REtipster.com/valueofland Finding the market value of vacant land can be an extremely challenging task. Let me take you through a couple of the steps I use to nail down a reasonably accurate and depending value for a parcel of land. This approach is far from perfect (for obvious reasons), but it does inform you of what kind of competition you're dealing with (and what those sellers are expecting to get out of their property). In other words -- if you were to list your property for sale today, what other competitors would you have to stand out against? Take a minute and do the math. Once you understand what price your property will have to be listed for in order to look like the best deal on the market, this will give you a better perspective for the property's potential value in contrast to the current market (because if you're offering the best deal, it will theoretically be the first one to sell). You can also call 2 or 3 Local Real Estate Agents and Ask Their Opinion. This isn't a foolproof method, but it does help to "tell the story" of what your subject property may be likely to sell for. When I call local real estate agents, I've found it can be helpful to say something like this: "Suppose I owned this property free and clear and I wanted to list it for sale with you today. What price would I have to list it for if we wanted this thing SOLD within the next 6 months?" This kind of statement tells the agent a couple of things: 1. You're looking for a realistic idea of what it will take to sell this property quickly. 2. You're serious about getting this thing sold. 3. You want some honest answers. 4. If this agent helps you -- you may actually be willing to hire them for the job! This will encourage them to give your the time of day and offer up some legitimate answers. As you're having these conversations, pay close attention to the prices they suggest. If they throw out some numbers that clearly aren't going to work for you, now is the time to figure that out (instead of after you've already bought the thing). My primary warning would be this: Don't put too much faith in any ONE agent's opinion. There are a lot of clueless real estate agents out there (especially when it comes to vacant land), so if you're going to go through this exercise, make sure you're getting input from at least 2 or 3 people (the more the merrier).

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