All Forum Posts by: Mike F.

The absolute best way to buy vacant land is via direct mail to owners. I buy and sell vacant land exclusively. I can say that probably the worst way to find land would be via the MLS.

I do nothing but buy and sell Florida land full time. I haven't been on BP for a long time but am checking it out again. There are several very good Land Flipping/Investing Facebook Groups. I am not a Facebook fan, but the groups are well worth putting up with the rest of Facebook. 

First off, since you are located in Florida, I will assume you are buying a lot in Florida. In that case, before worrying about the title, you need to be sure that $2200 is a "deal" for that lot. For many vacant lots in Florida, especially ones with high back taxes, that would not be a great deal.
My experience with lots with four years of back taxes is that if the lot is worth more than the delinquent taxes owed, it probably (but not always) would have gotten scooped up at a tax sale.  Every scenario is different, so without more info on the lot it is hard to tell.

As far as a title search... if you plan on dealing with vacant lots regularly, you could learn how to do a basic title search yourself. If not, there is an online company in Florida called FastTitleSearch (I dont know if I am allowed to put a link here so I wont) that can do a basic search for $35. 

I personally do my own searches, but I buy lots constantly and resell them constantly. At some point I may miss something and have it come back to me, but I have saved so many thousands of dollars on title searches, I consider it "self insuring". 

I will only buy lots using a General Warranty Deed. I create the deed and get it signed and notarized by the sellers. When I resell, I use a General Warranty Deed as well. 

I do all of my own closings or, if the seller or buyer is out of the area, I use a mobile notary for about $50. Many people do not realize you do NOT need a title company or attorney to do a closing on vacant land. It is SIMPLE.

In my opinion (I am not a lawyer and this is not legal advice), when dealing with a low cost lot like this, there is no need for an attorney, Realtor, or title company. They are all just unnecessary drains on profit. 

This is how I operate in my business. I understand it is not for everyone. We all have our opinions.

One exception to everything I said above... If you know that the lot in question is worth MUCH MORE than you are paying.. $20k+, then I would go ahead with using a title company and paying the extra $$$.

I buy and sell lots in North Port. In fact, that is all I do.

I can tell you that I would NEVER buy a lot via a Quit Claim Deed just as I would never sell a lot via a Quit Claim Deed. 

In my opinion, a quit claim is meaningless. All it means is that you relinquish any rights to a property. I could sign a quit claim deed to the Empire State Building. The only legitimate purpose for a quit claim as far as I am concerned is to remove one party from a property such as a divorcing couple, parent/child situation, etc.

What is wrong with your title that you feel there will be a problem with just using an ordinary General Warranty Deed? If there are serious issues that you just want to "dump" on someone else, then I suppose a quit claim would be the way to go, but I doubt you will find anyone foolish enough to pay much money. If there are minor problems that would require a quiet title action, then it all depends on the lot itself. Some lots in North Port in undeveloped areas would not be worth the expense of the process, while others definitely are. 

If you would like to message me with the info on the lot, I would be happy to look it up and give you an opinion.

Welcome Thomas. Be sure to look up @Jill Dewit and @Seth Williams. They both offer valuable information without any of the "guru" BS. Between those two, you will learn just about EVERYTHING you need to know about buying and selling vacant land. If you decide to take your land investing to Florida, I'd be happy to help you out with the particulars for doing this here, which is a little different than some other places.

I am always a buyer for North Port lots... 

Those returned letters can actually be gold!

Do not throw them away like some investors.

Sign up with a service like BeenVerified and track down the owner. You can then either resend the letter to their current address or call them.

If you are the only one who takes that extra step, you could be reaching someone ready to sell that no other investor has been able to reach!

Derek, 

There is a link on @Jill DeWitt 's signature in her post above. Again, to be clear, I am not affiliated with her or that course, just a happy customer. I know they do have some free info to get you started, which may be enough to let you know if it is a good fit for you. Also be sure to check put @Seth Williams on here and his Retipster blog.

I agree with @Jill Dewitt .

Saving 30K while deployed is a great accomplishment and should be applauded, but that amount of cash can evaporate very quickly if you aren't careful.

While it's true that you can learn a lot on this site (and you should), and you can buy houses with little or no money down if you learn enough, you'll still need cash. And being new to this, one mistake could wipe out your reserves.

You could easily get your feet wet by buying and selling CHEAP land as Jill suggests. I am doing this and it is easier and more lucrative than most people realize. 

I am not affiliated with Jill in any way, but I have the Land Academy course that she is involved with and it is a great resource for how to do this. 

Here is a typical deal I do... very small, very cheap, but easily replicated so you can scale up and do more and more as you have more money. 

1) Buy a piece of land for around $1000 (I do this by sending direct mail to owners and find the ones that no longer want the property) Other people do this with even cheaper land.

2) Double or triple the price and list it on Craigslist, Zillow, my websites, etc

3) Sell it for quick cash...OR... sell it on terms via a land contract at a healthy interest rate, generating cash flow without tenants, toilets, termites, etc. The land stays in my name until the contract is paid off and the buyer pays the property taxes as well. If they stop paying, I just resell it to someone else. 

The terms part may not work like this in every state, but in mine it does just fine. You would need to check with an attorney to be sure.

The best part about this is that it can be done remotely. You DO NOT have to limit yourself to North Carolina. You do not have to physically visit the property yourself. That's a tough one for most people to wrap their minds around, but it's true. 

Every bit of this business model can be done via the internet and the mail. 

Technically, you could find a way to start right now if you wanted to.

That being said, the most important thing is that you dig into Bigger Pockets and learn as much as you can. Also, you should not take my advice or anyone else's advice as orders of what to do. Figure out what aspect of real estate excites you and would seem enjoyable to you and follow your passion.

For me, rehabbing a house would seem like a miserable punishment, while other people LOVE it. There are people who would find what I do with land to be boring or just plain ridiculous. everyone has their own preferences and opinions. Read, learn, and take time to figure out what is best for you and when you are ready, go out there and rock!

I think I can add to this discussion in a way that is not inflammatory to either side of this "debate".

1) There are many flippers out there that love the aspect of flipping where they are transforming a wreck of a house into a nice home for someone and they love getting paid to do so. For many it is almost an art form. Many of these folks are happier doing that part of it and have no interest in the extensive marketing that is required to  find deals, especially in a hot market where deals are scarce on the mls.

2) Many buy and hold investors are in the same boat. These folks want to put their money to work to generate a passive income. They have no interest in doing huge direct mail campaigns, building seller websites, and especially dealing with all the responding callers and going through the process to weed out the deals. 

So, if deals are hard to come buy on the mls, and investors want deals, but they want to focus on the parts of their business they enjoy, or are best at, who is going to help them?

That would be the wholesaler... an integral part of the REI ecosystem.

Lastly, as far as getting upset about a wholesalers markup... emotion should play no part in business. Real Estate Investing is about numbers (among other things). As a flipper, rehabber, buy and hold, etc, all that matters is that the numbers make sense. If a wholesaler somehow manages to get a house worth $200k for $50k and then offers it to you for $100k, are you losing somehow? I know this is a silly example, but it makes a point. Either the deal is a winner for you or it isn't. If you cannot bear the thought of a wholesaler making money on the deal, then it would be on you to go out and do his or her job in addition to the rest of what you are doing. If you have the time for that, and you feel that is the best use of your time personally to do that, then nobody is stopping you.