Land listing photos and description checklist

Land buyers usually cannot walk the property before they decide whether to call. Your photos and description do that job. This checklist covers what to photograph, which parcel facts to state, and what to disclose, so the right buyers ask better questions and the wrong ones self-select out.

Published October 23, 2026 · PurelyPlots

General information — not legal, tax, appraisal, or survey advice. Disclosure duties, advertising rules, and land-use rules vary by state and county. Verify every fact you publish against public records, and ask a licensed attorney in the property’s state what you must disclose. PurelyPlots is an early-access website; we are not a lender, broker, appraiser, escrow, or title company, and we do not hold purchase funds. Listings are not open.

Photos that answer buyer questions

Take photos in good daylight, in dry weather if you can, and show the land as it is. Wide shots plus a few close-ups usually work better than many similar angles.

The entrance and access road: Where a buyer turns in from the public road, the gate or driveway, and the road surface. If access is by easement, photograph the route and say so in the description.
Boundary corners and markers: Survey pins, flagged corners, fence lines, or landmarks along the edges. Do not imply a line you have not confirmed; label photos as approximate if there is no current survey.
Buildable or usable areas: Level spots, likely homesites, pasture, cropland, or timber, shot from where someone would actually stand.
Water features: Wells, ponds, creeks, springs, tanks, or irrigation equipment. A photo of a creek is not proof of a water right, so keep the caption factual.
Utilities at or near the land: Power poles, transformers, meters, water or septic components, and the nearest service point if it is off the parcel.
Improvements and their condition: Barns, sheds, fencing, gates, and any structures, including ones that need repair.
Problems a buyer will see anyway: Washouts, steep grades, dumping, standing water, or neighbor encroachments. Showing them early builds trust and saves wasted trips.
A map image: A screenshot of the county parcel map with the outline, plus an aerial or satellite view if allowed. Note the source and that lines are approximate.

Parcel facts: ID, acreage, boundaries

These are the facts buyers, title companies, and lenders check first. Take them from your deed, tax bill, survey, or the county records, not from memory.

Parcel ID (APN) and county: The assessor’s parcel number and county let a buyer look up the record themselves. List every parcel if the sale covers more than one.
Acreage and its source: State the acreage and where it comes from: a survey, the deed, or the assessor. These can differ, so say which one you used.
Legal description and survey status: Say whether a current boundary survey exists and its date. Keep the recorded legal description ready for serious buyers.
Recorded easements and restrictions: Utility, access, or conservation easements, deed restrictions, HOA or POA rules, and any shared road agreement.

Access and utilities

Access and utilities often decide what a buyer can do with the land and what it costs them to get started.

Legal and physical access: Whether the land fronts a public road or relies on a recorded easement, and whether the route is passable year-round. Physical access without legal access is a common surprise; say what you know.
Power: Whether power is on the parcel, at the road, or some distance away. If you have a utility’s estimate or letter, mention it; do not guess a cost.
Water and sewer: Public water, a well, or none; public sewer, a septic system, or none. Note any perc or soil test and its date.
Internet and phone: What service is available, if you know. Buyers who plan to live or work there often ask.

Water, zoning, and land use

Rules on water and land use vary widely. State what records show and point buyers to the agency that can confirm it.

Water rights: Whether any water rights, well permits, or shares convey, and the documents that show them. Where water rights are separate from the land, say so plainly.
Mineral rights: Whether you own the minerals and whether they convey, or whether they were severed or are leased.
Zoning and permitted uses: The current zoning designation and the office that administers it. Buyers should confirm their intended use with the county or city; do not promise a use is allowed.
Flood zone and wetlands: Whether any part of the land is in a mapped flood zone or has known wetlands. Public flood maps show mapped zones.
Taxes and programs: Annual property taxes, and any agricultural valuation, conservation enrollment, or program that could change on sale.

Honest disclosures

Accurate, plain disclosures protect you and filter buyers. Ask your attorney what your state requires; this list is a starting point, not a legal standard.

Known defects and hazards: Old dumps, buried tanks, erosion, unstable ground, or anything you know that a buyer would want to know.
Disputes and encroachments: Boundary disagreements, fences off the line, or a neighbor using part of the land.
Liens, leases, and occupants: Existing mortgages or liens to be paid at closing, and any grazing, hunting, crop, or other lease, including verbal arrangements.
What you do not know: It is fine to say “unknown” or “not verified.” Do not fill a gap with a guess.

Writing the description

Lead with the basics. County and state, acreage, parcel ID, access, and the asking price or terms.
Describe what is there. Terrain, cover, water features, improvements, and views, in plain words.
Separate facts from impressions. “Fronts County Road 12 per the county map” is a fact. “Great homesite” is an opinion; keep opinions few and clearly yours.
Cite your sources. Say whether a fact comes from a survey, the deed, the tax bill, or the county.
Avoid promises. Do not promise approvals, returns, future value, or that a buyer will qualify for anything.
Proofread the numbers. Parcel ID, acreage, and price errors are the easiest to make and the hardest to walk back.

Price and terms

State whether you will accept cash, owner financing, or both. If you plan to offer financing, the down payment, rate, and term you have in mind help buyers decide whether to call. For setting the number itself, see how to price and sell raw land by owner; for financing terms and paperwork, see seller financing for land, explained. Selling a working property? Selling a ranch or farm: what buyers check lists the extra items ranch and farm buyers ask about.

You can model a payment with the calculator and share the scenario link. It is an educational estimate, not a loan offer.

Purchase funds and deposits move between the buyer, the seller, and the title, escrow, or attorney professionals the parties choose — never through PurelyPlots.

How PurelyPlots helps

A seller waitlist, not a live listing. You can tell us about your vacant land, ranch, or farm, and whether you might offer cash, owner financing, or both. That request does not publish a listing. Listings are not open.
A payment calculator you can use now. Model owner-financing terms and share the scenario link with a buyer.
Your price, your terms. PurelyPlots does not appraise land, set prices, or set financing terms.
You close with your own professionals. PurelyPlots does not hold purchase funds, deposits, or installment payments, and is not a lender, broker, escrow, or title company.

Getting your land ready to list?

Request seller early access and tell us about your land and whether you’d consider cash, owner financing, or both. Listings are not open yet. Joining the waitlist does not publish your land or promise a buyer.

Request seller early access

Land buyer due diligence questions — survey, access, utilities, water, septic, zoning, flood zone, HOA, liens, minerals, and title, answered up front.

How to price and sell raw land by owner — price drivers, public-record comps, documents to gather, and closing with your own professionals.

Seller financing for land, explained — terms, a worked example, and how notes, deeds, and land contracts generally differ.

Selling a ranch or farm: what buyers check — access, water and mineral rights, ag exemptions, improvements, leases, and taxes.

Selling inherited land by owner — confirming who holds title, documents, back taxes and liens, pricing, and cash vs owner financing for heirs.

This guide is general educational information and is not legal, tax, appraisal, survey, or financial advice. It does not create an attorney-client or advisory relationship. Disclosure and advertising rules differ by state and county and change over time; verify facts against public records and consult a licensed attorney and a title or escrow professional in the property’s state before listing or selling land.