If there is anything remotely positive that has come about as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s that people have realized that they can truly work from anywhere - which means they can also live anywhere. People don’t need to restrict themselves to metropolitan areas with skyrocketing property values as long as they have a wifi connection. This has driven land buyers across the country to look at buying rural land with new eyes. 

For realtors, selling land is more than employing the right marketing strategies and getting your properties seen by the right people. You need to know more than just the basic information about the land; you need to know your audience. You need to know what they’re looking for and what information you can provide them that would otherwise be difficult to find: the distance from the closest neighbors, what the nearby communities are like, any unique land features or particularly spectacular views. 

What They Want to Know

To help you get ready for land buyers and their questions, here’s some areas to research. 

The Potential

Usually, buyers already have an idea of what they want to do on the land. Whether it’s building a home, growing crops, ranching or recreational activities, you can be ready with the right information. Have an appraisal done to determine physical conditions like soil type, legal permissions like zoning, financial costs of different projects and how the land’s characteristics could be best utilized. 

Zoning

Whether a buyer is interested in building a guest house, having a chicken coop or starting an at-home business, it’s your duty as the seller to be ready with zoning information. You can usually find out much of this information online, such as if the property has any floodplains or wetlands on it, and you can contact the department of licenses and inspections in your area, as well.

Buildability

The ability to build structures on a property may be a big deciding factor for some buyers. That’s why it’s important that you’ll be able to communicate any land regulations and other restrictions. You can contact local building offices, do a title search and even get a surveyor out to assess the land. 

Accessibility

The question of accessibility can come up in many ways. Is there a private entrance to the property? Does it snow in the winter months and risk making the roads impassable? Are there low water crossings that could pose a danger during flooding? A good source of information about these may actually be the previous owner, if you have the ability to speak with them. 

Utilities

No matter what land buyers intend to do with a piece of land, utilities will usually be an important factor. Don’t assume that just because you see a powerline that utilities are all good to go. Check for things like existing septic systems (or the cost of getting one installed), how the property gets its water or whether powerlines can be buried. And, don’t forget wifi. Especially in more rural areas, access to an internet connection can be tricky, and if the buyers intend to work remotely from this location, they’ll need reliable, high-speed internet. 

Don’t Just Tell Them. Show Them

When buying and selling land, there are a lot of qualities to consider, and the qualities your audience finds the most important can even change depending on who they are. Land id™ (formerly MapRight) condenses all information about a parcel of land into a single, interactive map, giving you a clearer, more concise way to communicate data on important qualities and giving viewers a more natural, intuitive way to explore land. On our powerful platform, build maps that don’t just display real estate, but help viewers truly understand every aspect of a property.