In this video, Felicia talks about how to buy Florida land and the 9 key things you need to watch out for. If you’re looking for rural or vacant land in Florida for sale, knowing what points to look for can really help you find the right property for you.
From the video:
Hey everyone it’s Felicia from Compass Land USA.
Today I want to share some pro tips with you that will help you buy Florida land.
So when you’re buying land in Florida, there are 9 key things that you need to watch out for. When my company invests in Florida land, we follow these same 9 points, so I’m really sharing the secrets with you here today.
You don’t want to skip any of these steps because it could really derail your whole land purchase.
So let’s start with the obvious – you need to confirm who owns the property. There are unfortunately some bad people out there who will try to scam you, and you need to protect yourself. You need to know that the seller actually has the right to sell you the property.
If you want to see the step by step of how you can check this, and steps for each of the 9 points, I have them detailed out in our Florida land buying guide. It’s free for you, just click the link below and tell me where to send the guide and you’ll get it right away.
Ok, so the second point, you need to check for delinquent back taxes. This is a really crucial one because you could be buying a Florida property that has 100s or even 1000s of dollars of property taxes owing, and as the new owner, you would be responsible for these debts.
As the new property owner, you take on any existing debts for the property, so don’t skip this one.
Third point, you really need to understand the property uses. I’ve seen lots of people get their heart broken because they’ve bought land and they wanted to camp on it, for example, or RV, but, it’s not allowed.
Land use can be limited by 3 factors: the county zoning, city bylaws, and HOA level restrictions. Start at the top, and work your way down the list to really understand what you can and can’t do on your property.
Fourth, you need to check for legal access. This is not a given, even for residential Florida land! You don’t want to be in a position where you end up with a totally landlocked property, and you can only reach it by county easement or an unofficial, and probably privately owned trail.
Then there are properties that have access, but it’s difficult. So for those, you would need an off-road vehicle, maybe an ATV, or even by horseback. Those properties are really cool and great if you want more privacy, but they’re not for everyone so make sure you know what you’re getting into.
The fifth point, you need to check for utilities. You’re probably thinking “Felicia if I’m looking at Florida land close to towns and cities, I would expect it to have some utilities”. That’s a fair request, but it’s not standard. There are tons of residential Florida lots that don’t have any utilities at all.
And chances are, you’re going to want to know if you’re allowed to bring in septic and if you can drill a well, and how deep.
Sixth point, you want to check for an HOA or POA. That’s a home owner or property owner association. You need to do this for 2 reasons: First, these associations often have annual dues, and sometimes they can be pretty expensive so you need to know how much.
Second, we mentioned it briefly before, these associations have their own restrictions on land use.
Seventh point, check for a flood zone! Flood zones are obviously very common in Florida. If your property is in a Special Flood Hazard Area, you are required to purchase Flood Insurance. If your property is outside an SFHA zone, Flood Insurance is recommended but might not be required.
I have a pro tip in the guide for this one that will really make your life a lot easier. Yea I guess I’ll just tell you, and if you want to see the other pro tips you can grab the guide.
So for this one, the County’s online GIS maps will often have a Flood Zone layer. Just turn that layer on and you’ll be able to see if the property falls into any of the designated Flood Zones.
Eighth point, you want to check if the property is in wetlands. Wetlands are great because they filter and clean the water we drink, but they can be a big pain for you if you want to build on or improve the property.
And especially for building on wetlands, you’ll have to watch out for damaging existing wells, which requires a special permit from the County. So you really need to know what you’re getting into.
Last point, number 9 you want to check for scrub jay zones. Scrub jays are only found in central, central southern Florida, and they’re a threatened species which means you’ll need extra permits before improving or building on your property.
You should also know that not every Florida County has scrub jays.
Hopefully, this video helps you buy Florida land.
Don’t forget to grab your free copy of the Florida Land Buying Checklist guide. Just click the link below, and then tell me where to send that guide to. I’ll have it in your email inbox within an hour.
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If you have any questions about these 9 points, leave a comment below and I’ll help you out. Thank you for watching, and I’ll talk to you soon. 🙂
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