You Just Inherited Some Land. Now What?

This is a topic that I deal with every day. Why? Because a number of parcels we acquire come to us through sellers that inherited property. Some sellers know of the “family property” coming their way and others have no idea and find out when the tax bill arrives.

Hopefully the transfer was planned and property was placed into a trust or deeded to the next of kin. Even a simple “Joint Tenants with Rights of Survivorship” way of taking title will make it easy for the beneficiary to take over the property.

So you find out you just inherited some land. Now what?

Fortunately, you have options. They are:

1.Hire a Real Estate Agent

2.Market and Sell Yourself

3.Keep Paying the Taxes

4.Walk Away/Give Back to the County

5.Sell to a Land Wholesaler (me)

1.Hire a Real Estate Agent. Depending on the parcel, area, & value this can be tricky. And for some people, impossible. Say you have a 40 acre parcel and it is worth about $4,000, then 6% commission for a realtor would be $240. Even “if” you could find a realtor that would be willing to help sell your parcel, I’m not sure they would be investing much time and energy for such little profit.

2.Market and Sell Yourself. I know several folks that are successful in the land business and started with only the property they inherited. Some of them happen to be doing EXTREMELY well because they are students I get to mentor at Land Academy. Land Academy is our sister company where we teach individuals how to find, purchase, market, and sell land. It is not hard, but some people do not want to take the time to do it as they never intended on being in the land business.

3.Keep Paying the Taxes. This might not make the most sense to me but it is certainly an option. Maybe keep paying the taxes to pass the property on to another family member? Or just hang on to the investment for a rainy day? Or keep paying because afraid of the government and those scary notices? Everyone has their own reasons and for some this might be a choice.

4.Walk Away/Give Back to the County. I have encountered many people that did not know this was as option. This is certainly better than option number 3 if you have no plans on doing anything with the property and no one is interested at any price. You can simply stop paying and do nothing and eventually the county will take back the parcel.

5.Sell to a Land Wholesaler (me). This makes great sense when you line up all the options! A professional land wholesaler knows how to transfer title and value your property. They are typically owners and pay full cash and that makes this even more attractive. Think of it like getting something for an asset you had no plans of ever using. Wouldn’t you rather have the cash right now?

This is what we do at LandStay.com. Our sellers are typically relieved to get some $ for the property and check that off their list. Kind of like finding $4,000 in your back pocket (from the sale of the land you did not even know existed).

To your success,

Jill