Been search for a specific type (ranch) of property for years. Getting more serious now. Been using all the usual searches. Realtor.com, Zillow, land.com, etc and a whole host of online sources/companies for this type of property.
But I feel like many smaller realtors do not have their listings on those sites.

I am wondering if I am missing a method (umbrella of sorts) that would pick up all these types of properties? I am guessing not.

I am wanting to search large geographic areas such as entire states.

At this point I am not wanting to talk with a specific realtor.

Any thoughts or suggestions. Thanks all.

Those sites all pull from MLS so you shouldn't really be missing anything except FSBO (For sale by owner) and even FSBO people are listing on MLS now.

All those real estate websites pull from the MLS, which is the national Multiple Listing Service database where all realtors list properties for sale. There are no small realtors that aren't using the MLS, since their goal is exposure to as many potential buyers as possible.

The only properties not listed on the MLS would be those that are "for sale by owner" without representation by a realtor. And even then, FSBO sellers will often pay the few hundred bucks just to have the property listed on the MLS to gain wider exposure, or at least list their FSBO property themselves on popular real estate websites like Zillow.

So the only ones you'd be missing would be a very few of the lowest effort FSBO properties, where the seller just sticks a sign in the ground and hopes that a buyer happens to drive by and notice it.

Wait until you find what you want. And you can they a realtor to contact you.

We found 10 wooded acres 1/2 mile away from a boat ramp on a river, with purchase options on either side to make it 18 acres. Can’t get anyone to reply to us.

Business is too good for them I suppose.

Thanks guys. I appreciate it. Not necessarily my experience though.
But I figured that is what you would say.

A good source for land in my area are the auction houses. Not as ez as an all in one aggregator but with a bit of Googlefu and keyboard clicks you may find something.

You are not looking at the right type of website.

If you are looking for a ranch, a real ranch, not just a few acres that call themselves a ranch, you need to be looking at agricultural or commercial listing sites like LoopNet. It lists active agricultural land and farm properties.

There are many other farm and ranch companies, depending on the size and cost of what you are looking for.

Google real estate sites that specialize in ranches; you get at least a few pages, and you can get more specific from there.

Real Land/farm/ranch brokers do not use MLS.
Different market of buyers.

Without knowing what the specifics beyond a ranch you're trying to find, it's hard to know.

Real estate searches are based on specific and smaller/local geographical areas. Most people first decide where they want to live, then look for property in that best meets their needs and budget.
The MLS services that provide the database for these other companies ads, are paid for by a cut of the Realtors commissions. That's why they lead back to Realtors and they get the best software to access them.

if you know the area you want to buy in, find a trusty agent who can get an inside line on property which hasn't been listed yet or may soon come to market.

it's a thought but finding the agent who's able and interested in helping can be the challenge

Realtors, or more generically real estate agents, will have private listings. We sold our previous home that way, and it is common in this area. A seller for a number of good reasons may not want their property information and photos all over the internet. Agents will keep these offerings off of the public sites but will make them known as widely as possible amongst their industry. Similarly, buyers may wish to keep the information off of public sites after they become the owner.

Our home was listed this way, and our agent notified agents in other states where buyers frequently come from. For us that was California, Texas, and Colorado.

They call it a "Pocket Listing" here.

So you might contact agents in areas you are interested in to see if there are any such offerings.

I'm a great veterinarian, I think but no real estate expert. My deceased asshole father in law gave me one good piece of advice. Buy land it's the only thing they can't make more of. What I have done is gone to the county tax office and gotten the owners numbers of properties I was interested in and called them personally. You might try it, it's only worked for me once but that is better than zero.
Tommy

quote:

Originally posted by OttoSig:
We found 10 wooded acres 1/2 mile away from a boat ramp on a river, with purchase options on either side to make it 18 acres. Can’t get anyone to reply to us.

Business is too good for them I suppose.

Heck, for a place like that I'd dig into the county records, find out who owns the property, and contact the owner directly. What a nice find!

quote:

Originally posted by LS1 GTO:
if you know the area you want to buy in, find a trusty agent who can get an inside line on property which hasn't been listed yet or may soon come to market.

it's a thought but finding the agent who's able and interested in helping can be the challenge

That's why you get a realtor...especially in an area where there are not as many listings or if the demand is high.

Thanks guys. I know what I am looking for. It could be in five or six different states so finding a realtor is not going to be possible.