Best way to buy vacant lots

[Rachel Murphy]

My family and I have hand built one of our own houses and several other structures. We are wanting to build post and beam (similar to timber frame) houses that we can use as STR. Our area is growing like crazy (Milton/Pace, Florida) and there are very few hotels in our town and they aren't that great, and only a couple of Airbnbs.

So the thought is we can build one house, refinance it, and then use the money to build the next one.

Questions:

What would be the best way to buy lots? We would like to build near our house just to make it easier to work on. Should we just drive around, write down the vacant lot addresses and send the owners letters? Is there a more automated, less time-consuming way to do this? Do any of you have any template letters that we could send to owners?

Thanks so much for your help!