Short answer: FastCashAnyHome buys land for cash: vacant lots, acreage, wooded and farm parcels, and land with an old structure on it. You pay no fees or commissions, there’s nothing to clear or survey first, and it’s a cash sale, so there’s no bank loan or appraisal on your side. We make an initial cash offer, confirmed after a quick walkthrough or site review, and closing is 30 days or less. Call or text 267-388-0347.
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Land doesn’t sell like a house. A house is valued by what it is. A piece of land is valued by what someone is allowed to do with it, and that comes down to a short list of questions: can it hold a septic system, is it in a flood zone or a wetland, can you legally drive to it, where exactly are the lines, can it be split, and what comes with the deed. Each one has an official answer somewhere, and this page shows you where to look.
Can it hold a septic system? The perc test question
For a rural lot without public sewer, this question can decide everything else. No septic permit usually means no house.
The EPA explains who decides: it “does not regulate single family home septic systems.” Instead, “local health departments issue construction and operating permits,” and “the local permitting agency conducts a site assessment to determine whether the soils can provide adequate treatment.”
Pennsylvania’s rules show what that looks like in practice. Soil tests “shall be conducted prior to permit issuance.” If the soil profile shows a limiting zone (bedrock, a seasonal water table and the like) within 20 inches of the surface, “percolation tests may not be conducted and a permit will be denied,” apart from a narrow bonded-system exception. The same rules deny a permit outright where the slope is over 25% or the spot is mapped as a floodway.
Other states run their own versions, and some allow alternative systems where a conventional one won’t work. The EPA notes that mound systems are an option where soil is shallow or groundwater is high, but they “require a substantial amount of space.”
A free first look: the USDA’s Web Soil Survey has soil maps for more than 95 percent of U.S. counties, and its Soil Data Explorer rates soils for uses including septic tank absorption fields. It’s a screening tool. The USDA itself says on-site investigation is needed in some cases, and only the local permit office’s test counts.
What it means if you’re selling: a lot that has passed a perc test, or already has a septic permit, is worth more to a builder than one that hasn’t been tested. If you have old test results or a permit, dig them out. If you don’t, that doesn’t stop us from making an offer; it means the offer reflects the unknown.
Is it in a flood zone or a wetland?
Flood zones. FEMA’s Flood Map Service Center is, in FEMA’s words, “the official public source for flood hazard information,” and you can search it by address, place name or coordinates. That last option matters for land, which often has no street address. Federal rules define a special flood hazard area as land with “a 1 percent or greater chance of flooding in any given year,” and communities in the flood insurance program must require a permit for development there, including placing a manufactured home, and check whether a building site will be “reasonably safe from flooding.” FEMA also warns that its maps change over time, so check the current one.
Wetlands. Filling in wet ground to build is a federal matter. The EPA’s Section 404 page says the program “requires a permit before dredged or fill material may be discharged into waters of the United States,” with exemptions for certain farming and forestry activities. A parcel that’s partly wetland may still have a buildable corner; it just isn’t as buildable as it looks from the road.
Neither one makes land unsellable. They change who wants it and for what: a hunting tract, a buffer for a neighbor, or a building lot.
Can you get to it? Access, easements and landlocked parcels
A parcel with no legal way in is the classic hard sale. “Legal” is the key word: a dirt track you’ve used for years may or may not be a recorded right of way.
What to look for in your deed and the title work:
- Road frontage on a public road, or
- A recorded easement across a neighbor’s land, describing where it runs and what it allows, or
- A shared private road with a recorded maintenance agreement.
If none of those exist, the land may be landlocked. Some states give the owner a way out. Florida, for one, has a statute creating a “statutory way of necessity” when land used or meant to be used for a home, farming or timber is “shut off or hemmed in” by other people’s land so that “no practicable route of egress or ingress is available.” Other states handle it through court-made rules or their own statutes, and the process can mean paying the neighbor for the route. That’s attorney territory.
A landlocked or shared-road parcel doesn’t stop us from making an offer. Tell us what you know about how people get to it, and we’ll factor the access question into the price.
Where exactly are the lines?
Deeds for rural land are often old, and some describe boundaries by trees, stone walls or a neighbor’s name. The federal Bureau of Land Management, which surveys public lands, lists a common misconception worth repeating: that “a deed description that mathematically closes is a sign of a good title or boundaries free from conflict.” In other words, numbers that add up on paper don’t settle where the fence should be.
You don’t need a new survey to sell to us. If you have an old survey or a plat, it helps. If a neighbor’s shed or fence crosses the line, say so; it gets priced in rather than being a reason to walk away.
Can it be split or built on? Zoning and subdivision
Two parcels next to each other can be worth very different amounts because of zoning: one allows a house per acre, the other a house per ten, or none. Zoning is local, so the answer comes from the town, township or county planning office, not the deed.
Splitting land is also regulated. Pennsylvania’s Municipalities Planning Code is a clear example: plats must be “submitted for approval to the governing body,” no subdivision may be made except under the local ordinance, and the county recorder “shall not accept any plat for recording” without the municipality’s approval noted on it. If you planned to sell off a lot or two and keep the rest, that approval process is part of the job.
We buy whole parcels and can look at buying part of one, but a split usually has to go through local approval before it can close.
What comes with the deed: minerals and conservation easements
Mineral rights. Owning the surface doesn’t always mean owning what’s underneath. In the BLM’s words, when surface and subsurface rights “are owned by different parties, the mineral rights often take precedence over other rights.” Older deeds sometimes reserved the minerals long ago. The title search will show what you actually own, and that’s what gets conveyed.
