Where to start out flipping land in Sarasota?

Question

Hi everyone, Chris here located in Sarasota, FL, (tampa was the closest to me for location)

So I'm looking into flipping land here in Sarasota, I have a minor background in wholesaling, (never completed a deal though), so I am familiar with the process,

But my question is kind of a broad one and a newbie question, whats a good resource for learning how to buy and sell land for a profit? I was looking into Land Academy but i had a "meh" experience with REI coaching in the past. I ordered a book on flipping land though, so it'll be here tomorrow, but in the meantime i wanted to ask here,

Any tips or pointers would be helpful,

Thanks!

JT Olmstead · Answer

As you can tell from all these posts, there are a lot of different types of land and a lot of ways to do it. As @Greg C.said, you need to start by picking what type of land you want to focus on. Otherwise you will just continue to get conflicting information like you are seeing in this thread.

Based on your original question I would point you to Seth Williams over at REtipster.com. He's a solid dude and gives great all-around education and information about the land space and the many ways to do it.

Myself and many people like me do multiple seven figures a year flipping higher acreage rural vacant land. I know people doing similar with infill lots or entitlement plays or a myriad of other strategies. Just pick the thing that resonates the best and seems to fit with your medium to long-term goals and you can make it into a success.

Ned Carey · Answer

I feel the need to correct something about tax liens. Despite comments here, You cannot acquire a property via a tax Lien in FL.  FL is a hybrid state with both tax liens and tax deeds. You need to buy a tax deed to get a property.

As said tax sale investing is VERY competitive right now with few bargains to be found

Also understand that land is very complex. There are many issues like zoning and environmental regulations that can severely limit what you can do with the land. You need to learn the laws and how to do the due diligence.

Greg C. · Answer

When it comes to land, a one county area is probably too small unless you have a niche and know it well.

Pat Porter, who has a pretty good Amazon book on land flipping suggests that setting your personal geography is one of the most important steps in the process of setting up a land investment business. I think a 3-5 county area is more realistic. Personally, I also have investment targets outside my state.

In land investing you need to have a clear vision for the type of land you want to invest in. Are you looking to flip small residential lots, large rural parcels, landlocked properties where you establish an easement, commercial land, etc. etc. Once you have established this, then you can begin to think about sourcing and your budget.

Florida is a tax lien state, so in my opinion, that will probably be one of your best ways to get started. Try investing in some liens on land that fits your criteria and if you are lucky, some may mature. Otherwise you need to do some marketing and connect with folks to find land deals that aren't already at or above market value unless you plan to develop the land. You will also need to learn (if you don't already) about zoning regulations and restrictive covenants in your area. These can make or break a land deal. Many properties also have restrictions because they contain wetlands or environmentally vulnerable habitat, which is a particular problem in Florida. Some land may also be contaminated, so be wary unless you want to pay for costly environmental site assessments. Lastly, keep in mind that getting title insurance on land can be surprisingly more complicated then you may expect and not every parcel of land is sold with a 100% interest stake.

The problem with Sarasota County in my mind is that it is a high population area with limited tracts of undeveloped non-wetland property. Your best bet as a land flipper would probably be to flip residential or commercial lots, but the competition is sure to be far more fierce then if you were operating in another part of the state. If you want to follow traditional land flipping strategies which aim at rural parcels of 20+ acres, then some of your neighboring counties like DeSoto County or Hardee County may yield better prospects. Again, tax lien investing could be a quick way to get your feet wet (no pun intended) in land investing in Florida.

Mona B. · Answer

@Christopher Sparacino There is a lot of great information/experience being shared here. Personally, after 4 yrs. attempting to wholesale SF, my first deal was vacant land. YouTube University (as the young ppl call it these days) can give you a great foundation for learning how to flip/wholesale land. Some ppl/resources include: BP's YT channel (of course), Joe McCall, Jack Bosch - who spoke at a local CFRI meeting, and Flipping Mastery TV (showcases flipping/wholesaling related topics in general).

When I became interested in vacant land, I viewed flipping and wholesaling as two different processes with similarities. Flipping vacant land involves your purchase of the property with your own personal funds or transactional funds/lending (i.e.: double close), or you have been the original property owner for some time. Wholesaling vacant lots can be done as well since you would be assigning your contract on the property; however, be aware of state laws, the NAR and state Association regulations, and how the investor community of your niche regards real estate wholesaling.

