Protecting Land Deals, Funding & Mail Laws
A real estate investing podcast Q&A session where host Daniel addresses community questions about land deals, including property access protocols, earnest money structures, hard money lending, and marketing strategies for off-market land acquisition across various states.
Summary
The episode features a live Q&A format with Daniel and community members discussing practical real estate investing concerns. Early discussion covers property access protocols when double-closing on land deals, emphasizing the importance of having earnest money down to protect against buyer backing out or neighbors interfering. Daniel recommends securing at least some earnest deposit (even nominal amounts like $500) held by a title company, with clear due diligence periods (14-21 days) to make contracts legally binding and prevent disputes.
The conversation addresses earnest money disputes with title companies, where Daniel explains that phased earnest money structures are effective—putting down non-refundable amounts at different stages provides leverage and protects both parties. He mentions they've started requiring soil tests on all deals due to past issues.
Charles inquires about hard money lending for land deals where he has significant equity spread ($34,000 purchase for $60,000 sale value). Daniel confirms hard money is viable and mentions Eric Sharga as a lender, while also suggesting posting opportunities in Discord communities to find investor funders. He emphasizes the deal should be fundable given its strong margins.
Elijah's discussion focuses on off-market outreach strategies for land home packages (small lot improvements). Daniel recommends networking with existing land investors who can wholesale deals at reasonable prices (80% of value rather than 40%), creating win-win scenarios. He suggests connecting with wholesalers via Google searches and building relationships within land investing communities across targeted states like North Carolina and South Carolina.
The final section covers marketing tactics, with discussion about direct mail effectiveness (recently revived after criticism a year prior), demographics filtering in Land Portal, and state-specific considerations. Regarding Georgia's solicitor disclosure laws, Daniel acknowledges the requirement but notes the attorney general isn't actively pursuing violators, positioning Georgia as his favorite state due to clean data, good county records, and strong demand despite legal complexities.
About this episode
<p><strong>Want to quit your job and build a real land investing business?</strong></p><p><strong>👉</strong><a href="https://landportal.com/subscriptions?a_aid=LandInvestingOnline&a_bid=9e9b000b" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Land Portal</strong></a> gives you access to the fastest-growing land software <em>plus</em> <a href="https://landportal.com/subscriptions?a_aid=LandInvestingOnline&a_bid=9e9b000b" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Land Portal University</strong></a>, where we walk you step-by-step through getting your first land deal.</p><p>🎯 Looking for <strong>1-on-1 Land Flipping or Subdividing coaching</strong>? Schedule a <a href="https://landinvestingonline.com/pages/consultation" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>FREE strategy call</strong></a> here.</p><p>================================</p><p>In this episode, Ron and Dan do a Q&A with their community to answer the hottest questions in the land investing industry.</p><p>Want to be a part of the conversation? Join our <a href="http://landinvestingonline.com/discord" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>discord calls</strong></a><strong> </strong>every Friday at 12:30 EST, to get your questions answered and meet other land investors!</p><p>================================</p><p>SOCIAL</p><p><strong>Ron's Instagram </strong>📸:<a href="https://www.instagram.com/ronapke/" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> <strong>https://www.instagram.com/ronapke/</strong></a></p><p><strong>Dan's Instagram </strong>📸:<a href="https://www.instagram.com/danielapke/?hl=en" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> <strong>https://www.instagram.com/danielapke/</strong></a></p><p><br /></p>
Key Insights
- Daniel argues that earnest money must be held by a title company with clear due diligence timeframes to create legally binding contracts that protect against buyers backing out or neighbors interfering with deals.
- Daniel claims that phased earnest money releases at different deal milestones (such as 10% refundable for 60 days, then non-refundable) serve dual purposes: protecting both parties and providing negotiation leverage.
- Daniel asserts that hard money lending is viable for land deals with strong equity spreads and recommends posting deal specifics in Discord communities as an alternative to traditional lenders, as multiple investors actively fund land deals.
- Daniel contends that land home package investors should network directly with other land investors and wholesalers to buy properties at 80% of value rather than attempting to acquire at 40%, creating mutual profitability.
- Daniel maintains that Georgia remains an ideal land investing state despite new solicitor disclosure laws because the attorney general does not actively pursue violators, combined with the state's superior data quality and strong market demand.
Topics
Transcript
All right, everybody, welcome back to the Real Estate Investing Podcast. In this episode, it is going to be a live Q&A with myself, Daniel, and our community. There's some amazing questions in this, so enjoy the episode. All right, guys, we'll get started. Put your questions in the chat, guys. Come up to the stage. We got Deanna up on the stage. How are you doing, Deanna? Can you hear me? I can now. Yes. How are you doing? Hey. Great. Thank you. I just have a quick question. Actually, I'm about to call her right after our meeting here. But so this interested buyer, she's like, hey, I'm interested. I want to go see the property. Can I…
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