A Complete Guide to Selling Your Horse Property

Selling a horse property in today’s real estate market is not an easy process. It is a tedious and time-consuming process. Unlike a home for sale, selling an equestrian property involves extra handling, especially with the extra land, horse amenities, and outbuildings. However, if your property looks good and is well-maintained, it is more likely that the buyers will be interested in buying it. 

Selling horse farms creates two major challenges- they are more expensive than residential homes, mostly due to the fact that they are covering a large area, and second, the horse properties require only unique buyers with a special interest in equines. 

All of this means, you need an altogether different strategy to sell an equestrian property than the one that is used for selling residential homes. Here are a few tips that would help you sell your horse property. 

Tips to Prepare Your Horse Property For Sale:

1. Find a real estate agent who specializes in equestrian properties

When you are trying to sell your horse property, you would need someone who is an expert in equestrian properties. You should take help from a good real estate agent who has extensive knowledge about equestrian buyers. An expert real estate agent would be able to direct your horse property to the right buyers. It is also important to work closely with an equestrian agent to ensure that your horse property is priced right. 

Here are some questions that you should ask your equestrian property agent before hiring him:

• How much experience do you have in selling horse properties?
• How long have you been a realtor in this location?
• Do you have any testimonials from your past equestrian clients?
• How much experience do you have in the local real estate market?
• What kind of other services do you provide?

2. Stage your horse property 

Keep in mind that most equestrian property buyers have a common dream of living on a horse farm. Before you invite any realtor or potential buyer to see your horse farm, make sure you have cleaned and organized it completely. It is very important that you present your equestrian property in the best light to prospective buyers.  

Here are some tips to make your horse property look presentable:

• Declutter the entire farm by removing all the non-essential equipment
• Make sure to fix the old boards, check all locks to ensure the highest level of security, and replace the broken sections
• Clean out the barn, especially the cobwebs in the corners
• Sweep away all the debris and add fresh shavings in the stalls
• Mowing, trimming, and mucking the pastures is important 
• Get rid of all non-essential tools and equipment
• Repair any visible signs of damage
• Keep all the tools and equipment in their designated locations
• Clear access paths to the pastures, arena, and barn so that any ordinary trailer or a customized trailer from Double D Trailers for transporting the horses can smoothly enter
• Repainting the building and fences is one of the most affordable ways to prepare your equestrian property for sale

3. Inspect your horse property’s fences

The safety of horses is the main concern for any equestrian property buyer, hence, take good time to inspect the fences surrounding the property and ensure everything is intact. Any prospective buyer would want to buy a horse farm that is well-maintained and properly secured. 

4. Professional photoshoot of horse property

Good property and listing photos would surely attract any buyer’s attention even if it is an advertisement for a horse property. Most of the buyers take their first step by looking at the horse farms online for sale. It is more likely that international buyers would be more interested in horse property and they would start searching online or hire an equine real estate agent for it. 

A professional photoshoot will help your horse property listing stand out. It gives an excellent opportunity to showcase your farm from the inside out to potential buyers. 

Here are some important things to remember while shooting a horse property:

• Include pictures of horses, cattle, and other livestock to grab the attention of potential buyers even if they are not horse people
• Include at least one photo that shows the fencing of the farm
• Try to take photos of a horse property during golden hours which are early morning or late evening
• A well-planned barn picture with clean interiors can tell a buyer prospect a lot
• If the horse property has a nice pasture, make sure to include a photograph of it

5. Target the right people

A horse lover or a horse owner would be more interested in buying a horse property than anyone else. For selling horse property, targeting someone who has an interest in equine would be a smart move. And fortunately, there are certain areas both offline and online where all the horse lovers tend to congregate. 

Here are some tips to target horse lovers and owners for selling a horse farm:

• Put some flyers of the equestrian property up at feed stores and tack shops 
• Send direct-mail letters to boarding stables and riding stables
• Share the video ads of your horse property on the social media channels and tag all the horse lover groups

6. Marketing your horse property for sale

It is mandatory that you create an appealing horse property advertisement to attract equestrian buyers. There are many sales ads on the internet for equestrian properties that make no sense. Potential buyers completely ignore these types of ads and instead look out for the equestrian property ads with a proper description. 

