Real Estate Developer: We Buy Land and Acreage

Land does not sell like a house and it should not be handled like one. There are no rooms to stage and no comparable down the street with the same frontage, soil, and access. Most agents price it by the acre, list it, and wait. That is how a wooded parcel with road frontage ends up carrying the same number as landlocked ground behind someone else's farm.

We buy land directly, and we buy a lot of it, so we know which questions actually change the price. Can you drive onto it. Will it perc. Where does the flood line sit. What does the zoning allow, and what would it take to change that. Is there standing timber, gravel, or a mineral interest still attached.

Tax status matters more on acreage than people expect. In Ohio, 10 or more contiguous acres qualifies for CAUV automatically, which changes what you pay every year. Converting that land out of agricultural use triggers three years of recoupment, and that liability follows the parcel to the next owner. A buyer who does not understand that will either misprice your land or discover it late and try to renegotiate.

Cost of sale is different too. Listing land runs 5 to 10 percent in commission where a house runs 5 to 6 percent. On a large parcel that spread is real money, and it comes out of your side of the table.