I buy and sell vacant land in Florida, and one thing I learned pretty quickly is that a low opening bid does NOT automatically mean a good deal.

I got tired of digging through huge tax deed auction lists just to realize most of the parcels were never worth researching in the first place, so I built my own scrub process.

Before I get excited about a parcel, I’m usually looking at things like:

• Acreage and parcel size (there is generally a minimum that my hubsand and I are willing to consider, it varies per county)
• Opening bid vs. realistic resale value (based on our model)
• Road/access concerns (we usually only care about legal access)
• Basic zoning and usability
• Flood or wetland red flags (scrub jay zones!!)
• Recent vacant-land comps
• Whether there’s actually enough spread to make the deal worthwhile
• Owner/mailing information if there’s time to contact them before auction

I also keep the rejected properties and the reason I rejected them.

That part has actually been one of the most useful pieces because sometimes the value isn’t finding 10 “good” properties. It’s eliminating 100 bad ones before wasting hours researching them.

For the properties that survive the scrub, I’ll do a little deeper research and come up with a suggested max bid based on the strategy I’m using for that property. I am able to bid on more properties without sifting through hundreds of parcels that dont meet my criteria right off the bat. That means that I am winning more properties in auction, and I am much more confident in my pricing and much more okay with walking away from deals.

I recently started doing custom Florida auction scrubs for other investors based on their own buy box too.

I am curious as to how other land investors here are approaching tax deed auctions.

What is the first thing that makes you immediately reject a parcel?

I have some agricultural land( coming from fore fathers) in my village. My grandparents live in that village. Every now and then the other farm owners who has their farm land beside ours, they would make a mess to occupy our land, even though we have all the legal documents. My fear is that i am not aware of all those assets what are our limits and boundaries, so what will happen after my parents.

What is the best thing to do, i am thinking like selling those assests and buy a land in city where i live, or invest in mutual funds or buying a commercial property.

Suggest me any better options

I own a 6-cent (roughly 2,600 sq. ft.) plot of land in Kochi that has been sitting unused for around 5–10 years. The property is inside a residential colony, so it’s not directly on the main road and is slightly tucked away from the main access road.

I’m considering doing something with the land instead of letting it remain vacant, ideally something that can generate passive or semi-passive income.

A few constraints:
The land is not on a main road
It is inside a residential colony
I’d prefer something that doesn’t require a huge initial investment
Ideally, it should require relatively low day-to-day involvement
I’m open to unconventional ideas, not just traditional construction/rental options
The goal is to make productive use of the land rather than simply holding it vacant
I’m curious what people in Kochi/Kerala think would actually work in this kind of location.

What would you do with a 6-cent plot like this if you wanted to generate some additional income with a relatively low investment?

I’m particularly interested in ideas that people have actually seen work, rather than theoretical business ideas.

Would appreciate suggestions, experiences, or even ideas that might initially sound unconventional.

P.S. I used ChatGPT to help articulate this post

Was going to build a house and live the homestead life. Life doesn't really go as planned. Now I am looking to improve the land in some way to have it generate some sort of annual income, where I do not NEED to be on site for it to work. I have a primary business but I can take time away from it if this lot turns out to be profitable. Any ideas of what to do with the land? Build an orchard? What does St. George, Utah need? Budget let's say 6 figures just to hear everything out.

I have experience with various levels of real estate in land acquisition. I have found with wholesaling, honing in on a certain niche is a much more effective and systematic approach, rather than being a jack of all trades. As an avid hunter, I’ve noticed the demand for even small to medium size hunting parcels has gone through the roof. Yet there seems to be very low in inventory on these types of properties, and they often go fairly quick, often above market value if they meet desired criteria for habitat diversity and already abundant wildlife.

I believe some of these bigger companies (Whitetail Properties) do a version of this as their business model. But I am curious if anyone has ever went this direction? I imagine one of the obstacles is finding cash-ready or pre-financed buyers. For that reason, I would probably start with smaller tracts of land, while “locking up” a considerable amount of actively seeking buyers.

Can someone tell me some other obstacles or challenges they would anticipate with this niche of wholesaling?