Conservation easements. Some land carries a permanent restriction on development, often donated for a tax deduction. Federal tax rules require the conservation purpose be “protected in perpetuity” and bind the owner’s “successors in interest,” typically by recording it in the land records. Anyone who buys the land takes it with the easement. It still sells; it sells as what the easement allows.
This page is for general information only and is not legal, tax, or financial advice. If your land involves mineral rights, a conservation easement, an access dispute, a tax lien, or a legal deadline, consider speaking with a qualified attorney or tax professional before making a decision.
Liens and back taxes on land nobody visits
Vacant land is easy to forget about, and so are its bills. Three kinds of claims are worth checking for before you sell:
- Unpaid county property taxes. Every state has a way of collecting them through a tax sale, and the details vary. Our state pages for Pennsylvania, Texas and Florida explain how each one works.
- A federal tax lien. The IRS says its lien “protects the government’s interest in all your property, including real estate,” and attaches to future assets too. An owner’s unpaid federal taxes can follow a parcel they never set foot on.
- Rollback taxes on farm or forest land. Land enrolled in a preferential farm or open-space program can owe back taxes when its use changes. In Pennsylvania’s Clean and Green program, breaking the covenant means “seven years of rollback taxes at 6% interest per year.” In Texas, ending agricultural appraisal brings an additional tax for “each of the three years preceding” the change, and a tax lien attaches to the land.
That last one catches heirs and buyers alike. If your land has a farm or forest tax break, find out whether a sale or a change in use triggers a rollback, and who pays it. We work out closing costs as part of each deal, and liens or back taxes are paid from the sale proceeds at closing.
How we look at a parcel
We price land from the records first, then confirm it. Here’s what we pull:
- The parcel number (APN) and county records: owner of record, acreage, assessed value, tax status.
- The maps: FEMA flood map, soil survey, wetland indicators, road frontage on the county GIS.
- The rules: zoning, minimum lot size, and whether a septic permit or public sewer is realistic.
- The title: liens, easements, mineral reservations, and any access issue.
- Nearby land sales, where there are any, since land can have fewer clean comparisons than houses.
Then we make an initial cash offer, confirmed after a quick walkthrough or site review. If anything in the title work changes the number, a person explains what and why.
How selling land to us works
- Send what you have. Call or text 267-388-0347, or use the form. A parcel number, or just the county and rough acreage, is enough to start.
- We review the records and make an offer. No obligation to accept it.
- A neutral title company closes it. It searches title, pays off any liens or back taxes from the proceeds, and records the deed. Closing is 30 days or less, with flexible closing dates.
- You’re paid at closing. No fees or commissions to you.
When something else beats a cash offer
- A neighbor who wants it. An adjacent owner may value the land more than anyone else, for privacy, access or more room. Ask them first.
- A buildable lot in a growing area with a passed perc test, frontage and clear zoning may be worth more listed with an agent who sells land.
- Land with a farm or forest tax break may cost less to keep than to sell this year, depending on the rollback. Check before you decide.
We’ll tell you if we think one of those fits better. If the land is a hassle you’d rather be done with, a cash sale is the simple route. Have a house on it too? See our guide to selling a vacant house, or find your area on Where We Buy.
We Buy Land FAQ
What kinds of land do you buy?
Vacant residential lots, raw acreage, wooded and hunting land, former farmland, and parcels with an old or damaged structure on them. A parcel with a hard question attached, like access or a wetland, doesn’t stop us from making an offer; it shapes the number.
Do I need a survey or a perc test before you’ll make an offer?
No. If you have old results, they help. If you don’t, we price the parcel on the records and maps, and the offer is confirmed after a quick walkthrough or site review.
The land is landlocked. Will you still make an offer?
That doesn’t stop us from making an offer. Tell us how people reach the land today. Some states, Florida among them, have a legal process for getting access to landlocked land, and the access question is priced in.
There are back taxes on the land. Can I still sell?
Back taxes don’t block a sale on their own. They and other liens are paid from the sale proceeds at closing, as in any sale, as long as the sale closes before the county’s tax sale process ends your ownership.
What if I don’t own the mineral rights?
You sell what you own. The title search shows whether the minerals were reserved by an earlier owner, and the deed conveys exactly what you hold.
My land is in a farm tax program. What happens if I sell?
It depends on the state and the program. In Pennsylvania’s Clean and Green, breaking the covenant means seven years of rollback taxes at 6% interest a year; in Texas, a change of use brings an additional tax for the prior three years. Find out whether the sale triggers it and who pays before you sign.
Do you charge fees or commissions?
No fees or commissions to you. Liens or back taxes come out of the proceeds at closing, and we work out closing costs as part of each deal.
Sources
- EPA, Frequent Questions on Septic Systems and Types of Septic Systems, read 2026-10-12
- 25 Pa. Code 73.14, site investigation and 73.12, read 2026-10-12
- USDA NRCS Web Soil Survey, read 2026-10-12
- FEMA Flood Map Service Center, 44 CFR 59.1 and 44 CFR 60.3, read 2026-10-12
- EPA, Permit Program under CWA Section 404, read 2026-10-12
- Florida Statutes 704.01, statutory way of necessity, read 2026-10-12
- BLM, Cadastral Survey and Management of Land Boundaries fact sheet, read 2026-10-12
- Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code (Act 247 of 1968), read 2026-10-12
- BLM, Split Estate, read 2026-10-12
- 26 CFR 1.170A-14, conservation contributions, read 2026-10-12
- IRS, Understanding a federal tax lien, read 2026-10-12
- Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, Clean and Green, read 2026-10-12
- Texas Tax Code 23.55, change of use of land, read 2026-10-12
FastCashAnyHome · 267-388-0347 · We buy land, houses and condos · General information, not legal or tax advice. No obligation.