Hi, I’m Beth with TB Properties Buys Land. Today I’m going to discuss how to keep your transaction secure when selling your rural vacant land to a land investor. It’s that time of year, where in addition to all the greeting cards that are coming in the mail, you’re also seeing property taxes that are due. On top of that, you’ve probably got plenty of Christmas shopping to do for your family and friends, and you may be wondering, why am I spending money on a property that I’m not even using anymore? There are so many other better things that you can be doing with your money or with the proceeds of your land sale.
First, why do people use a land investor versus going the traditional route of using a realtor? For one, they can get cash quickly. Please remember, that when you go the traditional route of using a realtor and you put your property on the market, as you already know, there’s no guaranteed price that you’re going to get for your property, and there’s no guaranteed time period when you’ll sell your property.
Add that to the market uncertainty we’re experiencing at this time and the market changes that we’re seeing right now… If you look at the housing market, homes are not selling as quickly as they once were and their values have been dropping. Rates are also going up, making it harder to get a loan or less enticing to get one. Now, I’m not saying this is the end of the world or a total collapse of the market; I’m just saying we’ve seen the market slow down already. What this means to you is that it might take longer for you to sell your vacant land with a realtor. On top of that, there is no certainty that what you list your property for is what you’re going to get in terms of sales price. When working with a real estate investor like TB Properties Buys Land, we give you an immediate cash offer and we close through a title company. You get paid quickly, and you know exactly what you’re going to come back with.
But how do you know you’re going to get paid? And how do you know it’s not going to be scam? There are so many scams right now, so what do you do to protect yourself?
The first thing that I would say to do is to always make sure that you totally understand the purchase agreement. If it’s really long and confusing, if there’s fine print, if you’re not exactly sure what all the closing costs are and who’s covering those, you need to make sure that you find out, get answers to those, and make sure that those answers are in writing, in that contract. If you don’t understand it, make sure it’s rewritten so that you do understand it. If you need to get professional help, get it. The last thing you want is to get scammed when it comes to selling your property, because you didn’t do your due diligence and read and understand that contract fully. That’s one of the reasons that we here at TB Properties Buys Land have a very simple one-page purchase agreement. We want to make sure that you feel comfortable and that you understand every word on that purchase agreement.
Another important thing is to find out how exactly they’re going to close on that property. How are you going to get paid? Here at TB Properties Buys Land pay in cash, but we always close through a title company. Some real estate investors will insist on what they call a self-closing, where they hire a notary, a third party to show up at your home or a local coffee shop. At this meeting they notarize the deed that you’re signing, but the notary is also supposed to give you a check for the purchase of your property at that time.
There are a couple of things that could go wrong in this situation. If their check is not in the form of certified funds such as a bank check, cashier’s check, or say a money order if this is a really low value property, what they are giving you are not guaranteed funds. If somebody gives you a personal check, that could bounce, right? You want to make sure that there are sufficient funds in that account, and you don’t have to worry about that with a bank check. When it comes to a title company, they are the ultimate third–party intermediary. They’re going to make sure that all the paperwork’s done correctly, they’re going to verify that this is your property, this is the property, it’s not something else. It’s not your home that’s being sold instead of your cheaper piece of land. You’ll have that all in their title paperwork. Another really important thing is that they only accept certified funds from us as the buyer.
The process is that we are required to wire funds directly from our bank or send over a cashier’s check from the bank to the Title Company’s account. Once those funds are in their account and they’ve cleared, are they are certain that everything’s done and the paperwork’s in, of course. Then they’ll be able to release funds to you as the seller, and then they’ll be able to convey the property to us. As you can see, it’s really important that you cover yourself, one, by understanding the contract, and knowing what you’re signing. And two, making sure that you close through a title company so that you know you’re going to get paid. There are a few other things that we can talk about, but these are the first two things that I would say to make sure that they’ll help you have a secure transaction when selling to a real estate investor like TB Properties Buys Land. But if you have specific questions, please feel free to reach out to us. We’re always happy to answer those questions across email, phone call, or through our website. We look forward to working with you and hope you have a wonderful, happy holiday season. Thanks again.