How much was your land purchase over 15 acres? What did you get? Ideally will be looking for over 15 with a pond at a minimum access to electricity

Hi all. Currently have land under my belt and I want to invest in more but this time under opportunity zone. I am wondering if anybody here has experience with it? I’ve been thinking of buying in a certain zone where Airbnbs would be built and operated actively. The area is great for them (lots of nature walks, parks, and paths in the area that people come all over for)

I have a $150k gain I expect to realize in 2027 and thought of using that to fund purchase. Later, will deploy another 200-300k for clearing and building.

We have machinery to clear and my husband knows how to build just about anything. Am I a good candidate for this opportunity zone stuff? Been doing research and still trying to educate myself on it.

I know I’d need an attorney to draft everything. I’m also educating myself on the tax forms and preparation for it.

Looking to buy land in central Florida area. But it's almost impossible. Either insanely expensive, the land is wetland or has a million restrictions.

I just want an acre or two just to put a mobile home on it. That's all 🥲

If anyone knows any tips or tricks to get land at a reasonable price 50k to 100k and thats usable for manufactured home please share. Im even willing to do owner to owner buy.

Hello I would like to get some opinion on a matter that has my head spinning. We currently have an empty lot of 2.56 acres in Texas which we got for 190k back in 2023. We currently owe 129k

We haven’t been able to build because of our current bills. Whenever we were younger we thought it was a smart idea to get vehicles out of a dealership and now we are stuck with 2 truck payments and our mortgage totaling 5k a month.

They are going to start building a high school right in front of the lot I’m sure the value would go up but we need to move out of where we currently live, would it be a good idea to sell the lot pay our debt (cars) and try to get a new land with the remaining ? My credit isn’t the greatest because we have really struggled these last couple of years and I am afraid we won’t get approved to buy anything afterwards.

We live in a first ring suburb of a metro area. 20 years ago a highway right of way came through and a business next door was taken down. Rumor has it that the previous business contaminated the property and that's why it wasn't sold for development. Our family has three properties close and we'd like to consider building a dwelling if it's available, but there's a reason why it hasn't been sold and I don't know how to go about finding out. It seems to be a city/state/county thing and nobody has any idea. Is there a way to find the status of property without expending resources?

This time Im serious about buying so Im paying closer attention to every listing I look at. I will see 10 acres on Zillow or Land.com for a price that seems way to low and my first thought is always what is the catch.

Sometimes nothing is wrong with it, other times the listing left something out. What should I be checking before making an offer on land like this.

I am looking at land in the middle of nowhere. I have the assessor's information, but I have no idea how to turn that into GPS coordinates so I can find where the actual property starts and ends. I don't need to get exact boarders yet, but I do need to be able to be able to go to the land and know mostly which is the land I am looking at.

Edit: Solved, thank you. The GIS map showed the location when I right clicked on the map.

Hey everyone, I'm trying to research a parcel that looks promising for my needs. I know a lot of counties across the country have interactive maps where you can see information on the specific parcel such as ownership, taxes, etc.

I am trying to find a map like that for Pittsburgh and Latimer counties in Oklahoma but have this far been unsuccessful. Is anyone able to point me in the right direction?

There is an owner financed/rent to own plot of land thats a little over 2.5 acres. Ive done alot of research and i think im ready to buy, but my dad says i should be looking for reasons not to buy.

To preface- this is undeveloped land. There is nothing but trees, although the brush is not thick.

So here's a list of all of the qualities of land/things ive checked. Let me know if theres anything that gives a reason to not purchase.

No city water- state records show wells on the surrounding properties to be 100-300ft

Land is sloped

Land is not in a floodzone

Land has not been perc tested, but there are no county restrictions on alternatives waste systems that to not rely on soil already on the lot

Land has no easements, but previous owners acquired an easement for an access road to get onto a main road

It will most likely cost 5k+ for powerlines.

I've looked at the deed history at the county office of deeds- seller matches deed owner

Zoning and codes are not an issue- land is unincorporated and outside of city limits. Permits are only required for electric and septic, all other construction is held only to statewide codes. (Yes i called multiple county offices to verify).

It adds an extra 30 minutes to my commute time to work.

It is within 15 miles of a fire station, i havent checked for hospitals or police stations.

There is no ongoing or planned development nearby.

I think these factors are all something i can live with for the price of the land and do not conflict with my goals, but I'd like some unbiased opinions/anything else i would need to check.