All Forum Posts by: Ryan Palmer

If I purchase property with back tax, and do not intend to pay the tax before selling it, should I transfer title to the buyer with a special warranty or a quit claim deed? If more back tax is accrued during my ownership of the property, is that a breach of the special warranty deed? Should I pay the taxes myself, defer the expense to the buyer as part of the cost, and then transfer title with a general warranty deed? (This seems risky to me)

Obviously the safest option for me as the investor is to sell with a quit claim deed so that I could never be held liable, but I wonder if this will be a turn-off for buyers. Be advised that I deal in vacant land.

Making a bad real estate deal work is like trying to make a bad relationship work... I would walk away. There are plenty of good deals to be had. Any reason you really want this one to work?

@Daniel Duque

Actually I came up with that little idea myself when looking at a population density map of the US and trying to come up with a strategy. The small low density counties surrounded by hundreds of miles of high density counties seemed like little oases of privacy in a sea of people. I did get the suggestion for population density from a Seth Williams article though. I didn't know he had a podcast, I will check those two out. Thank you!

@Daniel Duque

I have yet to figure out how to access these lists containing everyone which I have heard about. Any tips? So far I've been choosing small counties with low population density but are nearby to counties with high population density. My logic for this is simply that people in dense areas might be interested in a place to camp or build that isn't too far from home. I'm also checking the recent land sales on Zillow to get a feel for the market in these areas and targeting counties that sit in the 5k-50k range.

I started pursuing land investing (and REI as a whole) less than 72 hours ago so I cannot over-emphasize my ineptitude.

I'm a computer engineer about to plunge into raw land investing. My engineering mind wants systems in place before I even start looking for my first purchase. I know that every successful investor utilizes spreadsheets to record data, but without concrete examples I am completely at a loss. I've never done any kind of investing before.

The obvious data to record would be the purchase price, market value, sale price, and associated fees for each parcel that I acquire. That's easy, but what else? Should I keep one spreadsheet for tracking prospective properties and recording the results of my due diligence, and another for tracking sales results post-deal? 

The other obvious use for a spreadsheet is to maintain a buyer list. What does a good buyer list look like? What about a potential motivated seller list? What would this list look like?

My biggest concern is making my first investment a successful one. I have already requested delinquent tax rolls from several counties, and soon I will have a list of opportunities at my fingertips. I want as much of the fundamental systems in place NOW so that I can hit the ground running and move through my first deal without skipping a beat.

Any advice from people who remember the systems they had in place first when they started is greatly appreciated. This includes non-spreadsheet-related tips as well!

@Jay M.

Starting your book now. Easy purchase. I will consider your Facebook group when I'm finished! Thank you for giving me a couple places to start.

Hey all,

I hope I'm not part of some annoying trend, but I recently discovered the land investment niche after hearing an interview with Mark Podolsky on a podcast. I have never invested in anything other than the stock market, and have zero knowledge of the workings of buying/selling/leasing land. I'm capable of learning most things pretty quickly, as long as I have sufficient educational resources to pull from. This brings me to my question: What are the first 5 things I need to learn before attempting to make my first investment? If there are any YouTube channels, blogs, or other resources that have helped you get started as a land investor, please share. I'm also curious how much people have invested on their very first land purchase.

Stories from people who had no prior experience would be especially useful, since that is my situation.

Thank you!