SWFL Land buys vacant lots and acreage in Lee, Collier, Charlotte, Sarasota, Hendry, Marion (Ocala) and Miami-Dade counties, from owners, wholesalers and agents. We buy platted infill lots, acreage, Golden Gate Estates tracts, Miami urban infill, and lots with problems like back taxes, code liens, landlocked access or probate. If you send the parcel ID, your contract price and terms, the closing date and a few photos, we will usually answer within 24 hours. You can submit a land deal to our wholesaler desk any time.
What is a land buy box?
A buy box is a short, public statement of what a buyer will and won’t purchase: where, what type of property, what condition, and how the deal needs to be structured. For vacant land it is even more useful than for houses, because two lots on the same street can be worth very different amounts depending on utilities, flood zone, wetlands and access.
This page is our buy box. It gives general criteria, not price sheets. Every lot gets priced on its own facts, and land values move. If a deal fits the criteria below, send it.
Why a published buy box helps wholesalers and agents
Most land wholesalers blast every contract to a long buyer list and wait. That wastes the one thing a wholesaler can’t get back: the inspection period. A published buy box helps you in a few practical ways:
- You pre-screen before you contract. If a lot is deep in a conservation area, you know before you lock it up that it’s a harder sell to us.
- You know what to collect. Our submission list below is what we need to give you a real answer, so you can gather it in one trip.
- You get faster yes-or-no answers. A clear box means fewer “let me think about it” replies and more time to move a deal to another buyer if it isn’t for us.
- You protect your seller relationships. Contracting only what has a real exit keeps you from backing out on sellers.
If you are newer to land, our guide to wholesaling land in Florida covers the basics, and our list of land exit strategies explains how buyers like us think about resale.
Counties and markets we buy in
We buy across seven Florida counties. See all the areas we buy land or the county index for more detail.
| County | Markets we see most often |
|---|---|
| Lee County | Cape Coral, Lehigh Acres, Fort Myers, Alva, Estero, Bonita Springs, Fort Myers Beach, Imperial Shores |
| Collier County | Golden Gate Estates, Golden Gate, Naples, Immokalee, Marco Island |
| Charlotte County | Port Charlotte, Rotonda West, Punta Gorda, Englewood, Murdock, Babcock Ranch |
| Sarasota County | North Port, Venice, Nokomis, Osprey, Sarasota |
| Hendry County | LaBelle and surrounding acreage |
| Marion County | Ocala, including Marion Oaks and other platted subdivisions |
| Miami-Dade County | Miami, Allapattah, Little Haiti, Overtown, Little Havana, Wynwood and Edgewater |
Each county has its own quirks. Our county guides for Lee, Charlotte, Sarasota, Collier, Hendry, Marion and Miami-Dade go into utilities, assessments and permitting by area.
Lot types we buy
Platted infill residential lots
This is the core of what we buy. Large pre-platted subdivisions sold decades ago left a huge inventory of single-family lots across Cape Coral, Lehigh Acres, North Port, Port Charlotte, Rotonda and Marion Oaks. Many are owned by out-of-state heirs who have never seen them. We buy these one at a time or in packages.
What matters most on an infill lot is whether it is buildable today: road access, utilities or the ability to put in a well and septic, flood zone, and any unpaid assessments. For Cape Coral specifically, read our post on Cape Coral UEP assessments that haven’t been paid before you set your price.
Acreage
We buy rural and semi-rural acreage in Hendry, Marion, Lee (Alva and the east side), Charlotte and Collier. Acreage is priced on usable uplands, road frontage, zoning and future land use, and whether it can be split. Tell us what you know about wetlands on the parcel up front.
Golden Gate Estates tracts
Golden Gate Estates in Collier County is a large-tract subdivision where many tracts rely on well and septic and road conditions vary from street to street. We buy tracts across the Estates, including interior tracts, as long as legal access and the wetland picture are clear.
Miami urban infill
In Miami-Dade we look at vacant urban lots in established neighborhoods, where zoning and transit-oriented rules drive most of the value. Send the folio number, the zoning designation if you have it, and any open code or unsafe-structure cases.
Lots with problems
Problem lots are often where wholesalers find the best spread, and we are set up to handle them:
- Back taxes and tax certificates. See how selling land with back taxes works in Florida.
- Code enforcement liens. Overgrowth and dumping fines on vacant lots are common. We review lien amounts and whether a reduction is realistic. More at selling land with code liens.
- Landlocked or access issues. We will look at parcels without recorded access when there is a realistic path to fix it. See selling landlocked land in Florida.
- Probate and inherited land. We work with personal representatives and heirs and wait on the court when needed. See probate land sales and selling inherited land in Florida.
- Storm-affected land. Debris, washed-out seawalls and damaged structures on lots since the 2022 storm season. See selling land after Hurricane Ian.
What we usually pass on or price differently
Nothing on this list is an automatic no. These are the factors that most often end a deal or change the number a lot.
- Deep wetlands or conservation land. A parcel that is mostly jurisdictional wetland, or sits inside a conservation or preserve designation, has a much narrower buyer pool. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is currently the permitting authority for dredge-and-fill in federal waters in Florida after a federal court vacated the state’s program in 2024, so permitting timelines are a real cost.
