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Finding a real-estate agent who specializes in lots can be difficult and frustrating. Most agents don’t want to spend the time with a buyer only to sell a piece of property at a fraction of the price (and a fraction of the commission) of a completed home; however, a few agents have made dealing with lots their specialty. Check to see if the real-estate agent you’re working with understands the issues associated with building, planning, and zoning that we reference in Chapter 6, as well as in this chapter. If your agent doesn’t readily answer your questions and seems unsure, if you feel like you know more about these topics from reading this book than they do, or if they brush off or blow over your questions entirely, you may want to look for someone more experienced in lot sales. If your agent seems knowledgeable in lot-only sales, they can help you assess whether any potential problems associated with building on a particular lot may surface.

Even if you can’t find an agent who focuses on lot sales, working with an experienced real-estate agent at some point still may be in your best interest. Even though you may have to find the lot yourself, you still need help with the negotiations and transaction management. If the property is listed in the MLS, the seller is paying a commission of 5 percent to 10 percent anyway, so you may as well have an agent representing your best interest. Otherwise, the listing agent gets the entire commission just for representing the seller. (Check out Home Buying Kit For Dummies, 7th Edition, by Eric Tyson and Ray Brown [Wiley], for more info on real-estate agents and their duties and commissions structure.)