I like to stay up-to-date on population trends because as a landowner, those can be a big factor in how much land is worth. With a degree in Economics, I’m always thinking of how the theories I learned in school, can be applied to the industry I work in.

As an investor, when I see a state surging in population, or if I project population growth in an area because of investment pouring into a region; creating jobs and boosting an economy. I view this as an opportunity to buy and HOLD land. Maybe, I have no interest in the land at all, but if I can find a reasonable price, my money has an opportunity to grow over the years due to the economic law of supply and demand. As people move into an area, the demand for land and housing increases, and the supply starts to dwindle. This causes land to become more valuable, therefore, increasing it’s price because the demand is greater than the amount available. Yes, there is always risk in an investment, but land is historically a lower risk investment, and lets face it, your money isn’t making more of itself by leaving it under the mattress.

Looking at it from a residents standpoint. As the population increases in an area, the demand for housing increases, and again, the amount of available housing becomes limited because developers can’t keep up with the population growth rate. This creates a market, where available housing is few and far between, so renters can rent at high prices and homes sell for more. Due to the limited options, people have to pay those prices if they want a roof over their head.

High rent prices aren’t your only option. We have a lot of customers who choose to buy affordable land outside the city to escape these dramatic prices. This route has many benefits: cheaper property taxes, more space, better views, and best of all, you get to design your dream home the way you want it! Yes, it does come with some drawbacks, probably the biggest one being the commute to and from work. However, even if life takes you a different direction, and you never end up building on the land, there is a good chance the land you purchased 10 years ago, will be worth a lot more than what you paid for it. Heck, just think about how much that land could be worth in 100 years if it stays in the family!

This concept applies to any area that sees their population grow faster than the housing market can keep up with it.

Here is a good article describing Colorado’s surge in population: http://www.denverpost.com/2016/05/19/colorado-population-growth-far-outstripped-new-housing-census-says/

This is Miles McLaughlin with Wilco LLC. I have been involved in investing in Land over the past year and a half, and have come to fall in love with it for a few simple reasons:

1. Land can be resold. This is plain and simple, land very often appreciates over time and can be resold for a profit.

2. Land will carry on your name. Believe it or not, but land will carry on your name. You will have a special gift to give your loved ones after your time is done.

3. Land if FUN. I enjoy outdoor recreation, so I enjoy camping trips, and 4 wheeling on some of the land I own.

4. There is a limited amount on this Earth. Sooner or later, as the population increases, land will become more scarce, with that the value of any land you own will rise.

Due diligence. Two of the most intimidating words in the english language. It sounds so serious and official! And when you are buying vacant land, you need to be sure that you’ve uncovered all the issues that could surprise you – who knows, you could be buying a toxic wast dump!

BUT once you know what to look for, due diligence becomes a lot less scary. Keep reading to learn how to make sure that piece of property isn’t going to be a huge liability.

First and foremost, you need to have a clear picture of what you want to use the land for. This will determine what you’re most focused on and how important various aspects of the land are. For example, if you are planning to build a home, you want to make sure the zoning allows that. Oh and make sure you’re not in a flood zone – it makes getting a loan very expensive!

Once you’ve determined how you want to use the land follow this checklist to make sure you are buying what you think you’re buying:

• Call the county planning and zoning. Ask them what the property is zoned as. Can you build a house? Go hunting? Park an RV? The P&Z folks should be able to answer all of these questions. Make sure to ask about restrictions – I’ve purchased a property in Oregon that had serious building restrictions because it overlapped endangered Sage Grouse habitat. These little guys have a lot of power!

  

• Check out the neighborhood. Get the GPS coordinates and find the property on Google Maps or Google Earth.  Is there road access? Is the property on the side of a cliff? Is there a nuclear power plant next door? Many counties also have a Geographic Information System (GIS). Think of Google Earth on steroids – you can find zoning, flood zones, county roads, the names of your future neighbors, and much more. You should become very close buddies with the county GIS.

  

• If you are planning to build and want power and water, make sure you understand what you have to do. Will you be off the grid – drilling a well and using solar panels? Will you want a power line installed? If so call the local power company and ask what that will cost! Will you want sewer? Call the local water division and ask if that is possible. If you need to dig a septic system, make sure the ground percolates (aka. “percs”), otherwise you will have a stinky situation on your property!
• Check on any liens or back taxes. Occasionally property will have taxes or HOA fees that are due. Sometimes there will be liens recorded with the county. Sound bad? Well, if you are a savvy investor, this is music to your ears! You will find the best deals on properties with taxes or HOA fees owed. You can buy the property CHEAP, pay off the taxes/fees, and own it free and clear! Almost all of the property that we at Wilco buy falls under this category – that’s why we can turn around and sell it to you for pennies on the dollar!!

When you pull it apart, due diligence isn’t so scary. In fact you can do almost all of it from the comfort of your home. Just make a few phone calls and use the online resources that are available to you and you are off to the races!

