Why I Pay Realtors 10% to Find Me Land Deals » 1459

What if you could have hundreds of realtors looking for land deals for you? You don’t need a big direct mail budget to make that happen. You need a phone, a simple offer, and consistent follow-up.I call realtors with vacant land listings that have been sitting for six months or longer. Sure, I’d love to buy the listed property at the right price, but that’s not the biggest opportunity. I want that realtor to remember me when they find a motivated seller who needs cash and wants to sell quickly.That’s why I’m willing to pay a 10% commission when an agent brings me a good off-market deal. Talk to five realtors a day, follow up every 30, 60, and 90 days, and you can build a powerful network of agents bringing opportunities to you. Pick a market, work the phones, build relationships, and keep following up.What’s Inside: —Finding opportunities through older vacant land listings—Why I’ll gladly pay realtors a 10% commission—Turning simple realtor conversations into long-term deal flow—Why consistent follow-up is the key to this strategy

One of the biggest mistakes I see land investors make is overcomplicating the marketing. You don’t need some fancy system or a huge budget to start getting offers in front of sellers. I want to show you how simple this can actually be.I walk through how I narrow thousands of vacant lots down to a highly targeted list, pull comps, determine my cash and owner-financing offers, and get an actual offer mailed to a seller. The cool part is I can send a handwritten-style first-class mailing directly through the Land Portal for just $1.97.The goal is simple: send more offers. If you can consistently send 10 offers a day, five days a week, that’s about 200 offers every month. You don’t need perfection. You need activity that creates conversations and gets you closer to deals.What’s Inside: —How I narrow thousands of vacant lots into a targeted seller list—How I quickly calculate cash and owner-financing offers—How I send handwritten-style land offers for $1.97—Why consistently sending offers creates traction

One of the coolest things about land investing is that you don’t necessarily need a pile of your own cash to do deals. I walk through a real 2.5-acre property and show you exactly how I structure an offer using owner financing and private money.Instead of only giving the seller a low cash offer, I can offer a higher price with better terms. Then I can turn around and sell that same property with owner financing at a premium. The difference between what I pay and what I collect creates cash flow.I also break down how private investors can fund the down payment and closing costs while earning a strong return secured by the property. When you understand price, terms, and financing, you can structure deals that work for the seller, buyer, investor, and you.What’s Inside: —How I structure cash and owner-financing offers—Using private money instead of my own cash—Creating monthly cash flow through financing arbitrage—Why better terms can justify a higher seller offer

I love land investing, and I love technology. When you combine the two the right way, you can save a ton of time and focus your energy on the leads that actually have a chance of becoming deals.I sat down with Phil Jones, a land investor and self-described tech nerd who built an AI-powered system to evaluate properties, qualify leads, and communicate with landowners at scale. His AI can have hundreds of conversations simultaneously while pulling property data, evaluating motivation, and figuring out whether there’s actually a deal worth pursuing.The big lesson here is that getting more leads isn’t always the answer. Better data and better qualification can make all the difference. Phil shows how AI can help you eliminate bad properties sooner, build better rapport with sellers, and spend more of your time working on deals that can actually make money.What’s Inside: —How Phil uses AI to communicate with up to 1,000 landowners—Why better lead data can save hours of wasted work—Using AI to evaluate properties before talking with sellers—How technology can streamline land deals from lead to offer

I’m taking you behind the scenes as I analyze a vacant lot and make a real cash offer. No theory here. I’m looking at actual sold and active comps, figuring out what I think the property can sell for, and working backward to determine my offer.The numbers suggest this 1.14-acre lot could sell for around $49,750. After factoring in my desired profit, realtor commissions, photos, and closing costs, the spreadsheet says I could offer around $30,000. But I have a simple rule for properties under $100,000: I usually start around 50% of value. So I’m sending the seller a $25,000 cash offer.I also show you how I create the offer letter, attach a proof of funds letter, and send it in a way that builds credibility. You don’t need to overcomplicate land investing. Learn the numbers, make good offers, and get them in front of sellers.What’s Inside: —How I use sold and active comps to estimate a vacant lot’s value—Why I’m offering $25,000 on a lot I believe could sell for $49,750—How I account for profit, commissions, photos, and closing costs—Why proof of funds can give your cash offer more credibility

