Landowner GuideFor people who own land, or are about to
A plain-English guide to owning land
Land you inherited, land you bought years ago and never visit, land you're thinking of selling. This guide covers the questions that come with it, for owners rather than agents or investors.
Start here
Before deciding anything about a piece of land, pull four public records: the county property record (owner, acreage, assessed value, taxes due), the recorded deed and any easements, the FEMA flood map, and the USDA soil survey. They're free, and together they tell you most of what a buyer, appraiser or lender will look at.
Guides
- Is buying land a good investment? What the data and real owners say
Is buying land a good investment? 20 years of USDA data, what owners say happened to their money, and the five tests to run before you buy land to hold.
Start with your situation
Most landowner questions start from one of these. Each has a few things worth doing first.
I inherited land
Nothing usually forces a quick decision, but a few things can't wait: the taxes, and knowing who legally owns it now.
- Find out whether title has passed to you yet. That depends on the will, whether there's a probate case, and your state's rules.
- Keep the property taxes current while you decide. Unpaid taxes can end in a tax sale.
- Write down what the land was worth on the date of death. For federal tax purposes that usually becomes your cost basis.
I own land I don't use
Idle land still costs money every year. The question is whether it can pay for itself, or whether you'd rather have the cash.
- Add up the yearly cost: property tax, any association dues, liability insurance.
- Check whether a farm, forest or open-space program could lower the tax, and what you'd owe if you later leave it.
- Ask what a farm, hunting or timber lease would bring before deciding to sell.
I'm thinking about selling
Land sells more slowly than houses and to fewer buyers. How you sell decides how much you get and how long it takes.
- Look up recent sales of similar parcels nearby, not the asking prices on listing sites.
- Decide between a land agent, selling it yourself, or a direct cash buyer. Each trades price against speed differently.
- Pull the deed and survey now. Title problems found late can stall a closing for weeks.
My land has a problem
No road access, back taxes, part of it in a flood zone, or a title that's split between relatives. These are common, and most can be worked through.
- Landlocked: check the deed and plat for a recorded easement before assuming there isn't one.
- Back taxes: call the county tax office for the exact payoff and any sale date.
- Shared ownership: find out who is on the title before anyone signs anything.
I'm buying land
A listing photo can't show whether you can legally reach the land, put a septic system on it, or get power to it.
- Confirm legal access: a recorded easement or public road frontage, not just a dirt track.
- Check septic feasibility (a perc or soil test) and the distance to the nearest power line.
- Read the FEMA flood map panel yourself instead of trusting the listing.
What landowners are asking
Public posts from landowners, quoted word for word with links to the originals. They're not our readers or customers. They're the questions this guide is built to answer.
“Not sure if it's worth selling or if its worth paying the property taxes on it”
u/Scary_Captain_4524 on r/RealEstateinherited 11 acres near the Salton Sea · Jan 2025
“It’s been over 30 years since I stepped foot on that land. I finally got to see it this September. It’s all trees! Im not sure what to do with the land.”
u/chunkylard on r/RealEstateinherited about 6 acres, shared with siblings · Dec 2024
“…we have been receiving numerous cold mail offers to buy it. … This is where we are absolutely lost”
u/Three_1st-Names on r/RealEstatefamily inherited 40 acres of timber in Georgia, lives in California · Apr 2024
“I know an appraisal would give the most accurate answer, but I’m hoping to get some perspective first because appraisals are $600+ and my funds are already stretched from this process.”
u/LadyRainacorn87 on r/RealEstateweighing a buyout offer on an inherited share · Dec 2025
“Curious about what we could potentially make, but I have also heard the horror stories of leasing out to certain companies, deals falling through, land not being cleaned up after, etc.”
u/BPT242 on r/landfamily estate, 25 wooded acres, asked about a solar lease · Jul 2026
“I saw one plot that was about 20 acres for about $2500. Really? That’s it? Do you have to pay a lot of taxes on this each year?”
u/MinimumBet9886 on r/landlooking at cheap desert parcels · Feb 2026
“Road access is not the same as legal access. This is the big one. A path on Google Maps or satellite view is not a deeded easement.”
u/Affectionate_Try1432 on r/landon checks to run before buying vacant land · May 2026
“…the costs they’re throwing around for just the site prep are wild. I feel like every time I ask a question, the price tag goes up another five grand.”
u/Obey_My_Kiss on r/landjust closed on 3 acres in Texas · Mar 2026
Free records every landowner should know how to pull
Buyers, appraisers and lenders check these first. You can look them up yourself in an afternoon.
Property record card
Owner of record, acreage, parcel number, assessed value, and whether the taxes are paid. Start here for any parcel.
Deed and recorded easements
Who holds title, how the land is described, and any recorded rights of way across it or to it.
County recorder, register of deeds or clerk (same directory)
Flood map
Whether any part of the parcel sits in a FEMA flood zone, which affects building, financing and insurance.
Soil survey
Soil types, slope, drainage and how suitable the ground is for septic systems, crops or building.
Land value benchmarks
Average farmland, cropland and pasture values by state, updated every year. Useful for context, not for pricing one parcel.