If you are considering buying some property and you have any questions about Due Diligence, please give us a call or send us an email. We would be happy to help you out!

One of the most important things to check when purchasing a piece of property is the title. Why? Well, think of it like this: suppose someone came to you and offered to sell you a car. They point over their shoulder and start telling you all about this brand new car that they are willing to sell you CHEAP.

Great! But wait…what’s the catch? Well, if you don’t check the title, this person could take your cash, hand you a set of keys, and vanish. You go up to the car and realize those keys don’t even fit the lock. The seller never even owned the car! This happens all the time when buying land.

Yikes! So how do we protect ourselves???

The first answer is to hire a title company. A reputable title company will perform the important research on things like:

• Is the seller the owner of record?
• Are their any liens, encumbrances, or taxes owed?
• Who owns the mineral rights?

While a title company can’t tell you everything about a piece of raw land, they can tell you A LOT. But a good title company is not cheap. Just look at how many steps are involved in closing with a title company:

For many small parcels of land, hiring a title company can be more expensive than the land itself!

What can you do to protect yourself without hiring a title company?

1. Call the county. Typically the county clerk or recorder will be able to provide you any deeds that have been recorded for a property. Also, if any liens have been recorded, the county should be able to provide those too.
   • PRO TIP: Many counties offer electronic copies of deeds and other documents, often it’s as easy as finding the county website and navigating to the right page. Typically they will charge a nominal fee ($2-$5) for a copy of the latest deed, which you can access online.
2. Hire an abstractor.Abstractors are professional researchers: they are able to perform research on a property’s title and also find liens that have been recorded with the county. In fact, many title companies hire abstractors to perform research on the title.

So now that you know HOW to find information on a property, in our next post we’ll tell you exactly WHAT to look for.

Due Diligence is crucial when purchasing land, so we wanted to give our customers some tips on how to protect themselves and feel confident when buying land. In the next few posts we’ll explore the main concepts of Due Diligence as it applies to raw land investing.

What is Due Diligence? According to Investopedia:

Due diligence (DD) is an investigation or audit of a potential investment. Due diligence serves to confirm all material facts in regards to a sale.

Generally, due diligence refers to the care a reasonable person should take before entering into an agreement or a transaction with another party.

Basically, you are doing research to make sure that you understand the most important details of the asset that you are buying. With land, we’re talking about things like a clean title, taxes and fees, access, zoning, location, utilities, water, and many other factors. The importance of these things varies depending on what you want to do with the land. If you are going to build, you’d better make sure that the zoning allows you to put up your house. If you are just going to use the property for occasional hunting or camping, zoning issues might be less important.

If you’ve never done Due Diligence before, this process can seem overwhelming. However, there is a step-by-step progression that we here at Wilco Land follow. In the next few posts, we’ll dive into our process so that you can perform your own Due Diligence, or at least understand the important questions you need to ask before purchasing raw land.

Where to begin? In our next post, we’ll talk about the first step: determining a clean chain of title.

Developing land can be a great investment, but preparation is key. Want to ensure your land development goes smoothly? Follow these tips:

1. Identify a general area. You may want to keep your first project close to home, where personal connections can help you with both the red tape and your search for a trustworthy, high-quality builder.
2. Carefully consider the project size and scale. You’ll also want to look at what you can afford as likely be paying for some or all of the development costs with a loan. The size of the loan you can get depends on factors like your income, assets and how much experience you have with developing. Talking with a local banker can help you get a better sense of the loan size you can expect to get. More experienced developers may want to consider other options for financing, such as attracting individual investors or contracting with a seller who can help shoulder development costs.
3. Find the right piece of land. Once you’ve got your target property and your budget, you can start looking for vacant land. Look at several properties that fit within your size and budget requirements and then analyze the locations. To do this, it helps to think from the future owner’s point-of-view. If you’re building a family home, you’ll want to look at the quality of schools, access to parks and the distance from the city or office developments where the owner is likely to be employed.
4. Controlling your costs and schedule. Once you’ve decided on a property you can move on to more in-depth planning. You can start by creating a master schedule, a key tool that can help you keep your land development project under control. Write down each step in the order it should be performed in, starting with planning and continuing through each step in the permitting process. While many tasks can be handled at the same time, keeping an orderly, updated schedule will make sure you don’t cause delays by missing vital steps. This is important, since the sooner you start construction, the less interest you’ll accumulate on your loan.
5. Build a great team. Another way to keep your project on track is to work with quality contractors. While it may cost more to hire someone who works to a high standard, it can actually be more costly to work with someone who does subpar work. If planning boards ask for changes in design or city engineers cite you for not being up to code, it can cause costly delays. Working with people with a good reputation and inspecting the site often can make sure that quality stays high. And in the end, a commitment to quality will likely pay off a second time, when you start marketing your development to buyers.