Free Guide
Land Buying Guide
Everything we end up explaining on the phone anyway, written down. No email required.
Most people buying their first ten acres have bought houses before, and assume the process rhymes. It does not. This is the short version of what changes.
Land is not a house purchase
No appraisal comps street by street, no inspection report, and often no mortgage. What replaces them is your own due diligence — which is what the rest of this page is.
Water
A well is the difference between land you can live on and land you can only visit. Ask depth, flow rate, and who drilled it. In much of Florida, wetlands designation matters more than acreage.
Access
Deeded legal access is not the same as a road you drove in on. If access crosses someone else's ground, you want it in writing and recorded — not a handshake with a neighbour who may sell.
Easements
Power lines, pipelines, drainage, and hunting leases all show up as easements. None of them are automatically bad. Not knowing about them before closing is.
The ag exemption
Florida's agricultural classification can cut the property tax bill dramatically — a few head of cattle or beehives can qualify ground that otherwise gets taxed at development value. It is the single most valuable thing most first-time land buyers do not know about.
Financing
Farm Credit and ag lenders lend on land routinely; most retail banks will not. Seller financing is common and negotiable. Expect a larger deposit than a house and a shorter term.
Survey and boundaries
Find the survey pins before you agree a price. Fence lines drift over decades, and the fence is not the boundary.
Touring smart
Go after heavy rain if you can — that is when drainage tells the truth. Walk the low corner, not just the pretty one.
Still have a question?
Ask it. We would rather spend twenty minutes on the phone with someone who never buys than have somebody close on ground that was wrong for them.