Roughly 580,000 acres of land changes hands each year across Alabama — and a significant portion comes from inherited property that heirs look to sell. However, selling raw, undeveloped land can pose unique challenges compared to marketed real estate. Without structures or tenants generating income, vacant parcels often struggle attracting buyers ready to pay market value.
That’s why many inheritors choose to sell their land to professional buying companies for fair cash offers. Selling directly eliminates hassles staging property or waiting years hoping the right buyer comes along.
This guide examines smart tips facilitating inherited land sales in Alabama, including:
- Utilizing companies buying land across the state
- Reasons to sell land you inherit
- Steps simplifying sale of vacant land
- Calculating and estimating property value
- Marketing tactics to attract buyers
Follow these helpful guidelines when looking to sell your Alabama inherited property for cash.
Reasons to Sell Your Inherited Land
Before outlining the how-to, it helps to examine top motives landowners have for selling undeveloped property that’s been passed down rather than keeping it long term:
Lack Strategic Value
While land itself holds intrinsic value, inheritors often have no strategic reason to retain vacant acreage. It may fail aligning to personal property or investment goals. Vacant lots 300 miles away, for instance, have limited usefulness for out-of-state heirs. Where there’s no strategy supporting retention, liquidation makes smart business sense.
Challenging to Maintain
Raw land still demands maintenance like brush clearing, paying taxes, addressing trespassers, and more — costs rack up despite generating zero income. Removing this financial burden delivers a liberating fresh start for inheritors, especially those struggling making ends meet.
Other Priorities
After a loved one’s passing, individuals rightly focus on grieving and adjusting life without that beloved figure. Sorting legal, ethical and sentimental issues around inheritance takes mental bandwidth. Trading land ownership for fair compensation simplicity other priorities.
Passive Income Potential
While vacant lots require upkeep generating no money, liquid cash inherently holds possibility in productive assets like savings, stocks, bonds, rental property, businesses and beyond to establish legacy wealth.
Home Not in Alabama
If heirs now live out-of-state, chances are low they’ll relocate solely occupy inherited raw land one day. Remote ownership poses hassles for even periodic parcel monitoring. Selling clears the long-distance burden.
Once recognizing logical reasons supporting liquidation of passed down property, it’s time examining the sale process itself.
Steps to Sell Your Inherited Land
While procedures vary between inheritors based on personal factors, commonly follow these overarching guidelines smoothly progress your land sale:
Verify Ownership
Before listing your inherited property or otherwise attempting to sell it, you must formally establish inheritance rights by probating the will/estate or via verified heir conveyance. This confirms legal ability transacting the asset. It also provides needed documentation proving ownership status to buyers.
Explore Title Issues
Make sure to carefully review filings related to land title, checking for easem*nts, liens, boundary disputes with neighbors and any other impediments possibly impacting value. Disclose complications upfront when marketing property.
Research Comps & Value
Investigating sales prices for comparable nearby parcels gives clarity estimating current value. This helps set reasonable asking price expectations. Up-to-date tax assessment data also helps ballpark figures. We discuss devising accurate pricing in more detail shortly.
Select Sale Method
Traditional options selling inherited land span from DIY listing on MLS, auction house event, hiring a real estate agent for commission-based sale or direct sale to an established land buying company. Each approach has pros and cons explored below around convenience, speed and profitability.
Price & List Property
When you decide selling method, develop pricing aligning to property comps and current market demand. Overpricing ultimately wastes time. Underpricing surrenders potential profit. Set fair figure attracting qualified buyers who recognize long-term value.
Field Offers & Negotiate
Expect back-and-forth negotiation conversing land acquisition particulars like extent of mineral rights, closing timeline, sale terms and more. Weigh each component ensuring the best overall offer meeting needs.
Close the Sale
Finally, trade deed signing over inherited property for agreed payment price via wire, certified check, etc. Use earnest money deposits to ensure buyer commitment. Hire a real estate closing professional ensuring everything’s in order.
Calculating a Fair Asking Price for Your Land
Overpricing land sharply limits interest and demand. But you want avoiding leaving too much on the table with excessively low figures failing recognizing true value. Carefully weigh:
Sale Price for Nearby Comparable Land Parcels – Analyze what similar vacant land recently sold for per acre in the local market. Mirror prevailing rates.
Appraisal Value Suggestions – Hire an independent appraiser providing expertise estimating fair property worth. There’s a cost here, but it informs.
Current Tax Assessments – Review the assessed value local authorities currently apply taxing the land. This signals baseline figures.
While weighting input from these sources, make sure accounting for exceptional attributes possibly boosting property value like waterfront access, striking views, mineral/development rights and more.
