LAND INVESTMENT? – August 2008

Land Investment? Land Value Offers Security!

“Vacant Land Appreciates – While YOU Sleep Soundly” 

Tired of the ups and downs of the stock market lately?  If you’re an investor, but are weary of taking losses on your stock picks, listen up.  There is a much more dependable investment vehicle than the equities market.  The profit potential also far exceeds those unmet expectations you’ve been witness to in the stock arena.

In the case of stocks, you can make – or LOSE – money while you sleep.  You go to bed thinking you’ve just nailed the next high-flying stock – only to wake up and learn that a factor totally out of your control torpedoed the stock by 8% overnight.  It’s something you couldn’t have planned for, but it happened anyway.

Land on the other hand is tangible – it won’t disappear overnight.  It appreciates.  It is always marketable at fair market value.  You can enjoy the use of it – even as it’s appreciating.  You can rent it for income.  You can borrow against it.

The key to making any good investment is to “buy low – sell high”.  That’s also true with land – especially when coupled with the right location, location, location.  For example, if the average asking price for land is $9,000/acre in the area you’ve chosen, and you locate a parcel priced at $4,000-5,000 per acre – BUY IT – provided it offers desirable features and value.

When buying land for future resale, make your “selling” decision (or “exit” strategy) when you buy, not five years later.  This means that you only buy a parcel priced below the average asking price if it offers desirable features that others would pay for in the future.

A partial list of those desirable features would include 1) state road frontage, 2) long-range views, 3) gentle to moderately sloping topography (not “billy-goat” land), 4) springs, streams, or creeks, 5) higher elevations providing views, and 6) proximity to town, shopping, state parks, medical facilities, etc.

If a property offers a combination of those factors, which would also be appealing to other buyers, then when you decide to sell in 5-10 years, you will have an attractive, marketable property that has appreciated substantially with no effort on your part.

You can also add additional future value by making simple improvements to the property.  For example, if a heavily wooded parcel has great views – but they’re obscured by tall trees – think about clearing a half-acre at its highest point and planting grass to create a meadow. By enhancing the views you’ve made the property more attractive to potential buyers.

Again, most heavily wooded tracts are inaccessible on foot, except for overgrown logging trails from 20-30 years ago when the timber was last cut.  By cleaning up those old logging trails, you are providing an enjoyable hiking opportunity for future owners.

If you have even the slightest interest in buying a large tract of mountain land, please call or Email us.  You won’t get a high-powered sales pitch – we promise.  What you will get is enough information to make a determination about the value of owning land in the mountains.  For example, each month we research the ASKING PRICE of all properties listed in the Ashe, Watauga, Wilkes, and Avery County MLS records. These are properties listed with OTHER brokers. As of July 21st, our research indicated an average asking price of $17,754 per acre for those properties listed on MLS.  Meanwhile, the average asking price of properties listed with Mountain Land Company was $7,122 per acre – a whopping 59.89% lower than other properties currently for sale. How do we do it?  You’ll need to call us, and you’ll be pleased with our answer.

You may even want to begin by downloading and printing a copy of Carolina Dreaming – our land buyer’s manual.  In it you will get the same boatload of information about buying land as if you spent the day with me in the car looking at property.  It’s an easy read with the practical side of owning land explained in layman’s terms.

With over 37 years experience in the business, I know making that first step to buy land can be scary.  But it doesn’t have to be, just give us a call or send us an e-mail, we’ll be happy to answer your questions.

Paul Christian Breden
Managing Broker/Owner
800-849-9225

We want to hear from you! Email Paul with questions, comments, suggestions or just to share your story about why you love the mountains!

The purpose of Land Rush is to educate and inform you in such a way that, once you arrive here in the mountains, you’ll be prepared to make your purchase. If you haven’t already, please – before you come – take time to download our FREE buyer’s guide –“Carolina Dreaming” – from our website. It’s short, easy to read, and will provide you with the basic information needed to make your trip a roaring success.

If you would like to be added to our mailing list or to request property brochures, click the big red “First Time Visitor” button on the top right. We’ll keep you posted on any new properties, price reductions and much more. Please note, we do not sell or share your information – it is kept private and confidential.

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