As a real estate investor, the key to a successful marketing campaign is not spending more money to reach everyone. It costs less money to reach the right person.
This is true no matter which data service you use to get a list of property owners, but some data services are more flexible than others.
Since I discovered it Land Portal And its advanced filtering capabilities, it enables me to laser my marketing efforts to highly aggressive sellers and qualified buyers while completely avoiding wasting time.
In this blog post, I’ll show you some examples of unique filter combinations that you can use No The wrong person wasting time and money shrinking.
The goal here no Give you the exact recipe, but inspire your creativity and help you understand which levers you want to extract for your specific investment strategy.
1. Local builders (high value prospects for land sellers)
Why target builders? Builders are ongoing land buyers representing the most qualified prospects for vacant lots. They also usually have a company structure and a buying pattern that makes them easy to identify.
Filter combination:
- Attribute type: empty space only
- Ownership Type: Company Owner only (LLC, Inc., etc.)
- Portfolio Size: Currently owned property owners with more than 5 vacant lots
- Recent Events: Property purchased within the last 18-24 months
- Constructibility: Constructability filters are included (20%+ recommended)
hint: The filter will also capture lumber companies and mortgage lenders, but you will find highly concentrated active builders. If you don’t see enough results, consider reducing the minimum batch count to 3 or more attributes or extending the purchase time range.
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2. Inland property (easement opportunity)
Why target inland land? Most investors avoid Inland properties, some niche investors will be specifically targeting large inland parcels as they can usually be purchased at huge discounts. If you can get easements on larger inland properties, the increase in value can be significant.
Filter combination:
- Geographical scope: Whole state or counties (inland characteristics are less common in many areas)
- Property type: vacant land
- Visit: Inland Property Only
- Size: 40+ acres (larger parcels prove that the cost of easement is reasonable)
Strategy Note: Focus on the state and property you have reliable legal means to obtain easements (not every state can be easy). Timber companies often own these properties and may be motivated sellers, especially after recent harvests.
3. High equity senior homeowner
Why this works: Senior homeowners often establish substantial equity and may have the incentive to downsize or relocate to a home.
Filter combination:
- Property type: Single family residence
- Equity percentage: 90-100%
- Bedroom count: 2-3 bedrooms
- Market Value: $60K-$120K (adjust your market)
- Occupy: Owner takes over
- Owner Age: 65+ (if available in county data)
- Last sale date: more than 10 years ago
4. High slope view of luxury building
Why aim for a steep slope? While most builders avoid steep slopes due to construction costs, some luxury builders may look for these properties specifically for the high-level perspectives they offer.
Filter combination:
- Property Slope: 70%+ parcel at 15%+ slope
- Land use: residential vacant
- Area: 0.25-2 acres
- Owner Location: Owners outside the county prefer
- MLS Status: Exclude active list (for non-market opportunities)
Market Note: These properties are most effective in areas with important terrain and luxury housing markets.
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5. Industrial sites near the transport center
Why this strategy works: Industrial developers and Warehouse REITs are constantly seeking good locations for sites and have access to good shipping methods.
Filter combination:
- Geographical method: Draw polygons around railway corridors or highway interchanges
- Land use: industrial vacant, commercial vacant
- Area: 5-50 acres
- Road front: 300 feet or more (for truck access)
- Owner Location: Out of State Owner (optional)
- MLS status: Exclude activity list (optional)
Expert tip: Keep polygon boundaries within a county to avoid database conflicts.
6. ARM RESET Seller (Active Homeowner)
Why aim at the borrower with your arm? Homeowners with adjustable interest rate mortgages face increased payments when resetting fees create momentum for fast sales.
Filter combination:
- Property type: Single family residence
- Mortgage type: adjustable/arm
- Mortgage Origin: 5-7 years ago
- Equity percentage: 20-60%
- Occupy: Owner takes over
7. Wooden Road Owner
Why Target Wood Owners: Long-term timber owners may be ready for harvest and sale, especially if they are the absent owners who inherit the property.
Filter combination:
- Land use: forest, forest, rural forest
- Area: 80 acres
- Last sale date: 15-30 years ago
- Improved value: $0
- Owner location: Outside the county (optional)
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8. Semi-truck parking lot development location
Why this niche works: The growing demand for truck parking (industrial outdoor storage or “iOS”) creates opportunities for professional industrial development. The areas that are prone to occur work well because parking does not require dry land.
