I've seen in some places empty [land] lots which aren't for sale. And they've been so for quite some time, meaning that the owner has no intention of building anything on it. Are there ways you can approach such a person and hopefully convince him/her either to sell the property or partner with you to develop the property?
You can always writer a letter to the owner but the best way is to make your intentions known by perhaps enlisting the help of a real estate agent or doing the research to contact the owner. If this is land much like farm land, you can always go through the county clerk for the city that the land is in to discuss how to have the state help you send a letter of inquiry for the sale. Most times, individuals whom own a large amount of land don't know how to approach closing a sale or finding the right investors to develop on that land.
I'd say do your research and then give them an offer they can't refuse. You could simply contact them and inquire why the land isn't for sale. They might simple be sitting on it for a future project or think it's going to be worth more later on. There are tons of reasons why people don't sell land that is seemingly used for nothing. Then again, chances of convincing an owner to sell are decent for a given plot if you really want to acquire it for your own use.
Yup, just send them a letter, I have to laugh, out of the blue I got a letter from someone that wanted to buy my house. At first I thought it was creepy because they include a realtors assessment of my property. To bad they didn't include a price, I might have taken the offer a bit more seriously. Turns out this guy bought to places right next to mine, maybe he knows something I don't? If the empty lots you are seeing are in an urban area it is possible they are owned by the city. Occasionally if a property has been left abandon or has become derelict the city will step in and take over the property through foreclosure or back taxes. Check the rolls, it is a matter of public information who owns a property. In some cases paying the back taxes is enough to get you the land. If you have enough money you could buy Detroit, lots of vacant places there. I can only hope some developer has a vision that might save that city.
I agree that it's a good idea to approach the owner to make an offer. My mother purchased two large pieces of land. She developed one lot, but really had no immediate plans to develop the other lot. Someone out of the blue sent her a detailed proposal. She jumped at the offer. She was tired of paying for the upkeep of the lot.
Research is your best tool in this scenario. You'll want to learn about and understand the owner's intentions with the land. A lot of the time, the owner might not even realize that the land is able to be sold at a decent market value. Meet the land owner face to face, question their intentions with the land and propose a possible selling point sometime in the future. If they've had the land for a long while, it'll take them just as long to decide whether or not to sell it too.
I believe it is best to approach the person directly after doing your homework. I am sure they would atleast tell you whether they are interested in it or not.
A lot of things could be the reason why he doesn't want to sale it, may be he doesn't own the land? By that I mean, he isn't the legal owner,despite the possession that he has over the land. And you know you can sell what is not yours. Another reason he doesn't want to sell or build anything on it could be that he doesn't have the money. As the others that have responded to this thread said-make him an offer, may be he does own the land and may be he just has not gotten the right offer for the property. If he doesn't want it sold, which I think would be really strange, let it be, better will come your way.
It could be that he hasn't even thought about selling it. As the others have said, get in touch with him and see if he is open to the idea. You will want to have a ballpark figure already at hand so you can make an offer straight away if he says that he is interested in selling.