This morning we spent two hours on the Upshur County appraisal district website. We found three owner-occupied parcels that have not changed hands in more than twenty years. One has an old phone number and a rural route address. That is the kind of lead we want. Here is how we find them.
Every county in Texas posts ownership data online for free. We use this data to find motivated sellers before any broker lists the land publicly. The trick is not looking for the cheapest parcel. The trick is looking for owners who have held the land too long, live too far away, or have outdated contact information in the county file.
We run CAD searches in our target counties every week. Upshur, Gregg, Harrison, Bell, and Hunt are on our list. We also look for tax-delinquent flags, though we approach those carefully. A delinquent parcel can turn into a tax sale, which means the price might drop but the title work gets messier.
We send handwritten-style postcards to rural landowners. The message is short. It mentions the county and the parcel location. It offers a cash price range instead of saying call us for an offer. Rural landowners ignore form letters because they get them constantly.
Last month we sent five hundred cards in Gregg County. We received seventeen calls and three signed letters of intent. That is good conversion for a rural market. We follow up with a phone call within one business day of the response. Speed matters.
Experienced realtors, fence contractors, septic installers, and county clerks all see land transactions before they become public. We built our birddog network by showing up in person, paying referral fees on time, and treating the source like a partner instead of a vendor. The best ones do not need a contract. They call us first because we answer.
We pay referral fees at closing. Ten percent is common in Texas when the birddog introduces the deal. If they do more work, we negotiate a larger fee. Either way, we pay fast. Word travels fast when you do not make people wait for their check.
When a landowner dies without a clear plan, the heirs often just want out. We watch probate records in our target counties and reach out to the surviving family members. The tone is simple: we understand family land is hard to manage, we can close fast, and we will make the process as easy as possible. Many heirs prefer a quick cash sale to months of legal back-and-forth.
Before we send an offer, we run a quick title search. We want to see the chain of title, any easements, mineral reservations, and whether the land has legal access. Landlocked parcels are not always bad, but they require a different buyer and a lower price.
We also pull a basic map check. County GIS tells us where the county thinks the lines are. The deed tells us where they actually are. If those do not match, we move slower.
When we buy off-market land, we clear tax delinquencies and put neglected parcels back to work. That does not always mean a housing subdivision. Sometimes it means timber management, a grazing lease, or a builder who brings jobs. We see our work as part of the local economy, not just a flip.
For quick underwriting on raw land deals, we use the shotgunwholesaling.com land calculator to model price per acre, carrying costs, and exit spreads. For Texas off-market deal flow, see texaslandkings.com.