What should I actually compare?
Short answer: compare net proceeds and certainty, not the headline price. Two offers with the same number can leave you with very different amounts.
A direct sale means a buyer contracts with you without a listing agent. A listing means you hire a licensed agent or brokerage to market the land and negotiate for you. Each has a price, a cost, a timeline and a risk that it does not happen. The worksheet below puts those in one place so you can fill it in for your own parcel.
StraightAcre is not a brokerage. It buys directly or assigns its purchase contract to a vetted buyer, and it tells you in writing which before you sign. That means it is one of the options in the left column, not a replacement for a licensed agent in the right one.
What does a net-proceeds worksheet look like?
Fill in one column for each route. Leave a line blank if you do not know it yet, and ask for it in writing.
| Line | Direct sale to a buyer | Listing with an agent |
|---|---|---|
| Price | The written offer, and what it assumes | Your expected sale price, not the list price |
| Commission | Ask the buyer to confirm in writing whether any fee applies | Negotiated with the brokerage. There is no typical figure to rely on |
| Time on market | Time from signing to closing | Time to list, find a buyer, then close |
| Carrying costs | Taxes, insurance and upkeep until closing | The same costs, for a longer period |
| Closing costs | Itemized by the title or escrow company | Itemized by the title or escrow company |
| Contingencies | Diligence period, assignment terms, earnest money | Financing, inspection or survey conditions |
| Certainty | Who is funding, and what ends the contract | The chance the first buyer does not close |
| Net to you | Price minus the lines above | Price minus the lines above |
Ask for the listing agreement in full before you sign it. Check the term, any extension, and what you owe if you sell to someone else during the term.
What does a worked example look like?
Illustration only, not a forecast or a StraightAcre offer. Every number below is a round placeholder chosen to show the arithmetic. Your parcel, market and costs will differ, and the commission figure is invented for the example. Commissions are negotiated.
| Line | Direct sale | Listing, sells at asking | Listing, sells for less |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sale price | $88,000 | $100,000 | $90,000 |
| Commission | $0 | $6,000 | $6,000 |
| Closing costs | $1,500 | $1,500 | $1,500 |
| Carrying costs | $250 | $2,250 | $2,250 |
| Net to seller | $86,250 | $90,250 | $80,250 |
In this made-up case, the carrying costs assume $250 per month, for one month in the direct sale and nine months in the listings. The point is not the figures. It is that the listing came out $4,000 ahead only when it sold at the asking price, and $6,000 behind when it sold for $10,000 less. The route with the higher price is not automatically the route with the higher net.
Do the same sum with your own numbers, and run the lower-price case before you decide.
When does an agent still make sense?
Short answer: when you want broad exposure and can wait, when the land is unusual enough to need local marketing, or when you want someone to negotiate and manage the process for you.
A land-focused agent can be a good fit if:
- You are not in a hurry and can carry the land through a marketing period.
- The parcel suits a particular buyer, such as a farmer, a builder or a neighbor, and an agent knows them.
- You want a professional to handle showings, offers and counteroffers.
- You want the broadest possible audience before you accept anything.
A direct buyer may fit better if you value a defined closing date, if the land has constraints that make a public listing slow, or if you would rather avoid showings and a commission. Many sellers ask for both: get a direct written offer, then ask an agent for a view of likely price and time. Use each answer to test the other. For another angle, see selling land without a realtor.
What is different about selling land in Texas?
Short answer: a Texas owner may sell their own land without a license, but anyone who markets land they do not own needs to be licensed or to describe their interest accurately.
The Texas Real Estate Commission rule titled License Not Required (22 Texas Administrative Code, section 535.5) says that, acting as a principal, a person may purchase, sell, lease or sublease real estate for profit without being licensed as a broker or sales agent. Read it as describing someone who sells what they own. It does not change what a buyer must tell you.
TREC's article Sale of Equitable Interests in Real Estate Clarified says that if a person offers a property for sale when the person does not own it, that person is engaged in brokerage and must be licensed. It also says a person selling an option or assigning an interest in a contract must accurately describe the interest being offered. So ask any buyer whether they will own the land or assign the contract. The same rule is why StraightAcre tells you in writing which it intends to do.
For the cost side, the Texas Department of Insurance notes that you can choose any title company, and that the title agent should be licensed by TDI. See its page on title insurance. Local detail is on our pages for selling land in Texas.
Outside Texas, verify rather than transplant the rule
Short answer: licensing, disclosure and closing rules vary by state, so do not assume Texas practice applies where your land is.
StraightAcre's approach also varies by state. In Illinois and Rhode Island it makes direct purchases only, unless a licensed broker is involved. It does not assign its purchase contract there. If your land is in either state, expect a direct purchase, and compare it with a listing using the worksheet above.
In any other state, check with the state's real estate regulator whether a license is needed for what is being proposed, and who may lawfully handle which part. Ask the closing office, in that state, who prepares the deed and what a seller normally signs. Closings run through a licensed title or escrow company in the property's state, so that company is a good first call.
What to ask the title company, an attorney, a buyer and an agent
Put questions in writing and keep the answers. Different people can answer different parts.
The title company or an attorney:
- What liens, back taxes or judgments must be paid at closing?
- Who must sign the deed, and does everyone on title have authority?
- What are the itemized seller costs for each route?
A direct buyer:
- Will you buy the land yourself or assign the contract, and will you tell me in writing before I sign?
- What is the diligence period, and what are the exact grounds to cancel?
- What does the closing office require from me?
An agent:
- What is the commission, and what else could I be charged?
- What is the term of the listing and the cancellation terms?
- What sales, not listings, support your suggested price?
What a buyer (including StraightAcre) will want to see
Whichever route you pick, assembling these helps:
- Deed or vesting document, and the parcel identifier
- Latest tax notice and a note of any unpaid amounts
- Payoff statements for any loan or lien
- Survey, plat or access easement, if you have them
- For an estate, trust or entity: the documents showing who may sign
- Your written net-proceeds worksheet for each offer
StraightAcre's free parcel review is a preliminary public-record summary. It is not an appraisal, survey, title opinion or approval to build. See also how we buy.
This is general education, not legal, tax or investment advice.
Sources and further reading
Related guides
Start with a free written parcel review
Send the county, parcel ID, ownership information, and any known tax or title issues. We review whether the property fits our current acquisition criteria and tell you in writing whether we would buy directly or assign the contract. An inquiry is not a binding offer or a promise to purchase.
Request my free parcel review