Land for Sale in Virginia
When you look for land for sale in Virginia, specific plots are better than others. Knowing what you should be looking for is essential for the savvy property owner or investor. It doesn’t matter if you are searching for farmland, investment property, vacation rentals, or just inexpensive land by the acreage; there are some tips for finding ground in Virginia.
Virginia land is available for searching online through mainstream reality apps like Zillow or websites focused primarily on land and acreage like:
- Land Watch
- Virginia Estates
- Lands of America
Search engines for properties in Virginia are the best place for organizing the possible Virginia land for sale. Comparison of prices, particular localities, and agriculturally zoned lands can be easily found. All of these details on Virginia land are discoverable much more quickly on some property search engines. Read on for more information about Virginia land for sale.
Farming Land for Sale in Virginia
Using a search engine like Google for farming land in Virginia yields many results. However, some of these results overlap one another. Finding quality farming land for sale in Virginia means digging into the results and comparing realty companies’ best ground for sale.
Some of the best search engines for farming land in Virginia include Lands of America, Virginia Estates, and Land Watch. These search engines have detailed specs on each property with pictures and a map for an aerial view of the possible properties in any given area in Virginia.
Some of the best features of search engines for finding farming land for sale in Virginia include:
- Maps: With the maps tool of these search engines, you see all of the available Virginian properties for sale. The map with the specific locations of the farms provides a birds-eye view of how close these farms are to utilities, natural resources, and the highlights of Virginia, like its cities and natural beauties.
- Features: Comparison of properties is more accessible when the search engine gives you a detailed list of the parts for each farm property. Things that would be best to look for when comparing farmland features include acreage, water access, water rights, number of structures, fencing, etc.
- Photos: Looking for the overall view with satellite images is a good start for understanding the property in Virginia. However, pictures speak volumes about the properties. The ability of search engine sources to compare the photographs from on the ground gives a better view of the landscape. Understanding the types of foliage, forests, or natural features you may need to remove, clean, or move could help in your planning for farmland.
Overall, farming land is easy for searching and comparison on many different websites. Searching for Virginia farming land isn’t tricky if you use the search engines and their various tools to get a complete picture of the property, which is especially important if you never plan on visiting the property before purchase.
Farmland for Sale in Virginia
Farmland is plentiful in Virginia. However, you have to know where to look and the many obstacles to purchasing farmland. Virginia is a lush and wooded area in some parts of the state, so understanding what your property looks like is an essential first step.
Another facet of farmland for sale in Virginia is access to resources, such as water. Without proper access to enough water, your farmland is not worth very much. You might not be able to grow the number of crops you plan on, thereby making the investment less lucrative.
Currently, the total acreage per farm in Virginia ranges between about seven to over 300 acres. The opportunities are plentiful, and the abundance of land in Virginia is growing each year, it seems.
There are many different options for farmland in Virginia. Recently over 100,000 acres were available for sale in Virginia at a price of over 781 million dollars in total across the state.
Land for Sale by Owner in Virginia
A lucrative option for some buyers of farmland in Virginia is purchasing land directly from the owner. Owners generally save money, and so do buyers by removing the middleman of the realty company. Owners can now post and detail the land they have for sale with photos and specifications at the same quality as a realty company does, making the process a lot less risky for investors and buyers.
You may even be able to save some money on a purchase of land for sale by an owner in Virginia. An average realty company charges about five to six percent of the total purchase price for listing and showing land sales in Virginia. This cost is usually, in some form, transferred to both the buyer and the seller.
Cutting out realty companies and using land for sale by owner websites and search engines for land in Virginia is an excellent way of buying less expensive land.
Landslip is an excellent search engine for land in Virginia that is for sale by the owner. It offers detailed specs and photos just like many other top-rate realty websites, so buyers have a clear picture before purchasing and can compare properties across the state.
Where is the Least Expensive Land in Virginia?
In this seller’s market, most buyers are looking for turn-key homes that are low maintenance and need little to no work for moving in. However, suppose you are willing to get into a property that might be a fixer-upper or is not in the most ideal of the Virginian countryside. In that case, these are some places where land is the cheapest in Virginia.
