When purchasing or selling pieces of land, whether it be farmland, recreational, timberland, etc. there are multiple factors to consider that could affect the current value of any acreage. All to often, even with licensed real estate agents, we come across others who either don't know the questions to ask, or don't know how to answer them, or both!
We encourage our agents to be as knowledgeable as possible when it comes to the current market, as well as the types of properties they are listing to sell, or helping their clients search for. For this topic, Realtor Alan Lamb chimed in about things to consider, ask questions about, and even things that your realtor should know when buying and selling land and this is what he had to say:
Over the years as a Real Estate Agent and a licensed forester, I have had the privilege of working with buyers and sellers of timberland properties. While buyers and sellers are different, they share many similarities. Whether someone is purchasing, or selling, the common denominator should be "timber value". More often than not, I have inquired about a property via other agents that have no idea what the timberland value is. Encourage your seller to obtain a timber inventory from a licensed forester. This can be performed for $6-7 per timbered acre. Whether the property has 1 year old trees, or 50 year old trees, they both have timber value. Let's look at each:
Buyers
- Determine what your use will be; i.e. timberland, farmland, investment, etc
- How far away is the property if not living on the land
- If the use will be farmland, does it have a pivot, good soils, etc?
- Access; does the property have good, dry roads?
- Timber value; hire a forester to perform a timber inventory
- Examine property taxes as some counties have much lower tax rates than others
- Determine if you will be an "active" or "passive" owner, the IRS has rules for both
Sellers
- List your property with an agent that can access comparable sales in the area to determine an asking price
- Timber value; hire a licensed forester to perform a timber inventory
- Access; keep any roads mowed and limbs trimmed for potential buyers
- Determine how quickly you want to divest; this can affect the listing price
- Once you arrive at an asking price, be willing to negotiate
If you are getting ready to dive into the market with buying and/or selling land, reach out and let's have the conversation of getting the process started at 912-764-9265, or reach out directly to Alan at 912-682-7347.
-Collaborated with Alan Lamb
Registered Forester #1652
GA Realtor #322895
912-682-7347
ha_lamb@yahoo.com