This is episode number 2200. I can’t believe it, Jill.

I can.

Every time we hit these milestone up episodes, these are our numbers. It just cracks me up. This is our 2200 episodes.

The Evolution Of The Land Academy Show

Do you have a sinking feeling in your stomach or something that are like, “2200.” That was 2015, roughly Summer/Fall of 2015 that we started this. It was seven days a week back then and now you get five. I talked him into taking two days off. That’s all you got. That’s it.

A few Reels up. It runs in highlights stuck in there in a few places but that’s about it.

There is still 2,200 of new fresh content and I remember our friends saying, “What the heck are you doing?” Even for like a month or six months, they’re like, “Are you going to have that much to talk about?” Years later, apparently, we do and years later, you’re still giving us new fresh content and new things. Stuff just pops up.

In this episode, we’re talking about how to know when you found your land niche market. “Jack, what is a niche market in land?” We’ll talk about what those niche markets are in a minute. All week this week, it’s reality week. Each day on the show, we answer our question from our Land Academy Member Discord Forum. We take a deep dive in a land related topics by your request.

Tara wrote, “Hi, everyone. Has anyone run into issues with data tree data being outdated? I’m testing my list for reason. I have come across a property that changed hands in 2023, but the data tree data is showing the previous owner still. The one that’s sold it in 2023. I’m confirming data tree against the local cat, which I’m assuming is the most up-to-date. I just want to make sure this is a nice light issue for I need to be concerned that more data. It may not be the most up-to-date. Thanks in advance.” I tell you, it’s so rare that I stumble across this. I never worry about it. I know Tara has done a lot of deals and sent out a lot of mails. Sif he’s hitting one in the 43,692 offer she sent, it’s okay.

Here’s the real answer to the question, quality of the data is usually associated with how urban or rural each county is. Rural Counties have a much less resources, financial and people wise than urban counties do. Urban counties tend to, when properties change hands, update their assessor database pretty quickly, which translates usually to data tree. If it’s a real rural county, they might batch them. In a lot of cases, it’s maybe weekly or monthly in a rural county and some extreme cases, it’s every year. They only do it once a year because maybe 50 properties might change the entire county.

There’s a time where they might even bring a person into it that is a database person. The point here is, every county is different. There’s 3,144 counties and data tree’s job is to aggregate all that data and make it usable for you. It’s very rare as Jill said. Our topic is how to know when you found your land niche market?

Understanding & Identifying Land Niche Markets

Isn’t land a niche? Do you mean there’s a niche within the niche? There are niches within the niche. It’s not just like real estate land versus houses versus whatever. Those are niches, but then you get into the land niches and I came up with a couple of examples so you can understand what we’re talking about then we’ll talk about how you get into one of those niches.

For example, is it rural vacant land? Is it commercial or agricultural or an info lot? Those are all different use or zoning niches. What about the situation? What if it’s a niche like they can transfer it or there’s probate issues and you learn about probate? There’s land that’s tied up in probate. That could be a niche. What about, it has access? It doesn’t have access. There’s land that is hard to manage sometimes for some people who are new to this that don’t know how to get access but maybe you do. There’s a niche. Maybe there’s just size. What if you’re dealing huge ranches versus 1 acres to 5 acres?

Maybe even a lots.

That’s a niche to the size. Now you see like, “I get that. I never thought of it as a niche. I thought all land is just anything that doesn’t have anything on it.” One more niche that just came to mind. It could be a land that you stand there and look at it. It looks just like all the lots around it but underneath somebody put in a well. It does have some a little bit of improvements to it. That can be a niche that you deal with that land. We understand what a land niche or you know what we’re talking about. “I want that niche. How do I get into that niche?” That’s where Jack and I have learned over the years. Usually, you don’t pick it. It picks you.

How To Know You’ve Found Your Land Niche

You’re going to get in. When you open your eyes to sending out land, the first thing I would say when you’re starting our business is pick a size at least. Narrow it down so you’re not emailing everything from point .001 to a million acres. Let’s make a little bit easier and you did your math. You did everything that Jack has taught you as far as picking an area. You’re going in and you’re emailing. You’re going to buy and sell all the things that are being sold quickly in this area, which let’s just say happens to be between 5 acres and 10 acres. You’re starting off like that.

You’re going into it. You’re doing deals. You’re having success because you picked everything right. What’s going to happen is, naturally, something’s are going to pop up. You’re going, “I can’t do this one. There’s a probate issue. I don’t have an attorney. Everybody’s dead. I don’t know how to do this one. It’s not going to sell. There’s no access. I don’t know how to get access. I can see where it would come from but I don’t know what to do here so I’m not going to buy that.”

As time goes on and you’re getting better, you’re going to go back or you should go back and maybe then start to explore those things. Something’s going to pop up and be easy for you. You’re going to find the right attorney who has the right situation, the right workload and it has it all figured out. The next thing you know you guys are off to the races solving all the probate issues and now you’re going to zero in on those. Not only is it going to come easy but it’s going to be highly profitable. Those two things are going to tell you when you’ve found your niche within the land niche.

