Tips for sourcing Land/Property for Development

[Cory Osborn]

Hey guys, I'm a pretty new developer.  I'm about to close on my first property, on which I will build 3 homes. The land is already developed but I got a great deal on it and should do well with it.

I'd like to start getting other properties in my pipeline for future development. I'm obviously talking to realtors, I scour the MLS like 5x a day trying to see what pops up on there. While they're few and far between, I have found some good property for potential development on the MLS, but I was slightly too late each time.

When I bought my first multifamily a few years back, I purchased it off market.  I literally drove around and made a list of off-market multifamilies I would be interested in buying and then went home, looked up owner info and sent out letters.  I sent out probably like 200 letters over a 3 month period, got about 15-20 calls and closed on one of them back in 2016.  I'd like to start doing this with property as well.  I'm just seeing if there is efficient way of doing it?  Or any other tips other developers or builders may have for finding property.  

Are builders receptive to cold calls about any land they might know of?  I'm very excited to start this chapter of my life and am extremely motivated to build something big out of it.

[Greg Dickerson]

@Cory Osborn you can have a real estate agent set you up on instant notifications so any land that hits MLS will be sent to you automatically. You can also do this with Zillow and Realtor websites. Usually the local realtors association will have a website search tool you can use and set up notifications.

Craigslist will have some land deals occasionally.

You can download a list of vacant land form the tax database and mail or call them. This is called farming for vacant land.

Yes sometimes builders will sell lots to other builders but your best bet is to talk to developers that sell to builders if your looking for finished lots.

I also look for tear downs. May it’s a house or building on multiple lots or a house that’s comes with extra land and you do a boundary line adjustment. 

These are a few ways to find land to build on.