Other things to consider are having an understanding of the documents needed to complete a transaction and having a solid list of end buyers/developers - research and compile lists for both! Having worked in real estate litigation as a legal assist/paralegal for over 8 yrs., try to find and work with investor experienced and friendly attorneys to either provide the paperwork or review your paperwork. Regarding buyers/developers, its best to connect with them and learn their buying criteria and due diligence period before getting under contract for a property. Depending on the conditions of the land and buyers'/developers' criteria, some perform their own due diligence and others may require you to complete the due diligence (and other prerequisites).

Lastly, as @Greg C. mentioned, do consider expanding to 3 - 5 county areas within your market of choice for vacant land flipping/wholesaling.

I hope you find the above information helpful and best wishes on your journey!

Michael Haynes · Answer

Hello Christopher Sparacino in Sarasota. Greg C. gave you the best advice with some choices like Tax Lien Certificates. Your looking for books to read for the different methods of making Money with RE Investing and I say learn to do Searches on Youtube videos. Instead of taking a lot of time to read, you get all kinds of methods to understand with Youtube videos in a few minutes. The Land investing method is really for the Commercial guys. Beggins/Century 21 on S. Henderson in Tampa is a Broker I dealt with when I sold my four Commercial lots on S. Dale Mabry Hwy. It took me ten years to get John Lum, the Developer/Architect to finally find a way to sell them to an Investment Group in West Palm Beach. He wanted them if he could find a project that worked on my half acre. John and his partner have been the Broker for 80% of the lots that have been sold to all the Builders over the last 15 years, South of Kennedy Blvd. from downtown Tampa to MacDill AFBase. I have my old RE friend that sold some of his properties to me 20 years ago who has one last property in South Tampa. He has a 3/1 house that he has rented to the same family for ten years or more for $1000 a month. He never raised the rents cause the renter does All the Maintenance. He wants to sell that 50x100 lot with an old house that is really just good for a Tear Down House on a normal lot, to build out as a Two Story, 80% construction to lot size house. That is a place to basically try to work with something affordable in Sarasota. Tear Down Houses, Abandoned Houses, Fire Damaged Houses etc. that are only worth Land Value that you have Cash on hand to make a Wholesale Offer on them...anywhere in Florida. My friend's lot is worth $300,000 to just sell for the Builder looking for a Tear Down to Build. Got it?

Kevin Kohler · Answer

Boynton and Sarasota are two COMPLETELY different markets... I would agree that if your thinking of flipping land, you would probably want to consider an entire region (like Central FL or the entire west coast).

I work with several land funds and development groups always seeking good land opportunities in FL.  Keep me posted on your progress!

Ned Carey · Answer

@Christopher Sparacino I was rushed in my doctors office when I last replied. Let me add to my answer. You will not find the kind of education and understanding you need from any Guru or educator in the real estate investing space. The laws and regulations are very local and can be hypertechnical.

What you can do with land tremendously affects it's value. So you need to know what you can do with it. Zoning can be very complex yet it is easy compared to understanding the environmental concerns. One place to learn this is college level classes on land development. Consider associating or working for with someone in the land business like a land brokker or developer. Lastly dillegent self study can help you learn a lot about the laws and regulations.

I don't like to do land becaue I do not have a clue about these things, other than I know a perfectly good looking piece of land can be unbuildable for unseen reasons. However if you take the time to learn then you don't have a lot of competition because so few do understand the laws.

Kevin Kohler · Answer

Sorry to hear your big buddy broker is having a crap year.  My team's year is doubling what we did last year, and quadruple of 2 years ago.

CRE is different than resi.  Numbers are numbers.  If you underwrite it correctly, you can find deals where some folks may recognize (or overlook).

Peter Walther · Answer

Just some clarification here, tax lien certificate investing has little or nothing to do with investing in land.  It's investing in tax liens for the return on the investment.  If you're buying them with the intention of eventually taking title, I think you may not understand the process.

Also, investing in tax lien has become big business because the returns had been good.  I'm not sure they're still as good.

If you're thinking about tax deed investing, join the party.  That strategy has also become very popular, with most properties worth anything going for more than the tax lien amount.  Any that don't, generally have problems i.e. lack of access (legal or physical) so you can't get a building permit, lack of infrastructure, also can't get a building permit, burdened by an easement (powerline, gas line, ROW) such that, you guessed it, you can't get a building permit.

Kevin Kohler · Answer

ive got 50 acres in S FL for $100M, so lmk if you ready to start flipping ;)  but seriously, any developers rdy for mixed use urban SFL opportunities?

Where to start out flipping land in Sarasota?

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