This Is Why Some “Bad Land” Sells Fast
Real estate investor interviews Alex Boyd of Brushworks Services about forestry mulching and land clearing in the Cincinnati area. They discuss how land clearing adds value to properties, what land buyers should watch out for during due diligence, and the surprising things found on overgrown properties. The conversation covers pricing, ROI, demand for clearing services, and practical warnings for land investors.
Summary
The podcast host interviews Alex Boyd, owner of Brushworks Services, a land clearing company operating primarily in the Cincinnati area. Alex explains that his business uses forestry mulchers — including compact track loaders, remote control units, and dedicated mulcher bulldozers — to clear underbrush and open up overgrown land. His customer base spans residential homeowners, realtors struggling to sell properties, builders, and land investors. The business is in extremely high demand, with 61 jobs currently behind schedule.
A significant portion of the conversation focuses on the ROI of land clearing for real estate investors. Alex charges a minimum of $1,600 and approximately $2,500 per acre. He cites a case where a 20-year-old investor in Texas cleared 235 acres and doubled his value per acre, netting roughly $1 million in profit. Alex compares land clearing to 'staging' a house — it helps buyers visualize the property's potential. Realtors frequently hire him to clear overgrown backyards on stagnant listings, often resulting in quick sales afterward.
Alex describes three clearing styles: a 'park' look (removing brush while keeping mature trees), a 'managed forest' look (keeping native saplings, removing invasives), and full clearing. Most residential customers prefer the park look. Larger properties, especially hunting land, often opt for managed forest clearing with food plots and sight lines for deer. He notes that once land is cleared, homeowners often relocate their planned house position to preserve 'legacy trees' like old-growth sycamores.
The conversation shifts to due diligence warnings for land investors. Alex emphasizes that satellite imagery is insufficient — boots on the ground are essential. Nearly every property of five acres or more has been used as an illegal dump site, with common finds including tires, old cars, metal debris, and in one case, 30 rusted cars hidden under tree cover. He also mentions finding a homeless encampment on a rural property and grave sites from the late 1800s, which carry regulatory restrictions on removal. Old foundations, eroded topsoil with exposed tree roots, and recent timbering (which leaves land in a chaotic, devalued state) are other red flags.
Water and septic issues are highlighted as critical concerns. Alex describes a case where a fruit farm redirected water runoff onto a neighboring subdivision lot, causing permanent standing water. He warns about properties that appear dry but are perpetually saturated due to agricultural drainage. On septic systems, he recounts a situation where a county mandated a mound system placement directly behind a homeowner's back door, rendering the rest of the property unusable — a disaster that could have been avoided by consulting the county before breaking ground.
Alex also notes that neighbors are often the best source of information about a property, knowing its history, water behavior, and any issues. He warns that neighbors sometimes treat adjacent vacant land as their own and may react negatively when new owners attempt to clear it. The conversation closes with Alex directing listeners to his website brushworksco.com and YouTube channel at Brushworks Co, where he publishes educational content documenting clearing jobs and property hazards.
Key Insights
- Alex Boyd argues that land clearing functions as 'staging' for land sales — just as realtors stage houses with furniture to help buyers envision living there, clearing brush allows buyers to visualize building sites, pond locations, and yard layouts, which he claims directly accelerates sales.
- Boyd claims that nearly every property of five acres or more has been illegally used as a dump site by someone, regardless of how remote the location is, with common finds including tires, old cars, and metal debris that can cost thousands to remove.
- Boyd states that a 20-year-old investor in Texas bought 235 acres, cleared it, and doubled his value per acre — netting approximately $1 million in profit — suggesting land clearing on larger recreational parcels can deliver outsized returns.
- Boyd argues that recent timbering 'absolutely destroys the value of land' in his opinion, because logging companies leave properties in a chaotic, debris-filled state that makes them visually unappealing and difficult to develop or sell.
- Boyd warns that properties near active farmland frequently have hidden water drainage issues — farms redirect runoff wherever convenient, which can cause permanent standing water on adjacent parcels that don't appear as wetlands on maps or satellite imagery.
- Boyd recounts a case where a county mandated a specific mound septic system placement that ended up directly behind a homeowner's back door, rendering most of the lot unusable — arguing that buyers should consult the county about septic placement before choosing a house location on the lot.
- Boyd claims that steep hillsides on properties will 'always' contain trash at the bottom, because landowners and neighbors historically use hillsides as out-of-sight dumping areas, and that this debris is invisible on satellite imagery but becomes a significant removal expense.
- Boyd suggests that calling neighboring property owners is one of the most reliable due diligence methods available, arguing that neighbors consistently know a property's history, water behavior, and any encroachments — including cases where neighbors have been informally using vacant land as their own for years.
Topics
Full transcript available for MurmurCast members
Sign Up to Access