Top Methods for Selling Land
When decided on an accurate asking price, now examine popular strategies liquidating inherited property:
FSBO Listing
Selling land yourself without agent representation demands creating listing materials, fielding buyer queries, coordinating showings and extensively marketing property through websites, signage and more. Lots of effort for perhaps marginally better sale terms.
Auction Sale
Auction events exchange lower prices for quicker sale certainty. But there’s still marketing duties attracting engaged bidders. And auction fees impact bottom line. Upside includes set sale date.
Agent Listing
Real estate agents present another listing/marketing outlet connecting sellers with interested buyers – typically regional individual purchasers. However, there’s the steep agent commission around 5-6% of sale price. Marketing also still required.
Direct Sale to Land Buyer
Selling directly to a trusted land buying company means secured sale with no agent commissions and limited marketing needed. Simple transactions with reputable national buyers ready purchase land today at fair market value prices.
For many inherited land sellers, direct liquidation deals prove the fastest, easiest path securing reasonable compensation without hassles staging property.
Tips Marketing Land for Sale
Those opting listing land themselves or via auction can utilize select promotional tactics attracting potential Alabama buyers:
Online Listings
Post inherited land for sale on leading classified/listing sites like LandsOfAmerica, LandWatch and LandAndFarm. Low cost but wide visibility to serious buyers hunting sites daily.
Print Listings
Running classified ads marketing land for sale in local/regional Alabama newspapers introduces opportunities reaching older demographics still loyal to print media.
Signage Onsite
Installing visible For Sale signage directly on the vacant parcel alerts nearby potential purchasers literally on the ground. Include contact details.
Networking Contacts
Spread word among personal and professional networks. You never know who might have a lead on parties interested buying land, or may want to buy it themselves.
The more marketing channels employed the better when self-listing land. This allows testing varying tactics identifying what works drawing regional buyers in Alabama. Yet for many inherited land sellers, direct sales still prove preferable avoiding the hustle and gamble.
Why Land Buying Companies Are Ideal
Reputable land buying companies deliver inherent advantages speeding up sales inheritors require maximizing convenience.
Cash Buyers Ready Now
Rather than hoping the perfect traditional retail buyer stumbles along, professional purchasers offer simple today transactions eliminating wait times. Crucial for heirs focused moving on.
As-Is Condition Accepted
Since buyers aim holding long-term or repurposing development lots, they accept land as-is avoiding stalled deals over inspection nitpicking.
No Marketing or Negotiations
You spend zero dollars or time trying attract buyers through listing sites or signage when leveraging professional purchasers – they market to motivated parties daily and handle all sale particulars.
No Commissions or Fees
Buyers assume all real estate costs absorb typical seller fees like auctioning expenses or agent commissions – often thousands of dollars surrendered selling traditionally.
Customized Sale Terms
Reputable land buyers structure personalized sale specifics aligned to seller timeline needs and priorities rather than forcing rigid requirements.
Selling inherited property should focus reducing complications so heirs swiftly secure fair prices and move ahead after their loss. Established land buying companies satisfy these mandates through direct sales eliminating all typical selling burdens.
Final Thoughts
Selling Alabama inherited land presents unique challenges often spanning months or years before buyers fully commit. However, reputable land buying companies offer a viable fast sale alternative providing simple cash offers, handling paperwork and customizing sales aligned to seller needs. By following tips in this guide assessing property accurately, exploring company sale options and negotiating favorable terms, inheritors can smoothly convert their unneeded land to cash allowing moving life forward beyond the burden of unexpected property ownership. Consider connecting today with companies buying land in Alabama for fair deals and rapid timelines.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do land buying companies lowball offers?
While some less reputable companies certainly undercut sellers, proven buyers pledge fair market value offers respecting property worth and seller priorities around timeline etc. They earn loyalty through integrity and transparency.
How long does the land sale process take?
Selling directly to an established buyer can convert inherited land to cash in your hands in as little as a few days or weeks when leveraging companies with resources to buy vacant land nationwide. Far faster than traditional channels.
What documents do I need selling inherited land?
Mainly valid ID, confirmation inheritor status (like deed filing securing rights) and parcel specifics verifying size, tax ID, title status etc. Reputable buyers smoothly guide you organizing key details. Estates attorneys assist executing needed documentation.
Do you buy land anywhere in Alabama?
As a national land buying company, Land Boss purchases rural recreation acres, timber lots, former farms, and other vacant land throughout Alabama. We focus buying land across the U.S. to best serve diverse inherited property sellers.
What closing costs will I pay selling my land?
When selling directly to leading cash buyers like Land Boss there are zero closing fees or agent commissions deducted from your sale proceeds. We cover real estate costs so you keep more selling with us.
