Listing a farm for sale is a major step, no matter if you’ll be happy to see it go or it is a property that you’ll cherish forever. Selling farm land up for sale is like no other property transaction; since there is often land, livestock, farm equipment, and a residential home involved in the sale the process is pretty involved.
Before you even meet with a real estate agent to get the ball rolling, there are a few things you need to consider as the farm owner before anything else. Here’s what they are.
Step 1: First thing’s first, clean up
There is no way of knowing how quickly your first showing will happen once you list the property. It could be a month, it could be a day. For this reason, you should never list something that you would be embarrassed to show to a potential buyer. Before anything else happens, you should do a cleanup of the land.
Depending on the size of your farm, this could take a LONG time. Allocate time within your schedule to start decluttering, getting rid of old machinery, clearing away rubbish piles, repairing run down sheds, applying a fresh coat of pain to the chicken coup, and whatever else you feel needs to be done.
Step 2: Walk the entire perimeter
This is something that a lot of farm owners don’t do, but it should be done on a regular basis. Walking the perimeter of you land gives you a chance to establish its limits and check for any damage to fencing. Staying on top of damage to fence posts and wiring is crucial to keeping unwanted critters out and livestock in.
Step 3: Focus on the house
After you’ve spruced up the land and walked the perimeter of the farm, it’s time to take stock of the residential home. Maybe you don’t think this will be the buyer’s focus – and you are probably right – but your home still needs to be in tip-top shape to make the sale that you’re hoping for.
Inspections will be done during the selling process, so beforehand you need to make sure everything is up to code and in check. But don’t just focus on the functionality and safety of your home; tidy up, upgrade kitchen countertops, paint the spare bedroom – do whatever you feel will make the sale go smoothly.
Step 4: Host a garage/yard sale
Moving homes is one of the ultimate ways to declutter. This is your chance to take inventory of what you have and get rid of what you don’t need. You probably don’t even realize just how much junk you have around the farm until it is time to sell. Think about hosting a garage or yard sale before calling Salvation Army to come pick up your unwanted things. You know how the old saying goes – one man’s trash is another man’s treasure! You might make more cash than you expected.
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