take the right decision. This is because, once you sell the land, it ceases to be yours forever.

Another pitfall you also need to avoid in selling land is that of doing everything between you and the buyer. You need to follow due process in order to avoid legal proceedings that might occur in the future. Hence, you need to engage the services of a lawyer or land sales agent.

In most states, of America and elsewhere in the world, there are people known as estate surveyors or estate agents, they are also known as land sales agents. These individuals are known for their dexterity in helping you to sell your lands. Such agents usually have the duty of getting a good buyer for you. Many times, agents usually get the highest bidder for the land in question. Most agents are doing the work as a real business. Hence, you need to pay them for it. Usually agents will do the bargaining for you. Many times, they can add more cash on top of the particular price you want to sell the land. From such increases they make their own gain.

Finally, you need to be very careful when it comes to selling land. Lands are immovable; hence, they are wonderful properties to keep. But if for any reason you have to sell, make sure you do so in the right manner. If you're the head of the household, it is very vital to let every other members of your family to be aware that such step is in the offing. Thus, always be very diligent, careful and determined when taking such a decision to sell a land.

Steven Martin is an experienced land purchaser and also provides a Quick Land Sale service. He works at http://selling-land.co.uk/

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Land Realtors - Advanced Training

Is Your Realtor Qualified?

RealtorsR working in land now must have education and greater competence specific to land. The National Association of RealtorsR added the discipline of "land" to the National Association of RealtorsR - Code of Ethics in December, 2009.

Article 11, of the RealtorR Code of Ethics, says that land is now recognized as a specialized, professional service. Article 11 describes that RealtorsR are in violation of the code of ethics if they participate in a land listing or land deal if outside their level of competence and training.

RealtorsR with little or no training and experience in land sales need to hire a professional with sufficient brokerage experience, such as a professional Accredited Land Consultant, to help them if they wish to work on a land related transaction. Otherwise, the RealtorR must disclose in writing that he or she does not possess expertise, education or competence so parties in deal are aware that the RealtorR they are working with does not have the specific marketing knowledge or training.

Knowledge and experience is one of the keys to success in real estate sales. A real estate license allows an agent to sell any kind of real estate. Most select a certain area to work in, a specific market and product to sell. For most RealtorsR, it's a type of residential real estate.

The World Organization Land Federation (WOLF), The American Land College, and The RealtorsR Land Institute each offer advanced land education and marketing courses, lectures and events for real estate practitioners relating to: (1) farm and ranch; (2) undeveloped tracts of land; (3) transitional and development land; (4) subdivision and wholesaling of lots; and (5) site selection and assemblage of land parcels (6) land development and land brokerage; (7) Site Selection. (8) Timber.

Each of these organizations offer valuable classes real estate agents and brokers can complete to fully understand all the options and operations in the land brokerage business. And each offers instruction and mentorship leading to various land brokerage designations. The ALC (Accredited Land Consultant) designation is one such designation a land broker can attain and is indicative of a broker who has conscientiously applied themselves, to acquire the knowledge and practice of a professional.

Agents and brokers should take advantage of the educational opportunities available specific to marketing and selling farms, ranches, timber, land development that will enhance their credibility with clients, streamline learning, and accelerate earnings potential. RealtorsR who list and sell anything specialized need to make sure they are in compliance with Article 11 of the National Association of RealtorsR - Code of Ethics.

For more information on educational and marketing opportunities, contact John Knipe at john@knipeland.com Knipe served two terms as Regional Vice President, Region 12, of the National Association of RealtorsR - RealtorsR Land Institute.