Below are the steps that you can follow to make the best horse property sale ads:

• Talk about your horse property in detail with all the relevant information like the distance to the nearest hospital, downtown, shopping area, and school
• Compose an excellent ad description with positive imagination like healing aromas of trees, charismatic sunshine, and relaxing sounds. Emotional appeal is the best tool to attract prospective clients to your horse property
• Do not oversell your equestrian property as customers may find it suspicious when your ad sounds too promotional. Do not create any type of doubt in the client’s mind by writing unsupported affirmations
• Make your ad effective and convincing by adding a few creative things. Highlight all the best features that make your horse property better than other equestrian properties

7. Complete the documentation work for equestrian property

If you are owning an equestrian property, you should have certain legal documents and records for it. As you prepare for the sale of horse property, make sure you are ready with all the important certificates regarding land surveys. Other than this, your agricultural records should be updated including water well permits, plant health analyses, grazing leases, water or mineral rights, or anything related to natural resources on your equestrian property. 

8. Price it right

Setting the right price for your horse farm is very important as it will either attract the buyers or scare them off. If you have priced your horse farm right then it can be in the buyers’ radar. Today, with the internet, most information is available online, and it becomes easy for the buyers to know if you have overpriced the property. Any horse farm priced at its market value is a good catch for the buyers. 

Here are some tips to get the right price for your horse property:

• Comparison- Find similar properties to your own horse farm based on the features, locations, and benefits. Now the simplest way to get the right price is by comparing it to similar properties. Most equestrian properties take a long time to sell than residential homes, hence looking at the properties that have sold between 12-18 months ago are good comparisons.
• Hire a trusted equestrian agent- Look for an expert equestrian real estate agent to assist you with pricing your horse farm. The agent can also help you in understanding the intricacies of pricing your property. 
• Evaluate your location- The location of your horse property plays an important role in pricing. Proximity is an important factor in determining the right price of your horse property. The closer your horse farm is to other barns, vets, farriers, and horse shows, the higher the price you get for your property. 
• Type of horse property- The type of horse property directly impacts the pricing. Other than evaluating the price of the property, you should also take into account the amount of money it brings on a monthly basis. 
• Add value to your property- If your horse farm has something unique to it, then it can add to the value of your property. Features like a conditioned track, classic wood-rail fencing, an oversized indoor area, or a private lot add value to potential buyers and their horses. If your property does not have a standout feature, you can add value to it by painting it, repairing the fences, priming your front yard with flowers, and updating the light fixtures, door locks, and faucets. 

9. Boost your curb appeal

The first impression is always important, so you have to ensure your property is appealing and impressive. The buyer’s first impression is through outside the fence of the property, hence, boosting the curb appeal is an essential step to take when you decide to sell your horse farm. No matter how beautiful your horse farm looks from the inside, if the outside is neglected, the value of your property will drop in the market. 

Here are some tips to improve your curb appeal:

• Paint your exterior to cover up that mildew overgrowth and stains on the walls
• Re-evaluate your landscape by making sure that the grass is green and healthy and there are no overgrown dried-up weeds. Hire a professional landscape to maintain the health of your pasture.
• Make sure your front door stands out to attract more people to your property
• Make sure your front porch looks welcoming. Add a cute pot of fresh flowers and a comfortable chair for the guests on the porch.
• Beautify your horse farm entrance as it is the first thing that will attract potential buyers to your property
• Set up the arena and ensure that it is muck-free and in good condition
• After finishing up with the barn, the land, the stable, and other exterior properties make sure the house also look attractive for a quicker sale

Conclusion

The most important thing is that you are not just selling a horse farm, you are selling a lifestyle. You want a potential buyer to look at your horse property and say “Wow, I used to always dream of living in a place like this.” Hopefully, this article will help you in staging and preparing your horse property so that you get the right price. 

Article made possible by Kate. Kate is a content strategist at 10audioz.com. She has been working in social media and content marketing for five years. She specializes in the health, animal, tech, innovation, and travel sectors. When she is not writing, you will find her teaching math, and trying new recipes and listening to audiobooks.