Not upfront anyway.
If you’ve ever requested a Land Reality Check from me, you may have noticed that I don’t ask why you’re requesting it.
Most people in real estate start there. They want to know if you’re looking to sell, how soon, and what your motivation is. That makes sense from their perspective, because those answers usually shape how they handle the conversation.
The reason I don’t ask is because I don’t want that to influence the analysis.
People come to me in all kinds of situations. Some are thinking about selling in the near term. Some would sell at the right number but aren’t in any hurry. Others are just curious and want to understand what they have. All of those are completely valid, but none of them should change how the property is evaluated.
So when I put together a Reality Check, I try to approach it the same way every time.
I assume you’re what I’d call a sensible seller. Someone who might want to sell in the near term, but isn’t under pressure. Not a forced sale, but also not someone holding out indefinitely waiting for a perfect scenario.
That middle ground is where most real transactions actually happen.
You’re not trying to squeeze every last dollar out of it, but you’re also not looking to give it away. You’re trying to make a decision that makes sense, both financially and practically.
That’s the lens I use when I look at comparable sales, how buyers are behaving, and what your property would likely look like in the current market.
Once you see it laid out that way, you can decide how it applies to your situation. You might be more motivated than that. You might be less. You might not be planning to do anything at all.
That part can come later.
The first step is just understanding what you have and how it would likely be received, without that being shaped by what you think you might want to do.
That’s why I don’t ask.
PS – You don’t have to be ready to sell to get a Reality Check. You don’t need a timeline, and you don’t need a plan.
You just need to give yourself permission to take a look at what you have.
That’s what the MBR Land Reality Check is for. No pressure, no obligation, just a clear look.
Is it a bad idea to understand where things stand?
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