First identify the land and gather your deed, tax bill and any old survey. Describe the actual entrance, slope and condition. Compare similar sales and choose how to find a buyer. You can ask about selling without preparing a house site or finding every missing paper.
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.
Write down the property number, road name, acres and owners listed on the deed. List each piece included. A map pin and entrance directions help when the land has no address.
The Burke County Register of Deeds directory gives the office’s contact details and links to its main page. Start there for a missing deed or recorded survey map. Ask how to find the paper you need and get a copy.
The county’s mapping page links to its online Map Viewer. The county says map information does not replace a land survey. Use it to help locate the land, and share any survey you have when a boundary is in question.
Share any mismatch between deed, survey and tax acres. You can begin with the documents you have. Ask an agent or closing professional which missing papers your sale needs.
Give visitors the actual turn into the land. Explain gates, steep parts of the route or a damaged crossing. Say whether you’ve visited recently. If access crosses another owner’s property, share any written right to use that route.
Photos of the entrance, slopes and flatter clearings help a buyer understand the land. Mention a creek, wet ground, erosion or known road damage. An old photo may not show the current condition, so label the date if you know it.
Share old well, septic, power or repair papers. A nearby line doesn’t prove a working connection. Don’t promise a home site based only on a clearing or the online map.
If someone farms, hunts or cuts trees on the land, share the agreement. Write down buildings, fences, equipment and stored items that stay or go. Ask about any road or survey work before paying for it; you don’t need to complete a buyer’s building plans to start selling.
Ask a local land agent for recent completed land sales. Compare acreage, entrance, slope, useful clearings, known services and current condition. A flatter roadside lot and a steep wooded piece may appeal to different buyers. Keep house sales separate from vacant land.
Don’t treat an asking price as a completed sale. Ask the agent why each comparison fits your land and where it falls short.
You don’t need to cut a building pad, extend utilities or plan a buyer’s house before starting. Ask whether any work would help your sale before spending money.
Make sure the offer covers the right piece or pieces. Read the deposit, time for buyer checks and proposed closing date. Ask what allows cancellation and whether an access or boundary question is still being reviewed.
Ask who pays each cost and how taxes or a loan balance would be handled. Compare the money you keep rather than only the price.
For a made-up example, $90,000 less $8,000 in seller costs leaves $82,000 before other debts. An $86,000 offer with $2,000 in seller costs leaves $84,000. The figures show how to compare terms, not what your land is worth.
Use our offer comparison worksheet. Have unclear promises or deadlines explained before signing.
Ask who will handle closing, what they need and how payment will arrive. Closing finishes the sale through signed papers and payment. Read the final costs before the appointment.
If you’re handling inherited land or helping settle a loved one’s estate, bring the papers you already have. An attorney or closing professional can help work out the ownership questions and who needs to sign. Tell them about other owners, a loan or missing records early.
Read our seller document checklist and North Carolina seller guide. If you want a direct offer to compare, tell Reelvest about your land. You decide whether it works for you.
The county says its map information does not replace a land survey. Share any survey you have and ask what else is needed for a boundary question.
Start with the county’s Register of Deeds office. Its official directory gives contact details and links to the department page.
Explain when the photos were taken and describe known changes. Current entrance photos can help when you can safely obtain them.
Local source links reviewed October 4, 2026.