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Tips on Selling Your Land

I’ve worked with a lot of clients over the years guiding them through the process of selling their land.  The buyers share their thoughts when I’m showing the property.  First and foremost…it’s not what they see it’s what they don’t see.  They do not need to see immediate cleanup.   Old abandoned homes and barns are the primary culprits and I’ve seen some bad ones.  A couple of solutions, there are haul out companies that will come in and haul off everything in a very short time.  Here’s an example, a couple of years ago I had 160 acres listed in Blount County.  There was an old house on the property and the yard and home were full of garbage…it was bad; however, it was a very nice piece of property in a great area.  It was an immediate turn off for every buyer and I could not get them to look past the trash to see the land.  I finally talked the owner in to spending a little money.  He paid $5,000 for a contractor to come in with a backhoe and dump truck.  He removed the trash and spread gravel on the road.  I put it under contract in less than 3 weeks.   If I have to lock my truck in 4-wheel drive and really force it to drive over the existing roads, the buyer is holding on to the grab bar instead of looking at your land.  Same thing with limbs scratching the side of my truck.  I don’t mind it, but the buyer does.  A nice clean secure gate is always a plus.   If I’m driving across your pasture and the weeds are higher that the hood of my truck, not good.  Mowing pastures and road right-of-ways pays dividends.   So, why am I taking the time to mention these?  Here’s why, when I work with the buyers that want the property and they see immediate work, they calculate the cost then double it because they’re unsure of the exact cost and their time doing the work.

Here’s a recent example.  This client was an out of state landowner and the rental house and outbuilding had been left in a complete mess with a ton of trash.   I arranged for a haul out crew to come in and clean the house and surrounding property.

All of these examples are very simple common sense but depending on the owner’s ability can be difficult to implement.  Every time I’ve helped clients arrange for cleanup and improvements, it has always been well worth the money.  If you need any assistance, please give me a call, 205-837-4466.

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Eddie Stone

Eddie Stone is an accomplished agent for Great Southern Land specializing in buying and selling land. An Alabama resident, Eddie has used his extensive knowledge to work and sell land in 15 counties surrounding the Birmingham Metro area. Eddie obtained a Master's Degree in Forest Business from Mississippi State University. For the next 20 years, he worked as a Registered Forester in the large corporate sector in both the procurement and land management arenas where he became an expert in land management, maximizing the biological growth of timber, determining the value of a timber tract, and maximizing its value for the landowner. In 1999, Eddie founded Forever Green, Inc.; a consultant forestry business that quickly became a leader in the local timber business. He went on to obtain a real estate license and join Great Southern Land as an Alabama land agent to further serve his clients' needs and provide full-scale, exceptional service. Eddie is also a Contractual Conservation Planner for the Georgia Alabama Land Trust. He prepares Conservation Easement Baseline Documentation Reports which includes technical writing, field inspections, GPS documentation, and GIS map preparation. Eddie's forestry expertise, coupled with being a REALTOR, has made him uniquely qualified to help clients navigate all aspects of buying and selling land.