Rule#1 – Know the rules



One of the first few things that you should do when you are doing a raw land investment is call the local county planner and find out what the local regulations are. Understanding the local regulations where your land resides will help you save time and work within the parameters of the local law. This is especially true when it comes to zoning and knowing what the limit is for subdividing a big piece of land into smaller parcels. Many people have had their proposals delayed or rejected because they subdivided their land into too many parcels. In almost every county, if you were to subdivide your land within a certain number, you actually do not need local county approval. Not many people know this. You can actually find out what the maximum allowable number is by simply talking to the local county planner.

Rule#2 – Make your time worthwhile

The amount of time that you spend on a $300,000 deal and a $1 million dollar deal is the same. The things that you need to do for almost all deals are basically the same. Therefore, if you have limited time, you should always spend your time on the bigger deals, as it is more productive and you get better returns. As a rule, never spend your time on deals that are less than $700,000.

Rule#3 – Sell by auction

Selling your land by auction is one of the best ways to dispose your property. Why is that so? This is because auctions makes the most efficient use of your time and gives you the best returns. With an auction, you can get all the potential buyers under one roof and conclude all the sales within an hour. This sure beats having to meet buyers one by one and selling the land on a piece meal basis. The other advantage of an auction is the fact that the land is sold to the highest bidder, so you can expect better returns. Many people who go to auctions usually get carried away emotionally. There is a tendency to bid higher as everyone likes to win, so you can expect to get a higher value for your land.

Rule#4 – Learn from the mistakes of others

A wise man will learn from his own mistakes, but a wiser man will learn from the mistakes of others. Time is short and time is finite. If you learn from the mistakes of others, your knowledge and progress with accelerate much faster than if you only learned from your own mistakes.

Rule#5 – Know your own strengths and weaknesses

Do not try to do everything yourself. Tap and leverage on the strengths of others. Delegate what you do not know and what you are not good at doing, just simply too busy to do.