John Knipe is:

President of Knipe Land Company, Inc. http://knipeland.com
Accredited Land Consultant with the RealtorsR Land Institute
Past President of the Idaho Chapter of the National Association of RealtorsR - RealtorsR Land Institute
Past Regional Vice President of National Association of RealtorsR - RealtorsR Land Institute

Director at the World Organization Land Federation http://www.worldorganizationlandfederation.biz

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Land - Your Most Important Decision For Self Reliance and Off Grid Living

You have looked for land for a long time. If you are like me, you have found that the resources for finding property are almost limitless on the web. Unfortunately, that can also freeze you into indecision with so many choices. I am having to solve this problem for myself, so we may as well solve it for all of us. When you go looking for acreage, property, farms, ranches, mountain land, garden land, crop land (enter your own search terms because they are legion), it gives EVERYTHING!

Often, you can waste a lot of valuable time viewing land descriptions and falling in love with a place only to find out that it will fail to meet the needs you have for a piece of property. For instance, did you know that you can actually find land in West Texas that is amazingly cheap? You can get 10 acres that are isolated, with annual property taxes below $100 for a grand total of $2,500. That is not the down payment. That is what the entire TEN ACRES costs!

That is a great price. BUT, will it grow food? Can you get water? Will it support a septic system? Are there building materials on the property that I can use to build a shelter, a house, outbuildings, furniture? What about livestock? I am not saying that you cannot get all these things, but it is certainly the beginning of a list of questions that you have to have answered before you consider buying land. Let us suppose that you already have an image of the life you want in the country fixed in your mind.

How does that life look? What is your routine? When do you get up and what kind of weather will you enjoy? What are you going to have for breakfast? Where are you going to get that breakfast? Will you have water from the well, a stream, a cistern (storage tanks)? Will you have dairy products such as milk? Are fruit trees growing on your property? Is there a vegetable garden that you need to go tend? These questions do not even begin to scratch the surface, because honestly, these questions deal with only the most basic stuff.

When you envision the life you live, the things you do throughout the course of a day, the problems you solve, and the things you create, you are actually loosely defining the uses to which you will need to put your land.

So then, when you start your search for land, a very detailed list of questions, composed by you, needs to be answered. When you find land online, now you are armed with a set of questions you may not have thought you needed before, but they can be quite helpful in determining the answer to the overall question: "Will this land fit my particular needs?"

For the answers to all these questions, your research will necessarily be highly tailored to your own desires. Yes, I know this is a lot of work, and we all have to do this step ourselves because our needs are so individuated, they are almost like a fingerprint. No two needs will really be alike. This is not like building a birdhouse. But once you have done this step, you will feel as if you have the tools you need to make a good decision on a land purchase.

I highly recommend the land search sites on this page to help you locate your dream property, but do the homework. It will save you a lot of heartache in the long run. Suppose I had a list in place, and each criteria I need met for the land starts out with something close to "I want my land to..."

Maybe that phrase could read something like, "I want my land to have water at 75 feet," or "I want my land to grow fruit trees," or "I want my land to be level with rich dirt to grow a garden," or "I want my land to get lots of sunshine so that I can use solar power."

It does not matter how long your list is. Your list could go on for hundreds of lines or several pages. What matters is that you can hold a prospective piece of property up to the magnifying glass of your wishes and you can make a judgment as to whether this property will meet all, or even most of your needs. Of course, we may not be answering these criteria with a simple "yes," or "no." We may want to have a sliding scale to the right of the criteria that goes from 1 to 10, with 1 being the worst match to the criteria and 10 being the best match for the criteria.

Look at the following examples:

1. I want my land to have water at 70 feet: Bad Match 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Perfect Match - Running Total ____

2. I want my land to grow tomatoes well: Bad Match 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Perfect Match - Running Total ____

3. I want my land to accommodate a gravity septic system: Bad Match 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Perfect Match - Running Total ____

4. I want my land to have trees/forest: Bad Match 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Perfect Match - Running Total ____

These are only four questions. But then, this is only an example. The running total off to the side adds the current line's numeric value to the running total from the line above. Some of the questions or criteria you use will be less important to you than others. For instance:

"1. I want my land to have water at 70 feet: Bad Match 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Perfect Match - Running Total ____"

May be less important to you than

"3. I want my land to accommodate a gravity septic system: Bad Match 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Perfect Match - Running Total ____"

This is a totally subjective criteria match measuring system, but I would recommend weighting each line when you circle a number. Maybe what you want to do when you total a line is actually circle 7 because the land is that much of a match, but you want to multiply it times.70 because its importance level to you is only 70 percent of 100 percent. Because of this, the total for that line would be (getting out my Excel spreadsheet tool here), 4.9, or go ahead and round it up to 5.

