Land
Investing

The model

1. Pull county tax-delinquent and/or assessor records for target county (vacant land only, often filtered by acreage 1–40 acres and absentee address)
2. Send direct-mail offers at 15–30% of assessed or market value ("blind offer" model — $500 on a $5,000 parcel)
3. Response rate typically 1–3%; convert 30–50% of responses to contract
4. Due diligence: title, access, zoning, flood, wetlands, comps
5. Close for cash (often under $2,000 per parcel, no bank, no escrow if simple)
6. Market to retail buyers via Facebook Marketplace, LANDMODO, Craigslist, Land.com, LandWatch, Lands of America
7. Sell with seller financing: 10–20% down, 9–12% interest, 5–10 year amortization
8. Collect monthly payments, or sell the note to a secondary buyer

List building

The leverage lives in the list. Target attributes:

• Vacant land parcels. Assessor land-use code for vacant (varies by county — typically codes 001, 010, 100, "VL").
• Absentee owner. Mailing address ≠ parcel address. Out-of-state absentee is the highest-conversion subset.
• Tax-delinquent. Owner behind on taxes signals motivation. Most counties publish tax-delinquent lists annually.
• Long-held. Parcels held 15+ years, especially inherited. Emotional detachment = price flexibility.
• Acreage target. 5–40 acres is the sweet spot — large enough to retail for $10k–80k, small enough to sell quickly.

Tools: DataTree, PropertyRadar, AgentPro247, AgriTools, county GIS direct exports. LandBoss, REI Reply, Pebble, LandBUZZ are land-specific SaaS platforms.

Offer calculation

Jack Bosch’s "Land Profit Generator" and Mark Podolsky’s "Dirt Millionaire" approaches converge:

Offer = 15-30% of retail market value

Retail market value derivation:
  - 3-5 comparable sold parcels (similar size, zoning, access)
  - Median price per acre
  - Haircut 20% for land differences

Then:
  - If buying with cash-only retail exit: offer 25-35%
  - If buying with seller-finance retail exit: offer 15-25%
    (your retail price can be 20-40% above cash comp
     because terms sell the deal)

Target minimum spread:
  Retail cash price:    $25,000
  Retail financed:      $35,000 ($5,000 down + $350/mo × 10 yr)
  Your cost:             $5,000
  Seller-finance sale:   ~$5,000 cash down immediately
                         + $33,600 over 120 months at 10%

Due diligence — where deals die

• Access. Is there a legal recorded access easement or publicly-dedicated road frontage? Landlocked parcels have no legal value unless adjacent owners are willing to grant easement.
• Zoning and use. Agricultural, rural residential, conservation, or industrial? Check minimum lot size, setback requirements, and permitted uses. Some rural land has minimum 20-acre lot or "no-build" conservation zones.
• Wetlands. USACE 404 jurisdictional delineation required for anything in a watercourse or near creek/river. Wetlands parcels are un-buildable. Check USFWS National Wetlands Inventory map and FEMA flood map.
• Flood zone. FEMA SFHA zones A/V/AE. Building in flood zone requires elevation certificate, flood insurance, and often HOA or county restrictions.
• Perc test / septic. Rural parcels need septic. Perc test determines if soil will absorb effluent. Failed perc = un-buildable unless engineered mound system ($30,000+).
• Utilities. Distance to power, water, gas. Power extension is often $10,000–50,000/pole if grid is >500 feet away.
• Mineral rights. Severed mineral rights are common in TX/OK/LA/PA/WV. Someone else may own underlying oil, gas, or coal, and can build a wellhead on "your" surface.
• Environmental. Former ag land may have pesticide residue. Former industrial/dump sites carry remediation liability.

Closing mechanics

Most small land deals close without title company — seller signs a warranty deed, you record at the courthouse. But for deals where you’re taking institutional risk (holding, selling to retail, financing), use a title company or real estate attorney:

• Title search (60-year chain of title minimum)
• Title insurance owner’s policy ($300–800 on a small parcel)
• Survey if boundaries unclear ($500–2,000)
• Quiet title action if clouds on title ($1,500–5,000 attorney + court)
• Recording of warranty deed or special warranty deed

Seller-financed exit — the note business

Seller financing doubles or triples retail price and creates a 10-year income stream. Mechanics:

• Down payment. 10–20% of sale price. Covers your acquisition cost and closing in most deals.
• Interest rate. 9–12% on rural land notes. Compete with hard-money rates but secured by land.
• Term. 5–10 year amortization, often with balloon. Buyers expect to refinance or sell before balloon hits.
• Servicing. Use a licensed servicer (NCS, Allegro, Madison) — $15–25/month per note. Keeps you out of Dodd-Frank RMLO territory and off the hook for Reg Z compliance if over 3 property transactions in a year.
• Installment sale §453. IRS allows tax deferral — you pay tax on the gain as principal comes in, not at closing. Massive advantage over cash sale.
• Note secondary sale. Partial or whole notes sell to secondary buyers (Paperstac, Note Investor Pro) at 60–80% of UPB depending on seasoning and payment history.

Common pitfalls

• Landlocked parcel. No legal access. Value is 10–20% of "similar" parcel with access. Check title commitment and actual recorded easements.
• Wetlands invisible on title. Wetlands are federal (USACE) and state jurisdictional, not title-recorded. A wetlands-designated parcel with no title cloud is still un-buildable. Check USFWS NWI.
• Buried tanks and oil wells. Former farm fuel tanks, pre-1970 oil wells, abandoned septic systems. Environmental remediation can exceed parcel value.
• Decades-old title clouds. Heirs of long-dead former owner emerge claiming interest. Quiet title action becomes necessary. Budget $1,500–5,000 and 6 months.
• Mineral rights severed. Surface owner has no rights to block drilling. A drilling pad 200 feet from a planned cabin destroys the parcel’s value.
• Wire fraud in closing. Even on small deals, email-based wire instructions get intercepted and funds get stolen. Verify wire instructions by phone with known contacts.
• HOA or POA liens. Subdivisions often have HOAs with unpaid dues. Check recorded covenants and request HOA estoppel.
• Buyer default on note. Buyer stops paying. Foreclosure on a land contract varies by state — judicial in some, forfeiture in others. Budget 3–12 months to recover possession.