How to Find a Real Estate Agent for Hunting Land

From knowing the area and neighbors, to navigating paperwork, the right land agent makes buying or selling a farm much easier.

If you’re in the market for hunting land – or if you’re selling your farm – finding a good real estate agent who understands your goals is a huge benefit. But a hunting-land agent has a different job description than a traditional real estate agent showing a 3-bedroom / 2-bath home. If you’re looking to buy or sell land, here are the qualities to look for in a good agent. 

1. Sufficient Field Experience

The laws and paperwork for purchasing land may not be the same as for purchasing a residence. You may not know them, but your agent should understand them completely.

“You’re trusting the real estate agent with their experience, just like you’d trust an attorney, surveyor or anyone,” says Slade Priest, a Realtree United Country Land Pro. “They need to have the experience to protect you and know what questions to ask. Does the hunting lease that’s on the place expire at the time of the sale? Will all of these deer stands stay? If not, let’s make sure they do when we make an offer. What about these obscure property lines? We need to get a survey. These are the types of questions an experienced agent asks.”

2. Good Eyes and Ears

Are you looking for a farm to fill the freezer? Want to line the wall with trophy bucks? Just need a place to get the family outdoors? It’s important that an agent asks you these things, determines what your goals are and then searches diligently to check all the boxes. Properties need good food sources, water, bedding areas, and entry and exit routes at minimum. Depending on your objectives, a farm could even need more.

“You need an agent who can listen to what your end goal is on the property. If you tell me what you’re looking for, I know what boxes a property needs to check,” Priest says. But don’t assume the perfect property is out there. Few pieces of hunting land will have every single feature you want. It might take sweat equity to add what’s missing.

“If you can get four out of five boxes, you better take the property,” Priest adds. “Because sometimes, finding a property that checks all of them can be hard to get.”

During your search, pay attention to what your agent does and does not do. Better yet, before you jump on board, ask him what things he’ll do during the search for your dream farm. Priest and I talked while he was on his way to run trail cameras on a property listing. You should find an agent who’s willing to do what it takes to ensure the property you’re investing in is the right one. And if they aren’t all in, take your business elsewhere.

Josh Honeycutt featuring Slade Priest