any Realtors know how to comp a vacant lot... or how you find a list price?

Answer 1

Vacant lots can be VERY tough to comp out, because their value depends very much on how they can be used. A 5 acre lot with no road access can be almost worthless, while a 100ftx100ft buildible lot on a road near nice houses could be worth $150,000 (where I work... much more in pricier areas).

Here's the best way to do this.

1) Determine how the lot can be used. You can do this through public records in the local zoning offices (and depending on your area this info may be online as well). You need to know what the land is zoned for - commercial, agricultural, residential, or so on. You also need to know if it can be subdivided - can only one home be built on the lot, or could you subdivide into 2 or more buildible lots? And lastly, you need to know if the owner has already gotten building approvals and permits (approvals add value to the land).

2) Now that you know how the lot can be used, let's proceed, assuming that the lot can be used for residential building only. If its not a single family residential building lot this discussion gets WAY too complicated to conduct here... I'd need pages and pages.

3) Next, find other vacant lots that have sold nearby, in the same town, using public records or the Realtor's local database. Do not go out of the township unless you can verify that a neighboring town's property values are identifcal to the town your lot is in. You want to determine the highest and lowest price that a buildible lot has sold for in that town (one where you can build 1 Home). This is your range of value (unless the lot is completely unlike anything else that has ever been sold in the town).

4) Now start making adjutments to the "average price" of these other lots that sold, using the gross price for other lots and the "per square foot" price, with much more emphasis on the gross lot price. For instance, if you can subdivide the lot into two buildible lots it might be worth almost double. But if you have a 2 acre lot on which ONLY ONE home can be built, its NOT worth double what a 1 acre buildible lot would be. The extra land adds just a very small increment of value if you can't build a second home on it. Also add value if the lot is cleared and ready for building, has all its approvals in place, and so on. Add value if the lot is on a nice quiet neighborhood, but subtract value if it is on a major road.

5) Once you arrive at a number using these procedures go back to your list of sold lot prices and do a "sanity check." If it seems "right in there" you have the right number in mind.

Answer 2

If you want an accurate value of the property call an appraisers.

If you want accurate comps most appraisers will provide this service for you free. Seek one in your local telephone book.

Realtors are very good a selling homes and buildings, most haven't the slightest idea about vacant land. It is not something they sell or have any use for on a daily basis, especially if you are in a big city such as Los Angeles or San Francisco.

Now if you are in Arkansas, Mississippi or Wyoming where land is prevalent and agents sell this commodity regularly then by all means seek out a Realtor.

Your best bet in this situation if an appraiser

I hope this has been of some use to you, good luck.

"FIGHT ON"

Answer 3

ask a Realtor. That is what we do.

"any doctors know how to diag a pain .. . or how to remove a tumor?

You get what you pay for.