10 Ways to Sell Your Land Faster in Missouri
Return to BlogGet cash offer for your land today!
Ready for your next adventure? Fill in the contact form and get your cash offer.
By
Bart Waldon
With over 66,000 farms spanning millions of acres dotting Missouri's picturesque rolling hills, decisions divesting rural assets including inherited family grounds pass reluctantly for many tied memories relished over generations rooted. Yet escalating carrying costs, legal burdens and maintenance fees outpacing incomes derived necessitate actions by aging owners and beneficiaries seeking lands better aligned with life priorities presently. Per 2022 Missouri Realtors Land Report, over 58% of acreage listings required multiple price adjustments before prospective buyers made firm offers – costing sellers lost months chasing unrealistic valuations set initially too high.
With median marketing periods spanning 6-9 months on properties lacking proper market exposures and reasonable motivated seller motivations conveyed appropriately at outsets, there exist better paths improving probabilities of faster sales conclusions satisfying. By setting realistic ask valuations early through appraisals insights, addressing issues improving aesthetics, crafting compelling marketing messages and aligning capable broker partners to expose inventory wider toward ideal buyer groups seeking niche lands uses, satisfying paydays happen more rapidly.
Let’s examine 10 ways ensuring your Missouri land sells faster to next stewardship stewards waiting through industry advisors lenses optimizing sale experiences positively for all involved.
10 Tips to Sell Land Faster
1. Price Your Land Competitively
One of the biggest mistakes Missouri land sellers make is overpricing their property. Before listing your land, research recent sales of comparable acreage in your county. Make sure to account for location, terrain, road access, soils, mineral rights, and other attributes impacting value. Price your land in line with current market rates if you want to garner buyer interest quickly.
Be wary of inflating your asking price with hopes of negotiating down. This approach often backfires, deterring potential buyers at the outset. Instead, correctly value your land from the start, even if that means pricing below what you hoped to get. Consider working with a knowledgeable real estate agent to determine an appropriate listing price aligned with demand.
2. Highlight the Property’s Strong Suits
Part of competitive pricing is emphasizing your land’s best features when marketing to prospective buyers. For example, is your acreage prime for hunting or logging? Does it offer lakefront access or views of the Ozarks? Is the terrain flat and fertile for row crop farming? Determine your land’s highest and best use based on local area demand.
Prominently display gorgeous photos showcasing natural features like rolling hills, ponds, or timber stands. Buyers connect emotionally with properties, so help them envision enjoying all your land has to offer. The right buyer will pay a premium for acreage catering to their needs. Focus your listing details on applicable highlights to attract targeted shoppers immediately.
3. Market Your Property Extensively
You must invest significant effort marketing your land if you want a timely sale. Relying solely on a yard sign or basic MLS listing leaves too much to chance. Be proactive reaching qualified buyers through multiple advertising channels.
Start by listing your property on leading land marketing sites like Lands of America and LandWatch. Facebook Marketplace also drives buyer traffic. Then tap your local Farm Bureau and county assessor resources to identify adjoining landowners who may be interested in expanding their existing acreage.
Print full-color flyers for country stores and feed shops with photos, attribute details, and contact info. The more exposure you gain, the faster serious buyers will come knocking with fair offers in hand. Cast a wide net to accelerate the sales process.
4. Offer Owner Financing Options
Sometimes a stellar property struggles to sell due to buyer financing limitations. Providing your own owner financing opens the pool to capable buyers who simply lack adequate capital or don’t qualify for traditional lending.
Offering monthly or annual installment payment plans makes purchasing more feasible for various demographics like young farmers getting started. Be sure to consult an attorney to structure owner financing agreements properly addressing title transfer, taxes, insurance, default clauses, and interest rates.
While you trade quick cash at closing for longer payment timeframes, seller financing substantially improves saleability. This inventive move taps new buyer segments, making a faster deal possible even if banks won’t approve their mortgages.
5. Divide Your Acreage into Smaller Parcels
Missouri offers expansive rural acreage, which buyers may perceive as too large for their needs. Yet dividing your 100 acres into two 50-acre tracts or four 25-acre lots may hit an ideal size threshold for more purchasers. Breaking up the property essentially creates more marketable inventory from one expansive listing.
Smaller parcels sell faster by catering to wider buyer budgets and use cases like part-time farming. Just be conscious of zoning laws and dimensional requirements when subdividing land. A savvy real estate lawyer can help guide parcel creation compliant with local regulations. The extra effort opens untapped market potential to expedite sales velocity.
6. Offer Discounts for Quick Closings
Is your priority to sell quickly more than achieving maximum value? Consider dangling incentives for buyers who can close rapidly. For example, knock 5% off your listing price if they can pay all cash and finalize within two weeks. Or reduce the price by 2% for closing within 30 days.
Such discounts appeal to investors and those with ready capital to jump on promising deals. The bargain may be enough to motivate buyers to handle due diligence faster to cash in savings. Just ensure you still clear acceptable profit at the reduced prices. Driving urgency via closing incentives helps convince ready buyers to take prompt action.