What land is actually worth
According to USDA’s Land Values 2026 Summary (July 2026), U.S. farm real estate averaged $4,500 an acre, cropland $6,020 and pasture $2,000. Those figures are useful for one thing: knowing whether land in your state is rising or falling. They’re a poor guide to what your parcel will sell for, for three reasons:
- Farm real estate includes buildings. A wooded tract with no house, barn or well is a different product.
- Access and utilities move price more than acreage. A parcel with road frontage, power at the road and soil that passes a perc test can sell for several times what a landlocked tract of the same size brings.
- Small parcels and big parcels price differently. The price per acre usually drops as the acreage goes up.
The best evidence of value is what similar parcels nearby actually sold for in the last year or two. Asking prices on listing sites are only what owners hope to get. Raw land can sit on the market for a long time, so the gap between asking and sold is often wide.
If you’re weighing land as an investment rather than pricing land you already own, Is buying land a good investment? works through 20 years of USDA price data and what owners say happened to their money.
Keeping land costs money, even if you never visit
Every parcel carries a yearly bill: county property tax, sometimes association or road-maintenance dues, and the liability risk of someone getting hurt on it. Before deciding whether to keep land, write down what it costs per year and what it could earn.
Lowering the tax. Many states tax qualifying farm, forest or open-space land on what it earns from that use, not its market value. The tradeoff is a clawback if the use changes. In Tennessee, for example, land taken out of the greenbelt program owes rollback taxes: the tax savings for the past three years on farm and forest land, and five years on open space (UT County Technical Assistance Service). Ask your county assessor what your state offers and what leaving it would cost.
Making it pay. The common options are leasing to a farmer for crops or grazing, leasing hunting rights, and selling timber. For timber in particular, get an independent consulting forester to estimate the value before you take an offer from a logging company. Solar and wind developers also lease land near transmission lines. Those leases run for decades, so have an attorney read the decommissioning and cleanup terms.
If you decide to sell: three routes, honestly compared
| List with a land agent | Sell it yourself | Direct cash buyer | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Usually the highest, minus commission | Market price if you find the right buyer | Below market: the buyer has to resell at a profit |
| Time | Months; land sells slower than houses | Months, and it depends on your marketing | Often a few weeks |
| Your work | Low | High: pricing, photos, listings, screening, paperwork | Low |
| Best for | Marketable land with access and no title problems | Owners with time who know local buyers or neighbors | Land with problems, out-of-state owners, or when speed matters more than price |
If your land has road access, clear title and a local market, a good land agent will usually net you the most money. A direct buyer makes more sense when the land is hard to sell, when you live far away and want it handled by mail, or when holding it costs more than the price difference.
Whatever route you take, closing should run through a title company or real estate attorney, not a stranger’s paperwork. Never pay an up-front fee to sell your land.
Common landowner questions
What should I do first if I inherit land?
Keep the property taxes paid, find out whether title has legally passed to you (through probate, a trust or your state's rules for heirs), and get a record of the land's value on the date of death. Under IRS Publication 551, an heir's basis is generally the fair market value on that date, which matters a lot if you sell later. Then decide with any co-heirs whether to keep, lease or sell.
Do you pay property taxes on vacant land?
Yes. Vacant land is taxed by the county like any other real estate unless it qualifies for an exemption or a reduced-value program. Many states tax farm, forest or open-space land at its use value instead of its market value, but those programs usually have acreage or income rules and can charge back the tax savings (rollback taxes) if the use changes.
How do I find out what my land is worth?
Look at recent sales of similar parcels near yours: similar size, access, terrain and utilities. A land agent can pull these, or you can find sold prices in county records. The assessed value on your tax bill is often different from market value, and state averages from USDA include buildings and farmland, so neither prices a single parcel. For an estate, a loan or a dispute, hire a licensed appraiser.
Can I sell land without a real estate agent?
Yes. You can sell to a neighbor, list it yourself on land listing sites, or sell to a direct buyer. A title company or real estate attorney can handle the deed, title search and closing for a fee. Selling without an agent saves the commission, but you take on pricing, marketing and screening buyers yourself.
What happens if I stop paying property taxes on land?
The taxes become delinquent and start adding interest and penalties. If they stay unpaid, the county can eventually sell the land, or a lien on it, at a tax sale. Most states give owners a redemption period to pay and keep the land, but the timelines differ a lot from state to state, so call the county tax office for your exact payoff and dates.
What is an easement by necessity?
It's a right to cross a neighbor's land that a court can recognize when a parcel has no access to a road. Courts generally require that the landlocked parcel and the land around it were once owned by the same person, and that the need for access existed when they were split. The rules differ by state, so a local real estate attorney should look at your deed history.
Are the letters offering to buy my land legitimate?
Many are real, but they're usually blind offers: investors mail thousands of owners using county tax records, before anyone has looked at the land. The price is set so they can resell at a profit, so it's normally below what the land would bring on the open market. A serious buyer will tell you how they reached the number, close through a title company or attorney, and never ask you to pay a fee up front.
How this guide is written
Nicolas runs Landowner Guide and a small set of state sites that connect landowners with land buyers. He is not a lawyer, CPA or real estate agent; every fact on this site links to the public source it came from.
Facts come from county, state and federal sources and are dated. Laws and tax programs differ by state, so where a rule is state-specific the guide names the state. Landowner stories are public posts quoted exactly, never made up or paraphrased as quotes.
First published October 7, 2026 · Last updated October 7, 2026