Some of the best deals come from places where dreams have not materialized. They’re called undeveloped lands. The cheapest land in Virginia is not near developed cities or towns. Instead, it lies in the countryside where the state and government consider them ‘undeveloped.’
Undeveloped lands might not have great access roads to them or may not have many neighbors, if any at all. However, these inexpensive multiple-acre plots of land might sell for as little as ten thousand dollars for over an acre or more, making them worth checking out. However, it would be best if you calculated expenses that usually come along with undeveloped land. Such costs might be:
- Clearing/Care: Undeveloped land is a blank slate. The lack of development means that it might not even be level ground. It also will certainly have natural components that either need moving, cleaning, or clearing away. These tasks cost money for work crews to complete or your own valuable time and effort.
- Property Tax: Even while the property is not a liveable place, it incurs property tax. So, if you are planning on developing land for yourself to live or developing for tenants, consider the cash drain of property tax before you even break ground.
- Cash down payments: Unlike residential properties, which could get purchased for less money down and larger loans, undeveloped land purchases usually cost anywhere from 30 to 60 percent cash down for loan approval. Many times, you can only acquire undeveloped lands for 100 percent cash.
- Mortgage Costs: Lenders typically charge a higher loan percentage or interest on undeveloped land loans. The higher interest rate is due to the fact that the land is a speculative investment and not a guaranteed money maker. In other words, the banks are protecting themselves from loss by charging more interest on these undeveloped land loans.
- No Depreciation Write-Offs: Unlike other property investments, undeveloped land doesn’t receive depreciation tax write-offs because the land isn’t depreciable.
Private estates with vast undeveloped land in Virginia are typically found on waterfronts or in the state’s middle. The best places in Virginia for undeveloped lands are on the Northern Neck and the Virginia Eastern Shore on both sides of the Chesapeake Bay.
How Much Does an Acre of Land Cost in Virginia?
Cropland in Virginia is up about .6% from the previous year. The cost for an acre of farmland ready for agricultural development is about $4,650. This is less than expected for the last five years. Land in Virginia has grown in value a whopping 6% overall.
The sad fact is that struggles in the tobacco industry and the dairy industry have decreased farmland values in Virginia. However, this may also indicate an excellent time for investors to purchase land at reasonable rates for new cash crops.
What is the Prettiest City in Virginia?
Virginia is known for its picturesque countryside and farmlands that produce just as much beauty as they do diary products and produce. However, the cities in Virginia stand out above the rest as the prettiest.
The top prettiest small towns in Virginia with cute charm are listed below:
- Chincoteague: This little town was rated as the #2 coolest small town in America on a CNN list. The town is known for a popular book about a pony and still has pony swims and auctions each year. Even though it is an island, it has mainland charm with plenty of countrysides to explore.
- Abingdon: This little town is located in the Blue Ridge Mountains and has plenty of outdoor space for hiking, biking, and camping. The city has a rich history and was even explored by the pioneer Daniel Boone.
- Smithfield: Known as “America’s Happiest Seaside Town,” Smithfield is a picture-perfect little town with a beautiful broadway through the middle and lovely turn of the century homes still in excellent condition.
- Middleburg: Middleburg is known as the horse and hunt capital of the world. Horseback riding trails and countryside are plentiful, as well as all of the amenities needed for the sport of hunting. This is also a great historic district with the longest operating inn called the Red Fox Inn. Many of the beautifully maintained 18th and 19th-century buildings still remain in the city center, and the whole town is surrounded by wonderful countryside and forest.
The prettiest towns in Virginia are the ones with great natural beauty and historical significance. Looking at these top three, both tourists and residents alike bask in the small-town charm that produces happy people and fond memories.
In Conclusion
Virginia is an up-and-coming investment opportunity for landowners. The lag in land acreage prices means that it may be a good time for some to prospect the area and find their perfect farm location or investment property.
Hopefully, this article gave you the insights you need to start researching undeveloped lands, beautiful places, and cheap deals for land in the lovely state of Virginia. History, beauty, and potential all greet those looking for a piece of land in Virginia.