Land Investment
The Small Land Investment – How To Find Good Property
By Buyincomeproperty.com
Oct 6, 2005, 11:13

For those who make a living from land investment, tracking property values and evaluating trends isn’t a problem – they have analysts hired to perform those tasks. But for anyone who is just considering land investment in the form of a small purchase or two, finding land invstment property that is likely to offer up a decent return can often become a real challenge. It becomes a matter of being lucky. But there are some steps you can do to make your luck a little better, and to find those small land investments that are likely to pay off in big dividends.

Start by admitting that you’re going to have to be a bit of a researcher to find the best land investment, and that you’re going to have to spend some time on this process. Don’t worry – land investment isn’t a boring subject at all.

One of the best things about doing your land investment research yourself is that you get to be nosy. Your quest for land as an investment should probably start with a trip to your local courthouse. In most counties, you’ll find listings of deeds that have been filed as well as the county’s assessment of how much property across the county is worth. And the best news? All this is public record. You don’t have to be anything special to gain access. You don’t even have to explain that you’re doing research for land investment, though you can. Appraisers, surveyors, property owners, genealogists and those doing title research all call for these records on a regular basis.

If you county assesses, you can start by looking for land cards. Cards will vary from state to state, but typically include all transactions that have taken place on that particular piece of property. If it was sold or transferred from one family member to another, that information will be recorded. You can usually find the amount paid for the property, but be wary of this information. It could be that this was part of a larger transaction. Or it could be that this was “Uncle Joe” selling his property to his kid brother for a dollar. To be sure what these transactions mean, check the deeds themselves.

The deeds may also be misleading to your land investment research because some states don’t record the actual amount of the transaction. If you have any doubts, ask for help in understanding what you’re reading.

After you’ve taken a look at your courthouse records in search of real estate trends that can help you make wise land investments, take time to visit some area real estate agents. These are people who work with property values on a daily basis and can likely give you some great information related to your land investment research.

Pay attention to government actions. Sometimes, a decision to improve roads, extend services (water, sewer, etc) or other actions can greatly improve the value of land in those areas, making them great land investments. But you have to know those things before they actually happen. If you keep an eye on city, county and regional government, you can sometimes get clues about land that will make good investments.

Finally, your land investment research should take you into the area you are considering for land investment property. Drive around and take note of trends in the area. Are people fixing up homes? Are there dozens of “for sale” signs in the area? All these and more can greatly impact whether property in a certain area will be good land investment property that you can expect to turn a profit.