Mike Browning

Tag: land-sales

  • It Doesn’t Help Anyone If You Leave It In the Box

    It Doesn’t Help Anyone If You Leave It In the Box

    The greatest tools in the world don’t help anything if you don’t use them.

    I tend to make a big deal about how important it is not to procrastinate. Just get started.

    Do the thing when you think of it instead of putting it off.

    It almost never hurts to do something a little earlier than you absolutely have to, instead of waiting until the last minute.

    So I’m going to tell on myself.

    A while back, for my birthday, my dad bought me a portable car battery booster. One of those little jump-start packs. I didn’t even know I wanted it, but he got it for me, I said thanks, and that was that.

    Fast forward to a few days ago. One of my daughters called and said her battery was dead. And where was that booster?

    Still sitting in the original Amazon box in the back seat of my truck.

    Now, I’ve got jumper cables, so it wasn’t the end of the world. But it would have been easier. And that’s the point.

    Low-risk example. Same lesson.

    Normally I wouldn’t bother mentioning the booster itself because it has nothing to do with real estate. But these things are actually great.

    It fits in a small bag. You carry it in one hand. If your battery is dead, you hook it up and start the car. No second vehicle. No asking strangers for help.

    No waiting around in a parking lot hoping someone stops.

    I’m probably going to buy one for all my kids.

    My daughters especially worry about being stuck somewhere and having to deal with people they don’t know. If they’ve got one of these, they don’t need anyone. It’s just handled.

    You can also charge your phone with it. It charges by USB, so you can plug it in while you’re driving. It’s got a flashlight built in too.

    It’s not much more expensive than a decent set of jumper cables, and it takes up less space than most glove box junk.

    They’re just useful.

    If you’ve got kids, it will give you peace of mind.

    If you have one already, don’t be like me. Take it out of the box. But if not, go buy one and actually use it.

    You can get the same one I have from Amazon at the link below.

    Or buy a nicer one. I don’t care. Just don’t leave it sitting in the box like I did.

    Get it Here

    Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. That means if you buy something—anything—after clicking that link, I may receive a small commission. It doesn’t change your price.

  • You Don’t Know, til You Know

    You Don’t Know, til You Know

    Nothing’s Final ‘Til the Dirt Turns

    If you live in North Texas, you know two things: people are always moving here, and traffic keeps getting worse.

    The cities, counties, and state can’t build roads fast enough to keep up. And in my line of work—land and lot sales—knowing what roads are planned is part of the job.

    Property owners near these proposed roads usually know something’s coming. Once word gets out, their price expectations go up—sometimes way up.

    But here’s the catch: just because a road is “planned” doesn’t mean it’s happening any time soon—or at all. Projected dates mean nothing if the money’s not there. And politics can shift everything: the timeline, the location, or whether it gets built at all.

    Case in point: the Collin County Outer Loop. It was first announced back in 2010. A few segments are driveable now. The rest? Still on paper.

    One of my clients bought land near the “technically preferred alignment” not long ago—well after that 2010 route was released. Fifteen years passed with very little movement. Then, just last month, the county came out with four updated alternatives. Good news: all four ran right by our property. Even better news: it was in a prime spot, potentially on the corner.

    So we celebrated—too soon.

    Turns out, those four aren’t final. The alignment could still change. And until it’s locked in, we can’t sell. The value depends entirely on where that road ends up.

    Another property I handled had a highway interchange announced on it. One proposed route would’ve made the land worthless. The other? Worth millions. Thankfully, it went our way—but it was a stressful ride.

    Bottom line: until the dirt is turning, nobody really knows. Not the government, not the engineers, not the landowners—nobody.

    Sure, it helps to have the best info you can get. Just don’t bet the farm on it.

    Want to know what roads might be planned near your land? I’ll tell you what I know—no charge.

    Got a lot you might want to sell?
    Get a FREE, no obligation report on what it could sell for today.
    Get Your Lot Valuation

    Own land instead?
    Get a report for that here:
    Get Your Land Value

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  • If They Knew, They’d Be on a Boat

    If They Knew, They’d Be on a Boat

    Take predictions with a grain of salt, no matter how convincing

    Even if you don’t watch them regularly, I’m sure you’ve seen the financial news channels—the ones with talking heads predicting where this stock, that stock, or the whole market is headed.

    And I’ll admit, some of them sound pretty sharp. Convincing, even.

    But here’s the thing:

    If they really knew what was going to happen, they wouldn’t be on TV. They’d be retired on a yacht somewhere. So let’s be honest—they’re at least a little bit full of it.

    Same goes for real estate. There are plenty of people out there ready to tell you exactly what the market will look like six months or a year from now. And they can sound pretty slick while doing it. But be careful. Even if they end up being right, that doesn’t mean they actually knew anything.

    Anyone who claims to know the future—or promises specific results in selling real estate—is either lying or fooling themselves. And like I’ve said before, either way, that’s not someone you want working for you.