When you're starting out in this business, pick a size — at least narrow it down so you're not emailing about everything from 0.001 to a million acres. Share on X

I’m going to summarize what Jill said. I’m going to be Jill’s AI. What Jill is saying is that properties have flaws. When you send a mailer out, a lot of stuff’s going to come back and it’s very rare that a property comes back and everything’s great. It happens. It happens often. Not very rare that it happens. There’s a lot of properties that come back that either have a flaw with their owners like their dad or a flaw with the actual piece of property.

The actual pieces of properties and the lack of access is a classic one. Lack of physical and legal access is a classic flaw where the owner is their dad or the heirs are unavailable. They’re not around. If you, for whatever reason, maybe because it’s a past profession like you were a lawyer or a paralegal or you have always wanted to be a forensic investigator. You’re going to take two finding those flaws. I don’t think either one of us enjoy solving due diligence flaws and land deals.

I don’t see them as a flaw. I don’t see freckles as a flaw.

I don’t see freckles on you as a flaw.

It depends on the nature. I think you’re right, if you want to solve that stuff.

Niche Specialization & Building Teams

You will gravitate towards solving some flaws or gravitate toward just sending more mail out to find all the perfect deals like we do. We have our groups in our Land Academy group. It’s packed full of crazy successful people that have chosen a niche that’s usually based on a flaw. I’ll give you some examples. We have a person who loves access list property.

They love contacting everybody that’s adjacent to the property, trying to put a deal together and I’ll tell you why because it’s so incredibly profitable. When you find a piece of property that has no access and the owner knows that. They’re willing to sell it very inexpensively. That problem can be solved. That flaw in the property can be solved with some people who have talent for that less than a day. Now you’re quadrupling your money over what you’re paying because it has access now. You can get to it.

Another one not popular but just jumps out of my mind, is the huge acreage. There’s things that you have to look at differently like pricing and limited buyers and things like that. When you have huge acreage. I’m talking like a section or half a section or a quarter of section even. Anything over 100 acres is a big property and they’re very comfortable with that. What’s great is, when you do a couple of those, you start to build up a buyer’s pool.

Things like that will happen when you said the access. The thing about an assessed property or doesn’t have legal or physical. When you find it, you solve it. Now you’ve got your own little team. You’re going to have your legal team ready to go in place and maybe a physical team. Maybe you have a guy that goes out there and plays roads even too once you have the physical access. Talk about an attribute now and what you’re doing is amazing. As you go, you’re going to be doing three of them this month so is the same teams doing them all. It’s going to get faster and better. I love this. I’m trying to think of what niches we have fallen into.

I was going to ask before we wrap up the topic. What’s your favorite? Can you describe their profile of a great deal for you physically, owner and the whole thing?

Everything has all the 8As.

For me, it’s 5 acres on the road, zone agriculture or in a place where there’s no zoning but it’s not being farmed. You look at it, it just looks like every other piece of property there and I agree with you on the 8A’s and the due diligence. It’s adjacent to some properties that are maybe, however, they’re using that 5-acres adjacent. That’s how that property is the highest and best use for it. I like it to be less than between 10% and 20% of its retail value. I like there to be an owner circumstance that’s associated with this property where they’re very motivated to sell.

Jack, that’s a unicorn.

I want a basket fully unicorns. Two baskets every day.

Here we go. They smell pretty. Don’t forget the property has beautiful flowers and it smells pretty when you drive up. You got that part. Roses at the road.

I want my staff to do the deal. When we’re all done on the sell side, I want to get a suitcase full of cash.

Don’t forget the creek in the back and a stock full of trout. Jack stands and they jump into his hands. That’s the other thing. That’s my niche.

Jill may or may not be there while this trout is jumping in my hand and I won’t go into detail about what she’s wearing.

Properties have flaws. When you send out a mailer, a lot will come back with issues. It’s rare to find one where everything is perfect. Share on X

He kisses him and he puts him back. Is there anything I’m missing? There’s an abandoned F350.

There’s a big barn on the back of the property.

With an abandoned corn mat and a 350 in it.

It has 22 classic cars in it, all American and all convertibles with the manual transmission.

The pink slips are the dash.

They are all from 1963 to 1969. Two of them are Dodge Power Wagons.

There we go. What’s the big deal? What’s wrong with that niche? You get one of those a day.

You got to have goals. What’s yours?

Not that. Mine would have wild horses and bison and it’s 20-acres. It’s a butts Yellowstone.

Is there structure on it?

Yes. It’s an abandoned three-bedroom cabin with a well.

Functioning well.

Also, solar. There we go.

That’s not far off. Our unicorns are not that far off.

It’s true. Let’s wrap this up and go find them.

Join us for the next episode where Jill and I discuss the difference between fast money and wealth building. You are not alone in your real estate ambition. We are Jack and Jill. Information and inspiration to buy undervalued property.