Has your land in Maine been on the market for 6 months, 12 months, 2 years or more? Few showings, no offers and you think that something must be wrong.
Well something probably is. Here are the Top5 Reasons we have identified that get in the way of selling your property.
Price
The number one reason property does not sell is typically a pricing problem. Before putting your land on the market a thorough analysis of the potential uses of the land, recent sale data, competing properties for sale, location issues, property improvements and other factors should be considered in order to price the property competitively for the market. If this is not done correctly from the start the end result is longer marketing time and a below market selling price.
Marketing
Number two on our list is marketing. Determining who the most probable buyer is and then how you reach those prospects is paramount to any good marketing plan.
Selling raw land or properties with a large component of land is not the same as selling a single family home on 1/2 an acre in town. Putting and ad in a local paper, a sign on the property, placing the property in MLS, Realtor.com, Zillo and Trulia can be effective for selling homes but miss the mark for properties with acreage. Take a peek at any of these mediums and you quickly see that they are designed to focus 99% of attention on single family homes. Land is hard to find here and generally not presented in an attractive manner with a low quality tax map or Google Earth screen shot as the opening photo.
Access Issues
How you physically get onto a property has a real effect on buyer interest and general appeal of the land. If your land fronts a busy road or highway and there is no driveway or access road onto the property prospective buyers may have a difficult time seeing the utility of the parcel. Does the land have a clear right of way if it is not on a public road? If not, what can you do to better define the access or right of way? Is your property on a private road that is in bad condition? If any of these situations describe your property, this could be one of the reasons your land is not selling.
Boundaries are unclear
Imagine yourself as a prospective buyer and meeting the owner or real estate agent to see a 50 acre parcel of land. Now imagine you ask them where the property lines are and they tell you “we think they are somewhere around here”. Does that statement give you and warm and fuzzy feeling that would inspire you to write a deposit check? I doubt it. Get your property surveyed to add value and shorten the marketing time.
No Owner Terms
If you have not considered offering owner financing terms for the sale of your land, you should give it more thought. Inquiries on our land listings triple when advertised with owner financing terms. It simply opens the property up to a much larger buyer audience. Owner terms often bring a higher price for the property and most owners get interest rates that are attractive as an investment.
If any of these conditions apply to you, this may be the reason why you have not been successful in selling your property. Need more help? Call us today for a professional opinion.