You may ask, "Well good grief Alex, why not just circle 5 on the line and be done with it?" I do it to supply myself with more data. It tells me exactly how much of a match it was, but it also tells me how important it was to me if I want to investigate more closely.

If I want to stack my land prospect sheets by the Grand total of the running totals for each property (because you will fill out one for each property you look over), then theoretically, the property that is best for me will be on the top of the stack while the property that is the most horrible for me will be on the bottom of the stack. Answer each of your questions. I put the running total out to the side to make the addition easier. You may want to put this data in a spreadsheet so the math will be done for you. In any event, I am supplying my personal land selection criteria form, and you may change it, rewrite it, or redesign your own.

The point I need to make, is that you want to find a systematic way of selecting your property for EACH property using the same criteria. If you fail to systematize your land search, you will end up by relying on your emotions. And I am sorry, but making an emotional purchase of a property could very well be the worst decision you could make.

Best Regards and Good Luck!
-Alex

http://daretoescape.com A website designed to teach anyone how to become self-reliant and get away from the city.

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Land Investment - Buying and Selling Land For a Profit

For hundreds of years land investment has been used as a vehicle for making money but was often reserved for the rich. However, nowadays, with the emergence of new cheaper land markets and the ability to invest in small plots of land the market has been opened up to a whole new category of investors.

It is essential with land investment that people don't get carried away with simply buying cheap land. Obviously a low-cost piece of land can seem appealing, however it is important to remember that your profit will only be made when selling the land and therefore there has to be some reason for the land to increase in value. A cheap land investment is great but if it has no reason to increase in price then how do you expect to make any profit?

So, with land investment there are a few important factors to consider when looking at a plot of land, no matter how large or small. The first to consider is obviously price. Is the land you are investing in worth the price today that is being asked? Secondly is how long you intend on holding your investment. You then need to compare that time with a realistic projection of what your land will be worth when you intend on exiting the investment. For example, if you only want to hold your land for 3 years but projections show that land values in that area are not likely to rise much for the next 5 years then you are investing in the wrong land investment!

More importantly you need to consider what makes your land investment so potentially profitable. Are you simply buying a cheap piece of land and hoping it will increase in value or have you done your homework? If you are investing in an area that has reason to increase in value fast then this is the true investment that brings big returns. So, look for factors that could contribute to this. For example, is your land inaccessible at the moment but that is likely to change over the next few years by the introduction of a new road, railway access or airline route? Maybe it's cheap at the moment because the area is rather unpopulated or unappealing to tourists but the area is beginning to gain a growing amount of tourism each year and is looking to become a hot spot in the future?

Land investment can be very simple but the most simple thing is to forget the price you are paying and concentrate on what the cost you will sell at and how realistic it will be to achieve the returns you are looking for from your land investment. If you can't see a reason why the land value would increase then you're probably investing in something that will not give you the return you were hoping for.

If your land investment carries reasons for growth in the future then make sure you are paying the best price you can and take into account how other costs could affect your return. For example, a great priced piece of land is no longer a great priced piece of land if you have to add 60% to the price to cover legal costs, transfer fees and other associated land investment charges.

Land investment can be one of the easiest and most financially rewarding types of investment there is. The secret is to keep a cool head and select the right area by not looking at what makes the land good right now, but what makes the land look much better in the future!

For more information on Land Investment including investments with guaranteed returns, visit Blue Rock Investments

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How Land Values Are Determined When it Comes to Selling Land

Being able to get your land sold off in the United Kingdom can help you to get a great amount of money. However the money that you will be getting for every acre of land that you sell can vary in accordance with a number of things. These include land locations, the ability to access the land and the ability to get new things planned on land. Here are many things to see with regards to selling land in the UK.