- No legal access and no path to get it. We buy landlocked land when there is a plausible route: a neighbor easement, a family parcel next door, or a claim under Florida’s way-of-necessity statute. A parcel with no road, no neighbor willing to talk and no legal theory gets priced as a long hold or passed.
- Title that can’t be insured. We close through a Florida title company. If a title agent won’t insure it, we need a clear plan (quiet title, probate, corrective deeds) before we can commit.
- Price already at retail. If the contract price is at or near what finished lots are listing for, there isn’t room for our holding costs, resale costs and risk. That’s not a knock on the deal. It may be a better fit for an end buyer or a listing.
- Heavy protected-species constraints. Lots in mapped scrub-jay habitat in Charlotte County, or with many gopher tortoise burrows, carry permitting costs we need to account for.
Not sure where a lot lands? Run it through our free lot value tool for a starting point, then send it over.
What to send us
The fastest way to get a real answer is to send a complete package the first time. Use the form on our wholesaler deal submission page and include:
- APN, parcel ID, STRAP or folio number. One number per parcel. Addresses on vacant land are often wrong or missing.
- Contract price. What you have the lot under contract for.
- Assignment fee. What you need to make on the deal. Being upfront saves both of us time.
- Contract terms. Inspection period, earnest money, who pays closing costs, and whether the contract is assignable.
- Closing date. Your contract deadline and any flexibility.
- Seller situation. Inherited, behind on taxes, out of state, tired of code notices. This tells us which title issues to expect.
- Photos. Road frontage, the lot itself, any standing water, dumping or structures. Phone photos are fine.
If you know about liens, assessments, open probate or access issues, include them. Surprises found at title are what kill land deals, and our Florida land due diligence checklist shows what we’ll check.
How we handle assignments and double closes
We work with both structures, depending on the contract and the seller.
Assignments. If your contract is assignable, we can take an assignment of your purchase agreement and close directly with the seller through a Florida title company. Your fee is paid at closing as shown on the settlement statement.
Double closes. If you prefer not to show your fee, or the contract is not assignable, we can do a double close: you close with the seller and we close with you, through the same title company, typically on the same day. The title company will tell you how it handles funding for the first leg.
Either way, we ask that you have your contract in order: correct parcel, all owners signing, and enough inspection time for title to come back. We don’t promise specific timelines or costs on any deal, because those depend on title and the county. What we do commit to is a fast, straight answer on whether we want the lot. Our how it works page walks through the steps.
How we price a lot (in general terms)
We do not publish a price sheet. We start from sold comparables, adjust for the lot’s specific facts, and leave room for holding and resale costs. If you want to pressure-test your own numbers first, our guide on how to comp vacant land covers the same method we use. For Cape Coral, our post on what a Cape Coral lot is worth is a good primer.
The factors that move our number most:
- Utilities available now versus well and septic, and whether assessments are paid
- Canal or water frontage and seawall condition
- FEMA flood zone
- Wetlands, protected species and clearing requirements
- Road type and legal access
- Title issues and how long they take to clear
Agents: we buy from you too
If you have a listing that has been sitting, or a seller who wants a cash offer for their land without months on the market, send it the same way. We can also look at owner-financed and subject-to structures when a seller wants terms instead of cash.
Have a lot under contract right now? Send the parcel ID and your terms to our wholesaler desk, or contact us for a cash offer if you are the owner. We usually reply within 24 hours.
Frequently Asked Questions
What counties does SWFL Land buy land in?
We buy vacant land in Lee, Collier, Charlotte, Sarasota, Hendry, Marion (Ocala) and Miami-Dade counties. That includes Cape Coral, Lehigh Acres, North Port, Port Charlotte, Rotonda, Golden Gate Estates, Marion Oaks and urban Miami neighborhoods.
Do you buy land from wholesalers?
Yes. We buy assigned contracts and do double closes, as long as the contract is valid, all owners have signed, and the price leaves room below retail. Submit deals on our wholesaler page with the parcel ID, contract price, assignment fee and closing date.
Do you publish a price per lot?
No. Lot values change with utilities, flood zone, wetlands, assessments and title, so we price each parcel on its own facts. The buy box tells you what we buy. The number comes after we review the parcel.
Will you buy a lot with back taxes or code liens?
Yes. Back taxes, tax certificates and code enforcement liens are common on vacant Florida lots. Tell us what you know about the amounts and we’ll factor them into the offer. Unpaid taxes and liens are typically paid out of proceeds at closing.
Do you buy landlocked land?
Sometimes. We look for a realistic path to legal access, such as a neighbor easement or a claim under Florida’s way-of-necessity statute. A parcel with no access and no plausible fix is usually passed or priced as a long-term hold.
How fast will I hear back on a deal?
We usually respond within 24 hours when the submission includes the parcel ID, price, terms and photos. Incomplete submissions take longer because we have to track down the basics first.
Do you close with a title company?
Yes. Every purchase closes through a Florida title company, whether it’s an assignment or a double close.
Sources
- U.S. EPA: Tribal and State Section 404 Assumption Efforts (Florida status)
- Florida Statutes 704.01: Common-law and statutory ways of necessity
- City of Cape Coral: Tax Billed Assessments
- Charlotte County: Scrub-Jay Habitat Conservation Plan
- Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission: Gopher Tortoise Permits