Start with your land ID, the papers you have and what you know about the property. Check the questions a buyer will ask, choose how to sell and compare written offers. You don’t need every answer before you begin.
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 recent tax bill or deed. Write down the owner names, acres and parcel number. A parcel number is the county’s ID for a piece of land. It helps buyers find the right place, even when empty land has no street address.
Put these items in one folder if you have them:
Missing something? Write it on a short list. Our land seller document checklist can help. Ask an agent, buyer or closing office what this sale needs before paying for new work.
The county’s Parcel Information page links to three useful tools. Start here rather than trying to find the land from a street address alone.
Match the parcel number and acres to your papers. If you’re selling more than one parcel, list each number. Don’t use the acres for the whole farm when you only plan to sell one part.
A map helps you show buyers where the land is. It doesn’t settle a boundary dispute or replace a survey. If the map, deed and tax bill disagree, ask for help before putting a firm acreage in your ad.
The Yakima County Auditor’s Recording Division keeps recorded deeds, plats and surveys. A deed records a land transfer. A plat is a drawing of land or lots.
The office says documents from mid-February 1997 onward are imaged. Older records are on microfilm. An older family deed may need a different search, so a missing online result isn’t the end of the road.
Call 509-574-1400 with the owner name, parcel number and any document number or date you have. Ask how to find the copy and what it costs. The office is at 128 North 2nd Street, Room 117, Yakima.
A copy helps you gather the facts. The title or closing office still needs to check ownership, recorded debts and any rights that affect the sale.
Keep water for crops and water for a home as separate questions. Gather irrigation bills, district or ditch-company papers, well records and any written water agreement. Make a note of who supplies the water and which part of the land uses it.
Washington’s Department of Ecology explains that a water right allows a stated amount of water to be used for a stated purpose in a stated place. Its page links to a water-right search. The Central Region help desk serves Yakima County at 509-575-2597.
Ask for help matching any water-right papers to the land and planned use. If an irrigation provider serves the property, ask it to confirm service, account details and what a new owner needs to do. A nearby canal or a green field isn’t enough to promise water to a buyer.
For home water, ask whether there is a service connection, private well or shared well. Share the records you have. Don’t advertise irrigation water as a ready drinking-water supply.
If a buyer hopes to build, find out which office handles the parcel. The county’s Planning Division works on zoning and land-use questions. Zoning means the local rules for how land can be used. County planning covers unincorporated areas: places outside a city. If your land is inside a city, start with that city’s planning office.
For county questions, call 509-574-2300 with the parcel number. Ask:
Also show how the land is reached. Save any written right to cross another owner’s land. A road on a map doesn’t prove a buyer can use it. A nearby house doesn’t prove your land is ready to build.
If a home won’t use public sewer, it may need a septic system. That system treats wastewater on the property. Gather any soil report, design, permit or drawing of an installed system.
Yakima Health District’s new-system guide says to check whether septic is allowed first. Sewer service may be required where it is available. A new septic system needs Health District approval; its site and soil review helps check whether a system can fit in a proposed spot.
You don’t need to design a buyer’s home before selling. Ask which records already exist and what the buyer would still need. The Environmental Health help desk lists 509-249-6508. Have your parcel number ready.
Check your tax papers for a special land program. Yakima County’s tax-reduction page describes Current Use/Open Space for agricultural, open-space or timber land. This can reduce the land value used for taxes. Removal from the program can bring extra tax, penalties and interest.
If your land is enrolled, ask the Assessor and closing office what the planned sale or new use means for it. Get an explanation of any charge and who would pay. Don’t assume every sale ends the program, or that a buyer can keep it without checking.
A program tax value also isn’t a promised sale price. Use similar completed sales when choosing a price, and compare the land’s water, access, size and likely use.
You have choices. Think about the price you hope for, the time you have and how much of the work you want to handle.
Use clear photos of the entrance, open ground, crops, trees and any buildings. Say what is included in the sale. If someone leases the land or owns equipment on it, bring those questions to the agent or closing office.
Reelvest is one direct-buyer option. You can tell us about your land and see whether we can make an offer. You’re free to compare it with other choices.
Check more than the price. Ask for the parcel list, costs, deposit, review period and target closing date in writing. What lets the buyer cancel? Who pays any debt or tax balance? Use our offer comparison worksheet to compare the money you keep.
Here’s a made-up example: a $70,000 offer with $5,000 in seller costs leaves $65,000 before debts. A $68,000 offer with $2,000 in seller costs leaves $66,000. The higher price doesn’t always leave you with more money.
Our sale agreement guide explains the main parts. Ask the title or closing office what papers and signatures are still needed before choosing a firm date.
If you’re helping with a loved one’s estate, bring the papers you already have. The closing office can explain who needs to sign and what else is needed. Involve shared owners early, and keep private family details out of public ads.
Before signing final papers, check the land description, price, costs and payment details. Confirm payment instructions with a trusted closing contact. Keep your signed agreement and closing papers.
No. Start with the parcel number, location and papers you have. Make a list of gaps and ask what this sale needs before ordering new work.
Start with the county’s Parcel Information page for parcel, tax and map tools. For a recorded deed, plat or survey, contact the Auditor’s Recording Division at 509-574-1400.
No. Keep irrigation, drinking water, land-use rules and sewer or septic questions separate. Share the records you have and ask the right offices about the buyer’s planned use.
Ask the Assessor and closing office how the sale or new use could affect the program. Removal can bring extra charges. Get an explanation before agreeing on who pays.
Get advice or offers before spending money. Buyers may want different uses. Good photos and clear records are a useful first step.
No. You can use an agent, sell yourself or compare direct buyers. A Reelvest offer is one option for you to consider.
Local source links reviewed October 6, 2026.