First there is the location of the land. Depending on where you are in the United Kingdom you should be prepared to earn more or less depending on where your land is located in. Places that are near some more populated areas are generally going to be ones that can be worth more money. Areas that have land that is especially fertile and welcoming for agricultural duties will also be worth more money. The main thing about the location of the land is that if the land is located somewhere where the land can be utilised well and can have many things happen on it the value of that land will be greater.

Next for selling land there is the ability of people to be able to reach the land that is available for sale. While some pieces of land can be appealing to some people those people could have some reservations with regards to how they can get access to their lands. Land that is located near major roads and highways can be worth more money because of how easy it will be to get somewhere. When people are more likely to be able to get somewhere values can increase pretty easily.

The amount of development near the land is something to watch for as well. Land areas that have more new developments near it will be worth more money because of how the land can be more accessible to more people. A good example of this comes from how the values for land in the Stratford area of London have increased since the construction process began for the new Olympic Stadium that will be used in that area for the 2012 Summer Olympics. Land values in the Stratford area have gone up several times since this construction of the new stadium for the games began.

The most important factor though comes from the ability to get property to be developed on the land. In order for new things to be built on a piece of land planning permission must be used in order to allow for things to be built on that land. If people cannot develop new things on the land you are selling then you will have a very difficult time with selling land in order to get a good amount of money off of your land.

However you can check with your local government to see if your land has been approved for developments and if you can allow people who want to buy your land to develop new things on that area. This is an especially great thing to do in areas of the UK where housing is at a premium and new developments could always be built in order to cater the growing population of an area.

These are all useful factors to check out with regards to how much you can get per acre with regards to selling land. Your land can be worth plenty of money if it is accessible and has had a good amount of development around it in recent time. You will especially need to see if the land you have can work with new developments and is legally capable of handling those developments.

Steven Martin is an experienced land purchaser and also provides a Quick Land Sale service. He works at http://www.selling-land.co.uk

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Land With Timber

Land and timber, independent of the other, have value. Sometimes when land with timber sells, not long after the sale, the new owner harvest some or all of the timber, and the timber pays the new landowner what he just paid for both the land and the standing timber. When this happens, everyone quickly realizes that the buyer had better or greater knowledge than the seller. The buyer knew what he was buying. The seller did not know what he had and what he was selling. If you are buying, selling, or if you are an agent or broker representing a buyer or seller with timber on the land, you need specialized knowledge. You need know know that timber has value. Timber can be a valuable asset. Land with scattered timber may not be worth much at all. But land with nice, thick timber, close to a mill, and land with a higher better use may be worth $10,000 an acre or more.

When buying or selling land with timber - the timber may be worth a lot of money. A buyer may be able to use the standing timber to help pay some of his costs of the deal or as immediate profit. Forestry-land-consultants can provide a buyer or a seller with great advice with an interest or opportunity to be involved in the sale of the timber. Transactions happen where one side values the timber too high or too low than the actual timber value. For example, the landowner with the help of a qualified land consultant - determined the value of his timber was $400,000 with the timber and the land combined. A buyer decided on his own that the value of the land and timber was worth nearly $2,000,000 and paid $1,400,000. The opposite is also true. A buyer determines the value correctly is higher than what the land owner will sell for and the value of the trees helps pay for the transaction. Coincidently, this can be true of any natural resource a property may have. For example, gold, silver, fresh water that the buyer in turn bottles and sells, etc.

