1st Transaction Opportunity - 30 acres Undeveloped Land

[Kim Weaver]

Greetings BP Family!

I am new to RE Investing.  This month I sent out my 1st letter campaign to 105 absentee owners in Charlotte, NC.  One of the 3 calls I got was from an owner tired of paying taxes on a parcel of inherited land.  This parcel has some unique challenges that may make it undesirable.  However, in our conversation she mentioned also having 12 ac of land in Cabarrus County that the family wants to sell.  Another relative owns 11+ ac next to this and there's a 3rd land owner with 5+ ac next to that (who's land is basically land locked).  All 3 parties want to sell and think selling the 29 acres together in 1 transaction would bring a better offer.  They previously had a contract on it for $40K/ac. The buyer pulled out  with 3 days left on their 120 day due diligence period.  The owner does not know why.

With the exception of 1 ac with an owner-occupied house along the main road, the other 28+ acres are all wooded, undeveloped; zoned Country Residential.  There's quick access to the 485 hwy loop, plenty of new residential developments ranging from $350-700K, and other nearby large scale mixed-use residential/retail/medical office developments coming soon.  

This could be my 1st deal which is exciting and terrifying at the same time.  Given that I just heard the term "perk testing" today, what strategic advice would you offer for how to handle this opportunity? Would it be advisable to get with a Realtor, experienced in selling undeveloped land?  My goal is to do a no money down approach (however, I'm learning that upfront $s are needed for perk testing). I hope to do a contract to buy low and then re-sale for more immediate profits.  I may also be able to pool a few private investors together for a buy & hold approach. 

Bottom line is, I want to avoid getting overwhelmed and screwing up an opportunity.  Any advice on a strategy and what to expect (other upfront costs, using a realtor, pitfalls with land transactions, etc.) would be greatly appreciated. 

Thanks,

Kim