You own a raw parcel in Colorado. No power, no water, no septic, maybe no real road to it. Realtors won't touch it. Retail buyers need utilities before they'll write an offer. Meanwhile the county keeps sending tax bills. We buy raw land exactly as it sits — no improvements required.
Raw unimproved land is the hardest real estate category to sell retail in Colorado. MLS buyers want homes. Builders want entitled lots. Recreational buyers want access and at least hauled water. Your raw parcel falls through every crack. Here's why the traditional path almost never works for raw land.
Appraisers can't find comps on raw land the way they can on homes. Every parcel is different — different soils, different access, different views, different slopes. Lenders won't finance raw land without a clean appraisal, which means retail buyers have to pay cash. That shrinks your buyer pool by 90% before day one. Even the ones who can pay cash want a discount for the hassle.
If the parcel doesn't have power at the property line, water rights or a hauled-water plan, and a septic option approved by the county health department, no conventional lender will touch it. USDA has a rural housing program, but it requires a buildable lot. Raw land loans from local banks usually need 50% down at 9-11% interest. That eliminates the financing-dependent buyer entirely.
Many Colorado raw parcels have paper access only — an easement on the plat that was never built, a BLM or Forest Service road that's gated, or a "legal but not practical" route across private land. Realtors won't list parcels with access disputes. Title companies flag them. Retail buyers walk. See our no-access land page for how we handle landlocked parcels.
Under Colorado OWTS regulations (C.R.S. Title 25, Article 10), any buildable lot needs a soils test and a septic plan unless it's hooked to a sewer district. Perc tests run $500-$1,500. Many Colorado soils fail — clay, shallow bedrock, high water table. A failed perc kills the retail sale instantly and tells every future buyer the parcel can't support a house.
Colorado unimproved land is assessed at 27.9% of actual value versus residential at 6.765% — roughly four times the rate for the same dollar value. A $50,000 raw parcel might cost you $600-$1,200 a year in taxes for land you've never set foot on. Miss three years of taxes and the county sells a tax lien on it. See our back-taxes page for how we handle parcels with tax liens already attached.
Raw land deals in Colorado close fast when you skip the retail market. Here's the legal framework and our process.
Taxation: C.R.S. Title 39 assesses unimproved land at 27.9% (vacant land subclass) versus 6.765% for residential improvements. If you're holding raw ground purely for appreciation, you're paying the highest property tax rate in the state on it.
Tax lien sales: Under C.R.S. § 39-11-101, counties auction tax liens on delinquent parcels every October or November. After three years without redemption, the lien holder can apply for a treasurer's deed and take the land. If your parcel is behind on taxes, the clock is ticking.
Transfer requirements: Every Colorado real estate transfer needs a TD-1000 Real Property Transfer Declaration filed with the county assessor. Raw land transfers are simpler than improved property — no IAS inspection, no termite, no home warranty. Just a clean deed and the TD-1000.
Mineral and water rights: Raw parcels in Colorado often have split or severed mineral estates and separate water rights under prior appropriation. We handle split estates all the time — see our mineral rights page for how we structure those deals.
Step 1 — Send us the parcel number. Text or email the APN or the legal description. We pull the county GIS, the assessor record, the plat, and any title history ourselves. You don't need a survey. You don't need a perc test. You don't need to mow it, mark the corners, or even drive out to it.
Step 2 — Cash offer in 48 hours. We value raw land off three things: road access (paper or paved), slope and buildability, and comparable raw land sales in a 10-mile radius over the last 24 months. No lowballs, no bait-and-switch. We tell you what we can pay and why.
Step 3 — Close in 14-21 days. Colorado title company does a standard commitment. We pay title, recording, and TD-1000 fees. You sign the deed (remote notary is fine — Colorado allows RON under C.R.S. § 24-21-514.5). Funds wire the same day recording confirms.
Owner bought a 40-acre parcel in the San Luis Valley subdivisions 15 years ago as a "someday cabin" plan. No power within 3 miles, no drilled well, access via a maintained county road that turns to two-track at the property line. Five realtors refused to list it. One retail cash buyer offered $8,000 then backed out after seeing satellite imagery. We offered $14,500, closed in 19 days, paid all costs. The seller had held it for 15 years — the sale finally stopped the tax drain.
Inherited parcel near Fairplay. Legal access on the plat but the actual road was blocked by a neighbor's fence for 8 years. Title had a cloud from a 1987 easement dispute. Realtor said "fix the access first, then we'll list it" — quoted $22,000 in legal fees and 18 months. We offered $31,000 as-is, took the title headache ourselves, and closed in 24 days. We'll handle the easement after recording.
Dryland short-grass prairie east of Limon. Great for pronghorn hunting but zero residential demand. Owner had listed it on Craigslist for 14 months with no serious offers. Taxes were 2 years behind. We paid the taxes current at closing, bought at $38,000, and closed in 16 days. Seller walked away with a check instead of a growing tax debt. See our hunting land page for how we value prairie parcels.
We buy raw land in every Colorado county. From the San Luis Valley to the Eastern Plains, from the Western Slope to the Front Range foothills, if it's unimproved and you want to sell it, we'll make a cash offer. Related pages: sell without a realtor, landlocked parcels, back taxes, mountain land.
Get answers to common questions about selling your land
Yes. No power, no water, no septic, no problem. We buy thousands of acres of raw land in Colorado every year — almost all of it with zero utilities. We pay cash and close fast regardless of improvements.
No. We don't require a current survey, a perc test, an OWTS approval, or any county inspection to make an offer or close. We use existing plats, assessor records, and satellite imagery. You pay for nothing — we cover all due diligence.
We look at the nearest raw land sales in a 10-mile radius over the last 24 months, adjusted for acreage, access, slope, and water rights. We've closed enough deals in every Colorado county to know what raw ground trades for — even in thin-market areas like the San Luis Valley and Eastern Plains.
We buy landlocked parcels and parcels with easement disputes all the time. Access problems kill retail sales but they don't kill ours. We'll close subject to the existing access situation and handle any easement negotiation after closing.
Not a problem. We'll pay the delinquent taxes directly to the county at closing out of your proceeds. If the lien has already been sold, we can usually still close — we just redeem the certificate as part of the transaction. Don't wait for a treasurer's deed to take it from you.
Both. We buy single-acre subdivision lots in places like Costilla County and we buy large ranches on the Eastern Plains and Western Slope. Minimum we'll look at is about 1 acre. No real maximum — we've closed deals above 2,000 acres.
14-21 days is normal. We've closed raw land deals in as few as 9 days when the title came back clean and the seller was local. The main variable is how long the Colorado title company takes to issue the commitment — usually 5-10 business days.
Zero. No commission, no closing costs, no title fees, no recording fees. Our offer is net to you. What we say, you get. Compare that to a realtor charging 6-10% on raw land plus you paying title and closing costs.
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