When you are preparing a listing, you need to include lots of pictures and know who you’re marketing to. But any ad should also include some basic legal statements and the terms of sale. How can you go about preparing these two crucial sections?
Legal statements: When preparing your legal statements, be clear yet use easy-to-understand terms. The point isn’t to impress the reader with all the big words you know or scare to them off; just state clearly and plainly the basic information about your land. For example, is the buyer assuming back taxes as part of the sale? Are you encouraging them to do their due diligence? Are you aware whether or not a percolation test has been carried out or how deep the water table is in the area? Is the buyer aware that you are selling the land “as-is” with no guarantees?
This information should be placed in the online ad and should be easy to understand. This will weed out the casual buyers and will protect you down the road.
Terms of sale: This is the section where you talk about money. Who will pay the document and transfer fees? Who will pay the back taxes? Is seller financing available, and if so what are the terms? Can the buyer purchase with a credit card or must they write check or make deposits in your bank account? What happens if the seller falls behind on a few payments, stops paying, or wants to pay off early?
This is the kind of information that should be included in your Terms of Sale section, and once again it should be easy for the potential buyer to read and understand.
The key to a transaction that leaves everyone happy at the end is clear communication. From the very outset you should make communication a priority and make sure that all parties involved know what’s expected of them and what they will be receiving in return.