    You can ask me what I think is going to happen, and I’ll tell you: I don’t know. Historically, land values tend to go up. But it’s not a straight line, and it depends on a lot of factors. What I can do is show you what’s happened recently and give you a sense of today’s market—assuming things stay reasonably steady.

    Am I ever wrong? Sure. Just ask my wife. Or my kids.

    But I’ll never just tell you something I don’t know, just because it sounds good.

    As always, no pressure. Ever. But you can get me here anytime if you’re thinking about selling.

    Got a lot you might want to sell?
    Get a FREE, no obligation report on what it could sell for today.
    Get Your Lot Valuation

    Own land instead?
    Get a report for that here:
    Get Your Land Value

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  • They want to buy my truck (at the cost of my sanity)

    They want to buy my truck (at the cost of my sanity)

    Curiosity didn’t kill the crow—but it sure blew up his phone.

    I recently made the mistake of entering my info into one of those “we want to buy your truck” ads.

    I like my truck. I own it outright. There’s no way they’re giving me enough for it to get a new one without payments—so what’s the point?

    Well… I’m curious. And I couldn’t help myself.

    So I punched in all the info. And surprise—it was worth more than I thought. But like I said, still not enough. And I knew that going in.

    Now I’m paying for it.

    Multiple calls. Texts. Emails. Every day.

    The ad should’ve read:

    “Find out what your truck is worth—and also let us call you during dinner every night.”

    I’ve told them I’m not interested. Doesn’t matter. They keep trying new angles:

    “If anything changes, let me know!”

    “May I ask what you’re willing to sell it for?”

    “Would you consider trading it in?”

    And so on. Forever.

    Look—I’m not mad at the guy making the calls. He’s just doing his job. Somebody somewhere has decided this makes money. I guess it must.

    But there’s got to be a better way to follow up without actively annoying the person you’re trying to win over.

    Then again, it’s car sales. Maybe they’ve just accepted that alienating people is part of the process.

    Anyway, I’m in sales too. I get it. Most people don’t decide to work with you unless you ask them.

    But this is why I don’t cold call. I don’t text unless we’re working a deal. It’s intrusive. Pushy.

    I do email. A lot. Almost every day. Sometimes more, if we are doing business.

    But you can read or ignore it on your terms. And hopefully, it’s either helpful or entertaining—or both.

    And yes, I usually end these emails with a reminder that when you’re ready to buy or sell land, I’m easy to find.

    But you’ll never feel hounded. Promise.

    And if these ever feel like too much?

    Just hit unsubscribe. I’ll miss you, but I won’t bug you.

    Can’t say the same for the truck guys.

    Got a lot you might want to sell?
    Get a FREE, no obligation report on what it could sell for today.
    Get Your Lot Valuation

    Own land instead?
    Get a report for that here:
    Get Your Land Value

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  • Hourly Rates That Would Make a Lawyer Blush

    Hourly Rates That Would Make a Lawyer Blush

    I’ve been working with a homebuilder recently who asked me to help him find 20–30 lots to build on. These are smaller, in-town lots—not the acre-plus kind many of you own.

    We spent about three hours driving around the area he was targeting. The next day, I spent an hour reaching out to builders and developers in that part of town, and another hour following up.

    It’s not a done deal yet, but I’m about five hours in, and I think we found the right fit. If this closes, I’ll probably make around $3,000 an hour on this deal, assuming a few more hours managing the transaction.

    Sounds ridiculous, doesn’t it?

    Well, not really.

    That kind of result only looks easy. I’ve spent years building the relationships it takes to pull something like this off. Builders and developers are swamped. And in my business, there are plenty of people who will waste your time—or worse. So getting these folks to even respond, much less share useful info that could help a deal come together, isn’t something most people can do.

    There’s no charge to the client unless we close, so there’s no risk on their end. And I’ll admit, I probably got a little lucky finding a match this fast. Normally, it takes longer. But this is why experience matters.

    What does my client think about the fee?

    He’s thrilled. Honestly, if I’d asked for more, I think he would’ve paid it. A builder makes money when he sells houses. If he doesn’t have lots to build on, he can’t sell anything. So the faster he gets lots, the faster he can do what he’s in business to do. He wants to pay as little as possible, sure—but he also knows value when he sees it.

    There are discount brokers out there. But when you’re not paying anything up front, and when you’ve got someone with real business negotiation experience (not just sales experience) working for you, chances are you’ll come out ahead—even if the commission isn’t the cheapest.

    Add in the peace of mind of having an honest advocate in your corner, someone with the right experience and connections to help make things happen faster?

    That’s an easy decision.

    Got a lot you might want to sell?
    Get a FREE, no obligation report on what it could sell for today.
    Get Your Lot Valuation

    Own land instead?
    Get a report for that here:
    Get Your Land Value

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