From Signing to Payday: How Closing Works When You Sell Your Land
If you’ve never sold land before, “closing” can sound like a big formal meeting with a stack of papers you don’t understand. Selling land directly is much simpler than that. Many of our sellers close from their own kitchen table, and most tell us it was easier than they expected.
Here’s what happens from start to finish when you sell Tennessee land.
Step 1: You Accept the Offer
Once you’re happy with the price, we send a short purchase agreement written in plain English. Take your time, read it, and ask us anything. Nothing moves forward until you’re comfortable. To see how the price itself is figured, read Breaking Down Your Cash Offer: How We Figure the Number.
Step 2: A Neutral Title Company Takes Over the Paperwork
In Tennessee, land sales close through a title company or a closing attorney. They don’t work for us or for you. Their job is to make sure you really own what you’re selling, clear anything in the way, and make sure the deed and the money change hands correctly and at the same time.
Because we pay cash, there’s no bank loan, no appraisal, and no lender adding weeks to the process.
Step 3: The Title Search
The title company runs a title search, which is basically a background check on the land. They look back through past owners and check for:
- Unpaid property taxes
- Old loans or liens that were never released
- Easements or other rights recorded against the land
- Mistakes on the deed, or an owner who passed away without the records being updated
If something turns up, don’t panic. Most problems can be fixed, and our team works with the title company to sort them out. Back taxes are usually just paid out of the sale at closing. Learn more in Mistakes on Your Deed? How Your Tennessee Land Can Still Be Sold, Behind on Property Taxes? You Can Still Sell Your Tennessee Land, and Tennessee Probate and Your Land: The Short Version.
Step 4: You Verify Your Identity
The title company will ask you to confirm who you are, usually by showing a driver’s license. This protects you. It’s one of the main ways title companies stop scammers from pretending to be owners and selling land that isn’t theirs.
Step 5: You Sign From Home
You don’t have to drive to an office in a county you may not even live in. A mobile notary can come to your home with the papers ready. You show your ID, sign where they point, and they handle the rest. In some cases, Tennessee also allows signing with a state-commissioned online notary over video, if the title company approves it. Either way, living out of state is no problem.
Step 6: The Deed Is Recorded and You Get Paid
After everyone signs, the title company records the new deed at the county Register of Deeds and sends your money by wire or check, whichever you choose. The payment comes from the title company, not from us directly, which is another layer of protection for you.
Important: Never trust an email or text that changes how you’ll be paid. Always call the title company at a number you looked up yourself to confirm. For more on protecting yourself, read our guide from a retired law enforcement officer: How to Protect Your Land From Scams: A Retired Law Enforcement Officer’s Guide for Tennessee Landowners
What Will Closing Cost Me?
There are no agent commissions when you sell to us. In Tennessee, the state transfer tax on the sale, 37 cents per $100 of value, is owed by the buyer under state law. Other costs can include title insurance, recording fees, and your share of this year’s property taxes. Before you sign, the title company gives you a settlement statement showing every dollar, line by line. We’ll tell you up front which costs we cover, so there are no surprises at the end.
How Long Does It Take?
When the title is clean, closing can happen in a couple of weeks. If a survey, soil test, probate, or title fix is needed, it takes longer, because that work sets the pace. We’ll tell you up front which situation you’re in.
Your Part of the Process
Your part is short and simple:
- Answer a few questions about your land on a phone call.
- Verify your identity with the title company.
- Sign the closing papers with a notary.
- Tell the title company how you want to be paid.
You don’t need to find your old deed, order a survey, or clean up the land. We look up the records ourselves.
What to Watch For With Other Buyers
When comparing offers, ask three questions: Who pays which closing costs? Who handles the title work? How and where will I sign? Be careful with a buyer who agrees on a price, then hands you a list of chores, or chips away at your money with surprise fees at the end.
About Copco Properties
Copco Properties is Owned and Operated by a Retired Law Enforcement Officer and a Military Veteran. In law enforcement, when someone called with a problem, the job was to show up, listen, get the facts, and help solve it. We bring that same approach to land. Back taxes, inherited property, title problems, no road access: these are the situations we work through every day. Brent, our military veteran, served at Fort Campbell and brings the same commitment to doing the job right and seeing it through.
- No commissions and no hidden fees.
- Every sale closes at a reputable title company.
- We’re up front about everything, and we’ll explain every number and every step in plain English.
- No pressure. Take all the time you need.
If you own land in Tennessee and want a simple, honest sale, call us at 615-610-3303 or fill out the short form on our website. We’ll walk you through every step before you decide anything.
