Once upon a time in a land far, far away a lovely family owned a lovely piece of land in the lovely woods. The family built themselves a small cottage where they enjoyed spending their weekends and summers, and although there was no lake for swimming or indoor plumbing, it was their cottage and they loved it.
Over the span of years, the visits grew fewer and farther between. The cottage the family once loved and cherished for the privacy of the surrounding woods now became a hassle that they had to remember to maintain. So the family talked it over and decided the best thing to do would be to sell their beloved cottage, to pass it on to another family to love and make memories. They stuck a “For Sale” sign in the yard of their cottage and waited for a call.
And waited.
And waited.
And as it turned out, the privacy and solitude that made their cottage such a wonderful place to escape to is the same thing that made it nearly impossible to sell. With so little traffic near their cottage, the home just sat and sat and sat.
If this sounds less like a fairytale and more like trying to sell your deep-in-the-sticks, backwoods property, there are a few things you should try.
One of the real estate rules of thumb is that everything will sell eventually or at a low enough price, but that’s not really an appealing thing to hear when it’s your property and your money. So how can you sell your out-of-the-way home?
Consider Using an Agent
Using a real estate agent could be your best bet for a number of reasons, especially if you don’t live nearby. Working with an agent who specializes in selling real estate in the area means that you won’t have to travel to meet with potential buyers to show them the property. It also means that you may be able to get more money for your property as agents have access to information that helps them price homes and land properly. An agent will also save you the headache (and potential heartache) that can come with a complicated real estate deal.
Post on Social Media Groups
These days there’s a group for just about everything on Facebook. If you’ve got a nice piece of vacant land, there’s probably a hunter’s group with members who would be interested. Have a cabin on a lake? Try adding it to a resale group for towns within a two hour radius. Have a heap-o-junk property that fell into your lap? See if an investor’s group is looking for their next deal. Social media has made the world much smaller and it’s easier than ever to connect with those who might be interested in what you’ve got!
Try Something New
The age of the Internet has had incredible power. If you’d rather not work with an agent or aren’t into the idea of posting on social media, there are a variety of real estate-specific websites that will show your property for little to no cost. Some of these websites are designed to just work as a commercial, blasting out property information to anyone who is looking, while others will help you through the sales process and others will offer to buy your home right then and there. If you’re looking for the biggest impact-for-money, consider a reserve auction. This type of auction allows sellers to retain control, only parting with the property if an acceptable bid is placed meaning you can choose to sell or hold, depending on the situation. To learn more about how real estate auctions work, click here.