Start with a deed or tax bill and a few notes about your land. Check the local record, compare prices and choose an agent, sell yourself or ask for a direct offer. Empty land may not have a street address. The Borough’s property search offers other ways to find it.
Tell us about your land. There’s no obligation to accept an offer.
Start with what you know. These steps will help you get ready and choose the way to sell that fits you.
Find a deed, tax bill or old survey. Write down the acres if known and the land description. That description tells one piece from another. It may use a lot and block, subdivision name or a longer written description.
Keep the parcel number with your notes. It is the local number for a piece of land. Empty land may not have a street address, so don’t make one up. Use the number and papers you have.
List every piece and item included. Does a cabin or shed stay? Are you keeping part of the land or removing something shown in a photo? Think about your goal: price, less work or selling around a certain date.
The Ketchikan Gateway Borough property search page gives separate steps for mobile homes, condos and other land. For other real property, including empty land, its directions say to select All under Search For. Then choose one field, such as parcel number, customer name or street, and follow the example format.
Start with one detail from your deed or tax bill. If you don’t know an address, use a parcel number or name instead. Match the piece and land description with your papers. Ask for help if a name or detail looks wrong before using it in an ad.
The Assessment Department lists 907-228-6640. Have your parcel number or land description ready and ask how to check the record. The department says it does not set tax rates or collect taxes. For a current tax balance, ask which office handles that question.
A tax value is different from a buyer’s offer. A map view is useful for finding the piece, but it does not prove an exact boundary or a right to cross nearby land. Keep any loan, lease or shared fee with your notes.
The Alaska Recorder’s Office lists searches by name, document number, book and page, plat and survey. A plat is a drawing that shows lots. Older owner names or record numbers can help you get started.
The Anchorage office’s community list places Ketchikan, Saxman and Ward Cove in the Ketchikan recording district. A recording district is the area used to organize recorded papers. Use the state’s Find Your District link if you’re unsure about your piece.
The current Anchorage office page lists 907-269-8876. Have the community, names and any record number ready. Ask how to find a deed, get a copy and check its cost. Ask what can be handled from home.
Gather any survey—a measured drawing of boundaries—plus loan details, leases, lot rules and written road or access agreements. A deed copy alone is not a full check of ownership or other claims.
If you’re handling inherited land or helping settle a loved one’s estate, start with what you have. Ask a title company or real estate attorney who needs to sign and which papers are missing. Our land seller document checklist can help. Keep private family and loan papers out of a public ad.
Give buyers dated photos and directions from the nearest road or arrival point. Show the entrance, open areas and any buildings included. Say who can give permission to visit and where a visitor could park or meet someone.
Describe the route you have actually used. If part of the trip needs a boat or a walk, say so. A nearby road, dock or beach does not prove a buyer can use it. Keep any written access agreement with your papers.
Show slopes, wet spots and rough ground you know about. Say which power, water or other services work on the piece now. A nearby line is different from a working connection. A water view is different from a way to reach the shore.
If you live away from the land, start with papers and photos you have. Say when the photos were taken. Ask an agent or buyer what they need before paying for a new trip. List unanswered questions instead of guessing.
Ask a land agent or appraiser familiar with your part of Ketchikan Gateway for recent completed sales buyers would compare with yours. Ask how the prices were checked and what that help costs.
Compare location, acres, travel route, working services and included items. A lot reached by a road is a different choice from land that needs a boat trip. A water view is different from usable shore access. A sale with a cabin is different from empty land.
Keep the sale date, price, acres and included items together. If several pieces sold as one deal, check the whole deal before giving one piece a price. Count the deal once even if several websites show it.
An ad is an asking price, not proof of what was paid. A Borough tax value is not a buyer’s offer. If good matches are scarce, ask for a range and the reasons behind it. Our land value guide explains more price factors.
Use an agent: A land agent can help with pricing, ads, showings and offers. Ask about the fee, listing length and recent work with land like yours.
Sell yourself: You handle the ad, questions, visits and offers. You may still need help with the agreement and closing.
Compare a direct offer: A direct buyer may give you another choice without listing the land. Check the price and terms against your goals. You can say no.
Before arranging a visit, explain how to reach the land and who can give permission to enter. Keep private records out of the listing. Share needed papers with the people helping with the sale.
Get the offer and terms in writing. Check the right pieces of land are included. Ask who pays closing costs, any agent fee and other charges. Ask how a loan or unpaid taxes will be paid.
A higher price may leave you with less money if you pay more costs. For example, $30,000 less $2,000 in costs leaves $28,000 before a loan or tax balance. That is made-up math, not a price for your land.
Read the target date and what lets the buyer cancel or ask for a lower price. Ask who holds the deposit and what happens to it. Use our land offer worksheet to compare offers side by side.
If you’d like a direct offer to compare, tell Reelvest about your land. You decide whether an offer fits.
Ask who will handle closing—the final papers and payment. Have that person explain the land description, owners who must sign, costs and money you would receive.
Ask how any lease, road agreement or rules that came with the lot affect the sale papers. If a name or boundary is unclear, get help before signing. A target date does not mean all the checks are finished.
Confirm payment instructions with the closing office using a phone number you already trust. Keep copies of the signed agreement and final papers. Our Alaska land seller guide gives more general steps.
No. Start with the location and papers you have. Ask for help with missing information while comparing selling choices.
The Borough’s directions for other real property say to choose All under Search For and then use one field. A parcel number or owner name can help when there is no street address.
The Assessment Department lists 907-228-6640. Have your parcel number or land description ready. For a current tax balance, ask which office handles it; Assessment does not collect taxes.
Start with Alaska’s Recorder. The Anchorage office lists Ketchikan, Saxman and Ward Cove in the Ketchikan recording district and gives 907-269-8876 for help.
No. Describe the route you know and any written agreement. A view or nearby beach does not prove a buyer can reach or use the shore.
Gather what you have. Ask a title company or real estate attorney who needs to sign and which papers are missing.
No. Use these steps with an agent, your own buyer or a direct offer. You can ask Reelvest for an offer to compare if you want.
Local source links reviewed October 7, 2026.