advice on how to sell cheap land / lot in Shelter Cove, CA

[Thad Miller]

I acquired a lot in Shelter Cove, CA a couple years back. I have been holding it, but now I want to use it to learn a little on how to sell. My real goal is to use the money to add to the down payment for a future rental investment in the next several months. I have started shopping (I guess I am always shopping / searching, but now I'm getting more serious). It has been a year since my last home purchase. Ok, back to the land / lot. The community is a Northern California coastal town with vacation homes, small airport, and a harbor. My lot is in the hills just above the town and in the community (not the outskirts). There is a house across the street. The cheapest lot on the same road is on the MLS for 10k. I had a realtor list my property last year for 15k, but he warned that lots are selling at 1 out of 50 per year. So, mine didn't sell. This year, it looks like the market is improving, but not hot yet. I put the lot on Craigslist for 5k with seller financing a possibility. I got 3 responses in the last 2 weeks, but they were lookie-loos so far. Oh yea, I got a post card from a wholesaler last year for $1000 and he just sent me another post card last month with the same offer. I tried to counter offer, but he stuck to his guns.

Have I learned enough - and, is it time to move on, and sell to the wholesaler? Or, is there more to do and market this property some other way? I might put the lot in the BP Marketplace.