7. Be Flexible Negotiating Offers
Sometimes offers come in under list price or with conditions that give buyers extra time for inspections. Rather than stubbornly refusing anything less than full asking, consider flexible negotiation strategies to keep deals progressing.
Obviously you should dismiss absurdly lowball offers unlikely to ever reach profitable sale prices. But earnest buyers presenting respectable offers with quicker closings or unique terms deserve a thoughtful counteroffer. Brainstorm win-win compromises demonstrating your motivation in good faith.
Aim to keep dialogue open through collaborative back-and-forths rather than stonewalling less favorable initial offers. Showing willingness to negotiate creatively builds trust and momentum toward eventual signed contracts.
8. Act Decisively Once You Receive Strong Offers
After marketing your Missouri land extensively, solid offers will start accumulating. But don’t let great opportunities languish! Savvy sellers respond decisively upon receiving serious purchase proposals aligned with expectations.
Reply immediately to keep the buyer’s enthusiasm high. Then aggressively pursue due diligence requests and make plans to finalize legal contracts ASAP. Ask your attorney to expedite document preparation for signature. Follow up persistently with the Title Company and lender to keep the closing on track.
When everything aligns for a mutually agreeable deal, capitalize quickly before the buyer gets cold feet. Proactively pursuing all moving parts demonstrates your commitment to transfer ownership promptly.
9. Consider Sale-Leaseback Agreements
Some buyers wish to acquire land for specific operational purposes but lack sufficient capital to pay full market value upfront. Offering a sale-leaseback arrangement bridges the gap. This allows the buyer to purchase your land through installments over time while leasing it back from you in the interim.
For example, a farmer may plan to grow crops on your acres but needs years to fully pay off the land purchase. An appropriate lease payment gives you reliable income while the buyer pays down the property perpetually. Sale-leasebacks require extensive legal guidance but open unique doors to accelerate deals.
10. Don’t Rule Out Land Buying Companies
If you ultimately decide maximizing sale speed outweighs chasing top dollar, selling to established land buying companies provides guaranteed fast cash. The experienced real estate investors at Land Boss possess capital reserves letting us buy Missouri properties completely as-is for instant payouts.
We know selling land is challenging, which is why Land Boss strives to make the process smooth, fair, and honest for sellers needing to divest land assets quickly. Our teams handle everything from valuation to title transfers, paying fair prices with no hidden fees. We close deals typically within a week without you even needing to list publicly.
The quicker sale does involve trade-offs of selling below full open market value. But if your goals prioritize speed and convenience over maximized profit, our instant all-cash offers help landowners exit unwanted properties. We’ve bought and sold over 100 land parcels, valuing customer partnerships. Selling your land doesn’t need to be stressful when you have a trustworthy buyer ready.
Final Thoughts
Selling land quickly often requires strategic planning and solid marketing foundations. But the payoff is worth the effort for Missouri owners seeking expedited transitions. Whether you leverage creative financing, flexible negotiations, or sell to a trusted land buying company like Land Boss, prioritizing speed sets realistic expectations. With lower prices and quicker closings, the right buyer is out there ready to acquire your property fast. Just utilize these 10 techniques to catalyze more immediate land sales. Stay persistent and patient through the process, but also decisive capitalizing on serious buyer interest when it emerges. The rewards of an accelerated sale help landowners exit assets no longer aligning with goals and reinvest proceeds into new endeavors.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What concessions do I need to make to sell my land faster in Missouri?
You may need to price your land competitively, offer creative financing options, or accept offers below your ideal asking price. Consider breaking large parcels into smaller lots or touting niche property attributes to attract targeted buyers more quickly. Ultimately, emphasize sales velocity over maximizing value.
How long should I expect selling farmland in Missouri to take?
Vacant rural land often requires 1-2 years to sell, but utilizing the right marketing and pricing tactics can help you secure a qualified buyer within a few months. Farmland may sell faster than dense woods since more buyers use it for agricultural operations.
What Missouri land typically sells the fastest?
Land with highway frontage, open terrain, lake access, cleared fields for farming, logging value, hunting grounds or other versatile usage sells fastest. Properties under 50 acres move quicker by catering to hobby farmers. Unique niches like vineyards also attract buyers more rapidly.
Does my Missouri land need to have road frontage to sell quickly?
While road frontage is ideal, you can still sell landlocked parcels by granting access easements across adjoining lots you or neighbors own. Locked acreage limits buyer pools more, so expect to reduce prices accordingly. But for speedy sales, highlight any right-of-ways benefiting the property.
What are the fastest options for selling inherited land in Missouri?
First get the new deed legally conveyed into your name. Then decide whether to liquidate quickly at moderate prices through land buying companies or list publicly if maximizing value is more important than a speedy close. Inherited land gifts opportunities, but also tough trade-offs around financial priorities.