Filter combination:
- Geographical method: Draw polygons on major highways
- FEMA Flood Coverage: Up to 100% Acceptable
- Land use: Commercial/Industrial
- Area: 4-100 acres
- Building size: 0-10,000 square feet (preferred to existing small buildings)
- MLS status: Exclude activity list (optional)
9. Builder’s flat fill batch
Why builders like these: Fills that are easy to build near existing utilities are very needed by manufacturers.
Filter combination:
- Location: City/Core Area of Metro
- Area: 0.10-0.50 acres
- Property slope: More than 90% of parcels are within 5% or less
- Road front: over 40 feet
- Land use: residential vacant, urban vacant
- MLS Status: Exclude activity list
10. Out-of-state farmland owner
Why this works: Absent farmland owners usually never visit their property and can open up sales or long-term rental arrangements.
Filter combination:
- Land use: farmland, farmland, agricultural general
- Area: 40-640 acres
- Owner Location: Outside the State
- Improved value: $0
- Last sale date: more than 10 years ago
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11. “Tired Heir” (Real Estate)
Why target inherits attributes: Heirs who inherit vacant lands usually live far away, have no emotional attachment, and require a quick cash conversion.
Filter combination:
- The owner’s name includes: “Estate”, “Heir”, “Trust”, “Personal Representative”
- Last sale date: more than 20 years ago or unknown
- Occupancy: Absent owner
- Owner location: Outside the county
- Land use: Various vacant land categories
- Improved value: $0
12. Recent cash buyers (future sellers)
Why target recent cash buyers? Cash buyers often flip the property quickly and may become sellers within 6-18 months.
Filter combination:
- Equity percentage: 100%
- Last sale date: last 6-12 months
- Occupancy: Absent, unknown
13. Basic open space list
Core vacant land strategy: Here is a basic list of your general vacant land investment.
Filter combination:
- Improved value: $0
- Land Market Value: $10K-$100K (Adjust market adjustment)
- Land use: agriculture, residential, mobile homes, unimproved vacant places, entertainment activities
- Occupancy: Absent, outside the county, outside the state owner
- Tax Status: Tax Crime (optional – greatly increase motivation, but reduce list size)
notes: About 50% of the tax status in the country is unavailable. If you apply this filter and no results are returned, Remove it from your filter list.
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14. Single Family Residence (Owner with a Rich Equity)
Why target high shareholders? Owners with substantial equity and low mortgage balances usually represent motivated sellers.
Filter combination:
- Equity percentage: 80-100%
- Market Value: $50K-$100K (market adjustment)
- Property use: Single family residence
- Tax Status: Tax breached property only
- Occupancy: Absent
Advanced filtering skills
There are a lot of considerations when filtering your list of properties and property owners specific to a specific niche. Here are a few things to keep in mind when you do this.
- Start wide, then narrow: If your initial filter returns zero results, your criteria may be too restrictive. Remove some filters and gradually add them back.
- County data quality varies: Some counties have incomplete data. If you don’t get results in one county, try expanding to multiple counties or different regions.
- Combining geography and population filters: Use polygon tools around specific functions (highways, rail lines, city centers) and incorporate attribute features of targeted lists.
- Testing and tuning: Every market is different. Use these combinations as a starting point and adjust to your local conditions and investment strategy.
- Consider list size and quality: Smaller, highly targeted lists are usually better than larger and wider lists. Focus on quality rather than quantity.
Maximize your results
After creating a filtered list, Land Portal’s skip tracking feature allows you to contact the property owner immediately with your phone number and email address. For attributes that do not skip tracking data, you always have the email address for the direct mail campaign.
remember: The goal is not to connect with everyone. The goal is to contact The right person Who is most likely to accept your offer (whether you are buying, selling or selling). With the right combination of filtering, you will be able to achieve this while saving time, money and avoiding burnout.
The key to success is to understand your target market and creatively combine filters to achieve them effectively. Use these examples as inspiration to develop your own unique filtering strategy based on your specific investment goals and local market conditions.
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Do you have any creative filtering combinations that work for you? Leave a comment below and let me know!