243 acres in Birmingham, AL - where do I start?

[Joe Garbarczyk]

I just received a call from a motivated seller who has 243 acres for sale outside of Birmingham, AL (the home he had on the land burned down - we were targeting him for his home).

He's extremely motivated and wants to get rid of the land for what it was appraised from (around $1.5 million) and he currently has it listed for around $4 million.

I'm not sure where to start on this one - how does one go about finding buyers for land and how does someone put a value on land?

Any all help and guidance is appreciated.

[Dave Van Horn]

Hi @Joe Garbarczyk

Not sure what the current use of the land is or what it's zoned for but when finding land buyers it's really about finding the best person for the current property. What's the highest and best use of the property? Is it already farm land? Is it just forest/timber? 

Normally, unless someone wants the property for themselves, no one will shell out millions of dollars for land unless it's subdividable. Usually a land developer will put the property under contract subject-to subdivision approval. There's a value of the land today and there's a value to the land with subdivision approval. But this is only applicable if the land is in a worthwhile area, worthy of development and if they can get the zoning changed (if it's not zoned for it's best use already).

Best,

Dave