Shop for a Plot

Here’s one way to trim burial costs. Instead of buying a plot directly from a cemetery, consider the resale market, where brokers buy and sell unused plots or bring together sellers and buyers who then make their own deals. You can save half what a cemetery would charge, according to Ken Brant of the broker website Gravesolutions.com. Find similar sites by typing “Burial Plot Brokers” into your search engine—but be sure to research any company you see to be certain it’s legit. Robert Fells of the International Cemetery, Cremation and Funeral Association cautions potential buyers to make sure that a cemetery allows resales and that the seller is the plot’s legal owner. Buyers need to confirm whether the price includes such things as burial, headstone and future care of the grave.

Joan Rattner Heilman writes often on good deals and where to find them.