Many people believe that investing in land would yield lots of returns in the long run. Though buying a piece of land is definitely way easier than buying a property, not many people know how to strike a good deal when it comes to buying land for sale. Do you find many advertisements for land for sale in Missouri? Do you feel the urge to contact the advertiser or seller and invest in your own, small share of a plot?
Here, we have given you some important tips that you should bear in mind when you want to crack a good deal while buying some Missouri acreage for sale or homes with land on sale in your locality. These tips contain some fundamental concepts that are involved with analyzing the quality of the land and negotiating with the concerned people to buy at the right market price.
When you aren’t aware of the basics, unscrupulous sellers can exploit your ignorance. If you haven’t done your research properly, you end up paying more for the piece of land than what it actually deserves. So, it becomes imperative for you understand these points and implement them practically when you are about to buy land for sale wherever you want.
- What do you want to do with the land?
The answers to all other questions such as how much you should pay for the land, where you should buy the land, what type of land you should buy, etc., will depend on one main question, “what do you want to do with the land.” Most of the time, you may want to buy the land for investment purposes only. In these cases, the facilities nearby and other factors may not matter to you too much.
However, when you are buying land to build a home on it, and stay there permanently, you have to conduct exhaustive research on the land to know about how it will grow in the coming years. You should also study the neighborhood to know if there are basic amenities nearby. All of these will play a big role in deciding the price of land.
- Where do you want to buy the land from?
If you are planning to buy land for sale, you will have to decide where you want to buy it from. There are quite a few sources from where you can make your land purchase. Some of the most-commonly sought sources are agents, brokers, online resources and direct owners. Regardless of the source you choose, you need to exercise a lot of caution to ensure that you aren’t exploited.
Agents – Yes, with agents, you can definitely assess many pieces of land for sale in the locality of your choice. While professional agents guide you on the parameters to choose the right piece of land for your requirements, not everything is rosy here. These agents can charge you exorbitant rates of commission; therefore, you need to be aware of the market rates before you tie up with an agent. Also, you have to spend enough time & research to choose an experienced agent, who has enough experience in dealing with land.
Brokers – Land brokers are more educated and experienced than the usual real estate agents you may come across. These brokers are the best people to tell you about the quality of the land that you are interested in, its characteristics and its potential to yield returns in the long run. Due to their knowledge, they often charge quite a high rate of commission than the agents. You should bring out your best negotiation skills to get the best deal from these brokers.
Online sources – With the advent of technology, finding land deals is quite easy in the locality that you want. You can use the help of Google to know about the authorized real estate websites in your country. Check for land deals on these websites and filter by locality, price, area of the plot and the like. Though it is easy to find land deals online, one cannot deny that there are lots of opportunities for scams in this route.
The best way to strike a good land deal is to find some good options online, and then personally connect with brokers or agents to finalize them. It is not recommended to close any deals online without a personal inspection of the land.
Direct Owners – In the countryside and small towns, you can find many agricultural plots or other types of land for sale posted directly by owners. If you are interested in buying land in rural areas, this is a great option, because you can deal directly with the owners, and skip paying commission to the middlemen.
Some of the other sources from where you can buy land are on sites specializing in auctions and plots owned by the Government. However, the sources that we have mentioned above are the most common. So, all you need to do is to tune your approach differently depending on the source, so that you get a good deal.
- Is the land free from problems?
You can answer this question with confidence only after you have conducted a thorough research. Once you know about your land fully, you can negotiate with the owners, agents or brokers to buy land at the right price. How do you know what is the “right price” for the land that you are interested in? Here are some points that you have to analyze for the same:
Check all the documents of the land – this will let you know if the land is free from liens, ownership ambiguity, etc. Ensure that no property taxes and other important payments are due on the piece of land, before you put your money in it. Hire a professional to check the land deed and ownership details of the land to rule out problems in the future.
Check the characteristics of the land – this should include a study on the type of land (is it a landlocked parcel or does it have road access), its proximity to water bodies, susceptibility to natural calamities and the like
Check the restrictions of usage on the land – every local government has a list of do’s and don’ts when it comes to using a piece of land that is on sale. Some of the common types of zoning restrictions on land are residential, multi-family, agricultural, industrial and commercial. For example, when a land comes with agricultural zoning, it means you can only use this land for agricultural purposes, subject to certain conditions.
Check for the basic facilities available on the land – The more fertile and equipped the land is, the better price it will command in the market. So, you need to check for the presence of basic facilities on the land before you strike a deal with the seller. Water, cost of digging a well, cost of utilities such as electricity and gas in that area, presence of telephone & internet cables, municipal sewer facility etc. are very important factors that will determine the price of land.
- Is the price right for the land?
In most of the cases the advertiser or seller will give you a report from the surveyor that claims that the land is free from issues. However, as a potential buyer, you should never blindly trust this report. The best thing to do in this case would be to hire a professional surveyor of your choice to get the land surveyed again. An expert will help you understand the exact boundaries of your land, building restrictions on it, if any, growth potential in the future, presence of amenities, further permissions required, if any, risks to floods & other calamities and the like.
Your surveyor will also give you an estimate of the price that the land deserves. If the seller is quoting a higher price, you can negotiate with facts to the concerned parties and pay only what is right for that piece of land and not what the seller quotes.
- How to monetize your land?
Once you have done all your research and invested in the land, all you need to do is to be patient. This is because a piece of land does take a long time to give good returns on your investment. Does that mean you only have to sit idle during your waiting period? Definitely not! Here are some tips you can try on your land to improve its value. This way, you would have surely cracked a great deal on your land purchase.
- Notice the price trends of land, plots and properties. Once you see an upward trend for a period of about 6 months or so, you can re-sell your land to make a lot of profit from the deal.
- If you don’t want to re-sell, you can work on making your land valuable by installing a few basic facilities on it. Arranging for bore well facilities, setting up a concrete driveway, putting up fences, etc. are small things that you can to make the value of your land appreciate faster than you expected.
In short, you need to remember that before buying a piece of land, it is important for you to be sure of its authenticity. If you spend enough time studying the land before buying it, you can expect your land to give you back good returns in the long run.