I love deals where we can make the seller the bank and then turn around and become the bank ourselves. Clay Hepler is doing exactly that with land, and the numbers on one of his current deals are pretty incredible.Clay is buying 356 acres for $350,000 with only $25,000 down and $1,500 monthly principal-only payments. He plans to subdivide the property into about 10 lots and sell them for roughly $87,000 each, creating a potential $870,000 exit. Then he can sell those lots with owner financing and create even more profit through interest.We also get into why bigger, higher-quality deals can make more sense than chasing volume, how to structure creative offers sellers actually want, and why your mindset still matters more than any strategy.What’s Inside: —How Clay turns a $350K land purchase into a potential $870K exit—Using seller financing to buy land with less cash—Creating additional wealth by becoming the bank—Why better deals and better margins beat chasing volume

Success leaves clues. When I’m looking for vacant land markets, I don’t try to guess where the next hot area will be. I follow the money and look for where people are already buying land.I start broad and quickly narrow things down from the country to the state, county, and eventually the specific zip codes where deals are happening. Using tools like LandWatch, Redfin, Zillow, ChatGPT, and the Land Portal, I can see where properties are selling, what acreage buyers want, and what they’re willing to pay.Think of it like fishing with a depth finder. I don’t want to throw my line into empty water and hope something bites. I want to see where the fish already are. Once I find those pockets of demand, I can build a targeted seller list, make intelligent offers, and focus my marketing where I have a much better chance of doing deals.What’s Inside: —How I narrow my search from states to counties to hot zip codes—Using recent sales activity to see where buyers are spending money—How I use AI to quickly analyze land sales and pricing data—Why targeted seller lists beat spray-and-pray marketing

One of the biggest mistakes I see investors make is trying to market to everyone. The truth is, you don't need thousands of random properties to find great deals. You just need the right ones. In this video, I walk you through exactly how I start with a brand-new market and narrow thousands of vacant lots into a small, highly targeted list that actually makes sense to mail.I take you inside my process as I research Marion County, Florida, identify the hottest zip codes, study buyer activity, and use smart filters to eliminate bad properties like wetlands, landlocked lots, corporate-owned parcels, and recently sold listings. We start with more than 3,300 vacant lots and end up with just 263 of the best opportunities worth making offers on. This is the same process I use to work smarter, spend less on marketing, and focus my time where the best deals are most likely to happen.What’s Inside: —How I narrow 3,300 vacant lots down to just 263 high-quality opportunities.—The filters I use to eliminate bad properties before mailing.—Why buyer activity tells you exactly where to invest.—How to spend less on direct mail while getting better results.

I sat down with Austin Marvel to talk about one of my favorite topics in real estate investing: flipping vacant land. We covered a lot, but one strategy really stood out. Instead of sending complicated mailers or blind offers, I share the simple postcard that has consistently gotten me response rates of 8% to 12%, far better than what I ever saw with houses. It's proof that simple marketing, paired with consistent follow-up, can outperform fancy systems every time.We also talked about why land investing is such a great business for anyone who wants freedom. I even shared how my teenage sons built a part-time land business that generated over $150,000 in profits using this exact process. You don't need to overcomplicate this business. You just need to market consistently, follow up, and take action. If you're looking for a straightforward way to get started in real estate, this conversation will show you why land continues to be my favorite niche.What’s Inside: —The simple postcard that gets up to 10x more responses than house mailers—How my teenage sons built a profitable land business part-time—Why consistent follow-up beats complicated marketing—The biggest mindset shift that helps new land investors succeed

One of the biggest mistakes I see investors make is spending too much time trying to find the "perfect" market before they ever send an offer. The truth is, you don't need the perfect county. You just need a market where there's already strong demand. In this lesson, I show you exactly how I research new land markets using real data instead of guesswork, and I walk through the same process I use when I'm starting from scratch.I break down how I use tools like LandWatch and Land Portal to identify active counties, measure demand, and narrow down the best places to mail. More importantly, I explain why you shouldn't overanalyze your decision. Pick two or three solid counties, focus your marketing, and let the numbers guide you. That's how you build momentum and start doing deals faster instead of getting stuck in research mode.What’s Inside: —How I use real market data to find profitable land-flipping counties—Why following demand beats chasing the "perfect" market—The key metrics I look for before sending offers—Why focusing on a few great markets produces better results