Buyers and sellers of land and timber need to be educated on the values of timber and the costs of harvesting. There is a procedure to be followed in determining the timber values. Buyers and sellers need to know the process. Agents and brokers working with buyers and sellers need to know the process. They need to know how to read and how to understand maps and photos, measure acreage, timber inventory procedures, products and utilization of the products, and they need to know market value. There are different types of timber and timber sales. Buyer, seller and brokers of this kind of real estate need to know the types of sales available, why they exist, and how they work. Computer growth and yield programs showing how timber stands grow is specialized information land agents and brokers who deal in land need to know and understand to best serve their clients. A correctly performed profitability analysis of various scenarios from the buyer or seller's qualified agent or broker is highly valuable to the buyer or seller. Regardless if buying or selling, a forestry - land consultant is knowledgeable in the timber business can make you money.

The RealtorsR Land Institute are agents and brokers who specialize in land sales. And the RealtorsR Land Institute offers advanced education to agents and brokers relating to timber, agriculture, farms, ranches, land development, site selection, and transitional land. The Institute awards the designation of Accredited Land ConsultantR, awarded to agents and broker based on completing advanced land education and closed sales experience. If you are buying or selling, contact the author for assistance with locating, buying or selling land with or without timber.

John Knipe is:

President of Knipe Land Company, Inc. http://knipeland.com

Accredited Land Consultant with the RealtorsR Land Institute

Past President of the Idaho Chapter of the National Association of RealtorsR - RealtorsR Land Institute

Past Regional Vice President of National Association of RealtorsR - RealtorsR Land Institute

Director at the World Organization Land Federation http://www.worldorganizationlandfederation.biz

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Surveying in the Public Land Survey System

The Public Land Survey System, or PLSS, is a surveying method used in the United States. Its purpose is to identify separate parcels of land, especially rural or undeveloped land. The Public Land Survey System divides land into townships and sections, and is sometimes called the rectangular survey system because these areas of land are usually rectangular, although this is not always the case.

The PLSS has been described as both the first mathematically designed land survey system, and the first cadastral survey conducted nationwide in any modern country. The methods used for PLSS surveys are described by manuals produced by the General Land Office of the United States. Today, Public Land Survey System guidelines are still used to survey public lands across the nation. These principles are also being considered or adopted. by countless foreign nations.

The Public Land Survey System was created by the Land Ordinance of 1785, though it has been expanded and modified considerably over the last two centuries. The system was needed because the original colonies used the British surveying system of metes and bounds, describing boundaries based on local markers, often manmade. Points were described in terms of their location when compared to nearby creeks, trees, rocks, and other landmarks. The system was often supplemented with town plat maps. The issue with this system is that irregularly-shaped properties make extremely complex descriptions. As streams erode or dry up, trees die, boulders move, and homes are built, the landmarks used to conduct the survey may no longer be in the same place. Plus, it was not very useful to those who could not actually see the land in question, such as land in the west being sold to speculators.

The Land Ordinance of 1785 and the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 controlled the survey and settling of new lands. According to these ordinances, the western land of the United States would be surveyed using a new, rectangular system, the Public Land Survey System. The first area surveyed using this system was in eastern Ohio; today, the area is a National Historic Landmark. These first lands were surveyed somewhat haphazardly, with an eye towards speed rather than accuracy. To the west, land surveys were typically more accurate. In each area, typically covering a state or even more, a major north-south line (meridian) and east-west line (base) provide the basis for land descriptions. In the west, many county lines follow these surveying lines, which is the reason why many counties are rectangular.

Under the Public Land Survey System, the meridian and base lines are used to divide the land into intervals of about 24 or 30 miles, forming a lattice pattern. Each township is a square of approximately 36 square miles. These townships are divided further into 36 sections, each 1 square mile. For the purpose of selling land, these sections can also be further divided into quarter-sections, each 0.25 square mile. If necessary, private surveyors can survey this land to further divide it, though most government surveys stop at quarter-sections. Each section is labeled using a system of numbers and letters, precisely pinpointing where this section of land lies in relation to other sections. Homesteading depended in the PLSS, which provided the basis for assigning land to settlers.

We at Point to Point Land Surveyors pride ourselves on accuracy, customer service and quality work delivered on time, guaranteed. Residential land surveys are a specialty.

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