9 Questions to Ask a Land Buying Company

Before signing anything, ask a land buying company for proof of funds, written confirmation the closing will run through a licensed title company, a copy of the purchase agreement, and a straight answer on fees. A company that hedges on any of these is not ready to buy your land yet.

Can They Show Proof of Funds Before You Sign?

Yes, and if they can’t produce it, that’s your answer. A company that offers cash for your land should be able to show, in writing, that the cash, or the credit line to cover it, actually exists, dated recently enough to mean something. A bank statement from eight months ago or a verbal “we close all the time” is not proof of anything.

According to the Better Business Bureau, sellers should “ask plenty of questions and don’t settle for vague answers” when a company offers to buy property quickly for cash. Proof of funds is the most concrete version of that question: ask for a bank statement, an escrow account letter, or written confirmation from a lender, and ask that it be dated within the last 30 days. If the person you’re talking to has to check with someone else before answering, that’s worth noting; it usually means they don’t control the money.

Will the Closing Go Through a Licensed Title Company?

It should, every time, with no exceptions for speed. A title company or closing attorney runs a title search, confirms you’re the recorded owner, handles the payoff of any liens, and issues the deed, none of which happens if a buyer asks you to sign documents and wait for a wire with no third party involved. The BBB’s guidance is direct on this point: “complete all transactions through a closing or escrow agent” and “never give money to an investor before the closing date,” according to the Better Business Bureau.

Ask for the name of the title company before you sign a purchase agreement, not after. A title commitment, the document a title company issues confirming it will insure the transfer, is the paper trail that protects both sides. If a buyer resists naming a title company or pushes for a private, off-the-books transfer, treat that as a stop sign, not a convenience.

Do They Need a Real Estate License to Buy Your Land?

Usually not, and that by itself isn’t a red flag. Companies that buy land for their own account, rather than representing you or brokering a sale between two other people, are generally exempt from real estate brokerage licensing. In Texas, for example, the Occupations Code allows a person to acquire and later sell or assign an interest in a purchase contract without a license, provided they don’t use it “to engage in real estate brokerage” and disclose “the nature of the equitable interest” in writing to the seller or buyer.

What should raise a question is a company acting like it’s licensed when it isn’t: implying it represents your interests, giving you advice that sounds like agent guidance, or avoiding a direct answer about whether it’s buying for itself. If a company or an individual you’re dealing with does claim to hold a real estate license, you can check that claim yourself. Most states run a public license lookup; the Tennessee Real Estate Commission, for instance, directs consumers to its verification portal and notes that unlicensed activity can be reported directly to the commission. A company buying land as a principal doesn’t need to pass that test, but one claiming to be your agent does.

Will You Ever Be Asked to Pay a Fee?

No. In a legitimate land purchase, money moves toward the seller, not away from them, and it moves at closing, not before. A land buying company is compensated by the property itself once it closes or resells, so it has no legitimate reason to ask you for money in advance.

The BBB’s warning here is unambiguous: watch for pressure toward “off the books” payments and never send money before the closing date, according to the Better Business Bureau. That covers application fees, “processing” fees, marketing fees, and refundable deposits alike; all of them ask you to pay to find out if the deal is real. Compare that against how the deal is structured on paper: the purchase agreement should show who pays closing costs, and a zero-dollar line next to your name is what you’re looking for.

What Does the Purchase and Sale Agreement Actually Say?

It should say more than a one-page letter of intent, and you should have it in hand before you’re asked to commit to anything verbally. A real purchase and sale agreement spells out the price, the closing date, who pays which costs, what happens to existing liens or back taxes, and any conditions that let either side walk away: a due diligence period, a title contingency, or a financing contingency if the buyer isn’t paying cash outright.

Ask specifically whether the sale is being made as-is. Most land buying companies purchase property in its current condition, meaning you’re not expected to survey, clear, or improve anything before closing; that’s what an as-is sale means in practice. That’s a normal and often favorable term for a seller who doesn’t want to invest in the property first, but it should be written into the contract, not just implied in conversation.

Can the Contract Be Assigned to Someone Else?

Often, yes, and you’re entitled to know if that’s the plan. Many land buying companies contract to purchase for their own account and then transfer, or assign, that contract to another buyer before closing, a standard part of how the land investment business works, and not by itself a sign of a bad deal. An assignment of contract doesn’t change your sale price or your closing date; it changes who ultimately takes title at the closing table.

What you want in writing is disclosure: the contract language that permits assignment, and confirmation of who the assignee is once that’s determined, before you show up to sign closing documents naming a company you’ve never heard of. A buyer who won’t discuss assignment at all, or gets evasive about it, is harder to trust than one who explains it upfront as routine business.

Who Is Responsible for Back Taxes and Existing Liens?

The buyer should show you, on paper, and it should come out of the closing proceeds, not out of your pocket separately, and not left for you to “figure out later.” If your land has delinquent property taxes or an old lien attached to the title, a title company’s search will surface it during the closing process, and the payoff amount gets deducted from what you receive at closing rather than billed to you directly.

This is one of the clearest places where a written process protects you. If you’re carrying back taxes on the property, ask the buyer directly how that debt gets settled and get the answer in the purchase agreement, not as a verbal assurance. “Don’t worry about it” is not an answer; a payoff figure on a closing statement is.

Can You Verify Who You’re Actually Dealing With?

You should be able to, independently, without relying only on what the company tells you about itself. A legitimate business has a findable name, a working phone number, a physical address, and a named person you can ask for by name, not just a P.O. box and a number that only takes texts.

The BBB’s advice here doubles as a due-diligence checklist: “always look up businesses on BBB.org before you share personal information,” confirm “an official name, phone number, and physical address,” and read complaints for “reports of dishonest dealings,” per the Better Business Bureau. The same logic applies beyond the BBB: a quick search of the company’s registered business name, how long it’s operated, and how its process is described (for example, how a company describes its own closing process) tells you more than the pitch in a letter or a cold call ever will.

What’s the Realistic Timeline From Signing to Closing?

There should be a specific date in the contract, along with a short, explainable list of anything that could move it. Land closings can take anywhere from a couple of weeks to a couple of months depending on title work, county recording schedules, and whether the buyer needs to arrange financing, and a buyer who understands their own process can tell you which of those applies to your parcel.

Be skeptical of “as fast as you want, no conditions” without any explanation of what that actually requires from the title company. The REALTORS Land Institute frames good land due diligence around specific, answerable questions rather than vague reassurance; the same standard applies whether you’re the one buying or the one selling. A buyer who can walk you through title work, survey status, and recording timelines in plain language is telling you something useful about how the rest of the deal will go.

A Document-by-Document Checklist

Here’s the same nine questions organized around what to request in writing and what a bad answer looks like, so you have something concrete to hold a buyer to during the conversation rather than relying on memory.

None of these nine questions require a lawyer to ask, and a company with a legitimate process will answer all of them without friction. If you’re comparing more than one offer on the same parcel, running each one through this same list, rather than judging by price alone, does more to separate real offers from the ones just testing whether you’ll sign quickly. For a broader look at how different buying and selling paths compare, see our comparisons guide.