Five Ways to Increase Land Value
Five Ways to Increase Land Value
By: Jill DeWit
January 20, 2023
If you’ve gone through our educational modules and purchased property the Land Academy way, chances are you’re going to make money when it’s time to sell. But are there ways to increase the return even more? What about the speed in which you sell? I think we’re all here to make money, aiming for a healthy balance between acquisition price and sell price.
You’ve bought this great property and you’re ready to post it for sale. Before buying the land, you did your due diligence and you know what the market is like in the area, you already have a number in mind but you’re considering ways to increase the value and want to sell faster.
Here are my top 5 suggestions…
(5) Make phone calls.
I know, I say it all the time, but someone must pick up the phone in this business. Equally as important as answering mailer response calls when buying land is making a few calls to find out what is possible before selling the land. Call the county. The guy you bought it from probably has no idea it’s mobile friendly or that you could put an RV there indefinitely. Maybe he didn’t know how conveniently located it is. You’d be surprised at how many gems you can uncover by picking up the phone and doing some digging. Reach out to the local real estate agents for insight on what is going on in the area, talk to neighbors, local business owners, whatever it takes to get to know your property a little better.
(4) Have a sweet drone video.
Hire someone to make a great drone video of property, the drive up to it and the quaint little town nearby. You might find that with a sweet video of the property, the buyer already knows they love the property, and you can sell it sight-unseen.
(3) Put a shed or something cool on it.
Put a shed or something unique on it that’s cheap, you can find these used on Craigslist for almost nothing. You might even be able to talk the seller into hauling it to the property for you for an extra hundred bucks.
(2) Have an accurate & great title & description
Market better and dedicate time to writing an accurate and exciting title and property description for your listings, make sure you’re setting yourself apart from the other postings and always include the parcel size, approximate location, and price in the title. For example, “Five acres near X waterfall, only
$28,000”.
(1) Have an awesome lead photo
Find a great photographer who can capture dreamy shots on a sunny, blue-sky day. Your lead photo needs to have that “wow factor”, something that, again helps your property stand out compared to other listings. If it just wasn’t the best day and weather for your photographer, send them back out. The extra $200 you spend on sending them out for more photos on a sunny day is so worth it.
Please keep in mind, unless you are a contractor and have a Bobcat in your backyard ready to go, I’m not talking about drilling a well, installing a septic tank or clearing the property. I’m referring to simple, quick things you can do to increase your land value, things that are achievable from your desk.