Getting postcards and letters about your Florida lot? Here is how to check what your land is worth yourself, what a lowball looks like, and how to check out any buyer.
You own a vacant lot in Florida, and the mail keeps coming. Postcards. Typed letters. Some have a number on them. Some just ask you to call.
We should say this before anything else. We send letters too. If you got one from Bellfield Land Co, this is the company that sent it.
So read this page the way you would read anything written by someone who wants to buy from you. Then go check every bit of it yourself. That is the point of the page.
There is no deadline on this page. Nothing to sign.
If you read it and decide to keep your land forever, that is a fine outcome. We would rather deal with a landowner who knows what their land is worth than one who does not.
Everything you need is public and costs nothing. Three steps.
Look up your parcel on the county property appraiser website. That is the county office that values land for taxes. It gives you the parcel number, the size, the zoning, and the county's own value. Take that value as one clue, not the answer, because it is set for taxes and not for a sale.
Find what similar lots recently sold for nearby. A sold price beats an asking price every time. Anyone can ask any number. A sale is what somebody actually paid. Three or four recent sales of lots like yours gives you a real range.
Then look at the lot itself. Is there a road to it? Water and sewer at the street, or would a buyer need a well and a septic tank? Is it high and dry, or in a flood zone or wetland? Are there back taxes or liens?
We wrote a longer walkthrough of all three: what is my Florida lot worth.
AARP tells its readers not to reply to unsolicited offers on their property, to check the value on their own, and to talk to a lawyer before signing anything.
We are not going to argue with that. Take it. Talk to your own attorney. Show any offer to somebody in your family. We will wait.
AARP also warns about a contract with no end date on it, because a signed paper that never expires can tie up your title. Read the end date on anything anyone puts in front of you. If there is not one, ask why.
None of these is proof on its own. Stacked up, they tell you plenty.
The price arrives with no explanation of how anyone got to it.
You are pushed to answer by a certain day. A real buyer can wait.
The paper you are asked to sign has no end date.
There is no person's name anywhere, no address, and no way to reach a human being.
Nobody will say who is handling the closing.
And the one that actually settles it: the number sits far under what similar lots nearby have really sold for. That is why the free lookup comes first. Once you know your range, the mail sorts itself.
Look the company up on Sunbiz. That is the State of Florida's business registry, it is free, and it will show you whether the company is real and who filed it.
Call the number on the letter and see what happens. Ours rings Dillon Stawiarski. If we miss your call, leave a message, and we call back, usually within one business day.
Ask who is closing it. A licensed title company should hold the money and do the paperwork, not the buyer.
Ask for the offer in writing. Then show it to anyone you trust.
If a buyer gets cagey on any of those four, you have learned what you needed to know.
Writing to us puts you under no obligation. Your land does not get listed, posted, or shown to anyone. There is no contract until you sign one. The offer is yours to keep and show to whoever you want. If you say no, we stop. That is the end of it.
Here is our margin, out loud: the price we can offer is below full retail. That is how we stay in business, and we tell you up front. In exchange there is no fee, no commission, no listing, and no waiting for a buyer to appear.
Listing with a Florida agent is a real option and sometimes the better one. If that looks like your case, we will say so.
Send us the parcel number or the address. We check the county records ourselves, at no cost, and send back a plain summary of what we find. It is yours to keep whether you ever sell or not.
You do not have to answer any of them, and AARP tells landowners not to. If you are curious about the value, the free thing to do first is look your parcel up on the county property appraiser website and find what similar lots recently sold for. Then you are reading the mail with real numbers in hand.
Compare it against what similar lots nearby actually sold for, not against the asking prices. Watch for a price with no explanation behind it, pressure to answer by a certain day, a paper with no end date, and a company that will not tell you who it is or who is closing it.
No. A letter is a letter, and nothing moves without your signature on a deed. The thing that really can cost you the land is unpaid property taxes running all the way through to a tax deed, and even that takes years. Your county tax collector will tell you where your lot stands.
Look it up on Sunbiz, the State of Florida business registry. Call the number and see who answers. Ask who is handling the closing and whether a licensed title company holds the money. Ask for the offer in writing, and show it to your own attorney before you sign.
Because retail comes only after time on the market, an agent's commission, and months of taxes and carrying costs. An offer that skips the wait and charges you no fee is going to be lower. We say ours is below full retail rather than pretending otherwise. Whether that trade is worth it is your call.
No. You can list with a Florida agent, sell it yourself, or keep the land. We will tell you honestly if listing is likely to get you more.
Write, call, or type a few lines. A real person, not a call center.
A few lines about your land is plenty.
If we miss your call, leave a message. We call back, usually within one business day.
Prefer to type? Use our contact form.
