The Pre-Flight Checklist for Every Land Deal You Submit

By Drew Haney · Founder, Rooster Capital · May 2, 2026

Most rejected deals had one specific problem the operator could have caught pre-submission. Here’s the 8-point checklist that turns slow deals into fast approvals.

Why a checklist matters

Most deals that get rejected for fundability have one or two specific things wrong. The operator could have caught those problems pre-submission with 30 minutes of work. A pre-flight checklist saves the back-and-forth and gets you to a yes faster.

The 8-point checklist

1. Title pre-check

Pull the deed history from the county assessor or recorder. Look for: heir issues (multiple owners on the deed who’ve died), tax liens, mortgages, judgments, easements that limit access. Most counties make this free online. 10 minutes of work.

If you find an issue, don’t hide it — disclose in the submission. Funders price for what they know. They penalize what gets discovered late.

2. Access verification

Confirm the parcel has road access. Public road frontage is best. Easement access is OK if recorded. Landlocked is a red flag.

Check on Google Earth + county GIS map. Walk the parcel boundary visually. Note any obvious access issues.

3. Comp pull (3 minimum)

Pull at least 3 closed comparable sales within 12 months and within 15 miles. Smaller radius is better. Adjust for: acreage, road frontage, water source, deed restrictions.

If you can’t find 3 real comps, that’s a yellow flag. Tell the funder. They might have additional data you don’t.

4. Tax verification

Pull current property tax. Confirm there’s no back-tax delinquency. Confirm the parcel is in the seller’s name (occasionally it’s in a deceased relative’s name and the seller hasn’t formally inherited).

5. Seller motivation check

Why is the seller selling? “I want to sell” is meaningless. Specifics matter: tax bill, estate, divorce, health, moving. Real motivation predicts smooth close. Vague motivation predicts last-minute problems.

6. Photo set

4–8 photos minimum: road frontage, looking from each corner toward the center, terrain features, any improvements. Funders want to verify what you’re telling them about the property. Photos do that fast.

7. Disposition plan

How will you sell it? Land.com listing? Email list? Specific buyer in mind? “I’ll list it on a few sites” isn’t a plan. “I’ll list on Land.com Premium + Facebook Marketplace + my buyer email list, target listing price $X, expect close within 90–120 days” is a plan.

8. The math, written out

Don’t make the funder do the math. Provide:

• Acquisition price
• Estimated holding costs (taxes for hold period, marketing budget)
• Estimated sale price (with comp justification)
• Estimated hold time
• Net gross profit calculation
• Implied profit split per the JV agreement

What a clean submission actually looks like

One paragraph deal summary. The 8 checklist items in bullet form. Photos attached. Comps attached as PDFs or screenshots. Total submission length: about 2 pages plus attachments. Underwriting time on our end: 30–60 minutes.

Submissions that arrive without this structure: 4+ hours of back-and-forth before a decision. Three-day delay minimum.