Sell Land in Florida for Cash | Free Parcel Review

Our status in Florida

Florida is one of our active markets, confirmed on our markets page on October 15, 2026. We look at each Florida parcel on its own, and an inquiry is never a promise to buy. When we do make an offer, the contract says whether TechStack Consulting LLC, the company behind StraightAcre, is buying for its own account or will assign the contract to a buyer we have already vetted.

Florida’s license law does not apply to an entity that sells its own real property (section 475.011(2)), and the broker definition in section 475.01 covers people who act for another for compensation. No Florida statute names contract assignment, so if any buyer tells you a contract may be assigned, ask who the end buyer is and whether the assignment fee is written down. Your money reaches you at closing through a licensed Florida title agency, never through us.

Find the parcel and the county offices

Each Florida county has an elected property appraiser whose record identifies the parcel, an elected tax collector who holds the bill, and a clerk of court who records deeds. Search the appraiser by owner name or parcel number, save the parcel ID and legal description, then check the collector for unpaid years and the clerk for the last recorded deed. The appraiser’s just, assessed, and taxable values are tax figures, not a sale price; we use them to confirm we are looking at the same land, not to set an offer.

The five counties below hold Florida’s largest inventories of platted vacant lots, which is where most of our Florida inquiries come from. The Lee County and Marion County sites refuse automated requests, so open those links in a normal browser.

Find the parcel and the county offices
County	Property appraiser	Tax collector	Clerk (deeds)	Planning	GIS	Flood
Lee	Lee PA	Lee tax collector	Official records	Community development	Lee GIS	Floodplain management
Charlotte	Charlotte PA	Charlotte tax collector	Clerk of court	Community development	Charlotte GIS	Flood information
Polk	Polk PA	Polk tax collector	Clerk of court	Land development	Polk GIS	Floodplain management
Marion	Marion PA	Marion tax collector	Clerk of court	Growth services	Marion GIS	Flood resources
Citrus	Citrus PA	Citrus tax collector	Clerk of court	Growth management	Citrus GIS	Floodplain

Back taxes, tax certificates, and redemption

Florida property taxes are due November 1 and become delinquent on April 1 of the following year, or 60 days after the tax notice is mailed, whichever is later (section 197.333). Delinquent taxes carry interest at 18 percent a year, with a 3 percent minimum charge (section 197.172).

Florida is a tax certificate state. The tax collector sells a certificate on each delinquent parcel to the bidder who demands the lowest interest rate (section 197.432). That certificate is a lien. It is not a deed, and the holder does not own your land. Once two years have passed since April 1 of the year the certificate was issued, the holder can apply for a tax deed, and the clerk of court then auctions the parcel to the highest bidder (sections 197.502 and 197.542).

You can redeem a certificate at any time after it issues and before a tax deed issues, by paying the tax collector the face amount plus interest, with a 5 percent minimum unless the winning bid was zero (section 197.472). After the clerk has received full payment and the tax deed issues, that window is closed. A sale through a title agency can pay off certificates from your proceeds. A scheduled tax deed sale is different: get a written payoff from the collector and call a Florida attorney the same day. Our back-taxes guide walks through what to send us.

Inherited land and who can sign

When the owner of record has died, the first question is who has authority to sign a deed. If the will gives the personal representative a power of sale, the representative can sell without a court order. Without a will, or without that power, no title passes until the probate court authorizes or confirms the sale (section 733.613).

Florida offers summary administration when the estate subject to administration is worth $150,000 or less, or when the decedent has been dead for more than two years (section 735.201). Without a will, a surviving spouse takes the whole estate when there are no descendants or every descendant is shared, and one-half otherwise (section 732.102). Heirs who co-own after an estate closes all have to sign.

The title agency, not the buyer, decides which papers it needs before it will insure, so send the death certificate, the will, and any letters of administration with your inquiry. Two questions to settle early: has every co-owner agreed to sell, and is any share held in a trust? See selling inherited land and selling with multiple owners.

Closing practice and costs

Florida closings run through licensed title insurance agencies, which may act as escrow agent for the money, must keep it in an escrow account at a Florida financial institution, and must keep separate records of what comes in and goes out (section 626.8473). We did not find a statute that requires a lawyer at a Florida closing, and you can hire one to read the contract and the settlement statement whenever you like.

A Florida deed has to be signed in front of two subscribing witnesses (section 689.01), and to be recorded it must show the printed names and post office addresses of each signer, each witness, the grantee, and the person who prepared it (section 695.26). Documentary stamp tax on the deed is 70 cents per $100 of price, or 60 cents plus a 45 cent surtax in Miami-Dade County, paid to the clerk at recording; every party to the deed is liable for it no matter who agrees to pay (section 201.02). Our contracts say who pays. Before you sign anything, ask who prepares the deed, which kind of deed it is (warranty, special warranty, or quitclaim), and for a written estimate of net proceeds. The closing guide covers the sequence.

Land use, flood zones, and wetlands

Florida counties and cities adopt comprehensive plans, and every development order they issue has to be consistent with the plan (section 163.3194). Your parcel’s future land use designation and its zoning together decide what can be built, so ask the planning office for both. A plat or replat must be administratively approved before it can be recorded (section 177.071), which means a split takes more than a new deed.

If the parcel has no road frontage, Florida recognizes an implied way of necessity where the land was cut off when it was split from a common owner, and a statutory way of necessity for hemmed-in land used, or wanted, for a dwelling, agriculture, timber, or stock (section 704.01). Neither is automatic, and confirming the route can take a court.

Check the FEMA Map Service Center for the flood zone, then the county floodplain office for local map changes. Dredging, filling, or building in wetlands or surface waters needs an environmental resource permit from the Department of Environmental Protection or the water management district, and the applicant has to show the work is not contrary to the public interest (section 373.414). Agricultural classification requires a return by March 1 and good-faith commercial agricultural use; offering the land for sale does not end it, but a change in use does (section 193.461). Our guide on selling land in a flood zone explains what a zone means for price.

Questions Florida sellers ask

Do you buy platted lots in Lehigh Acres, Port Charlotte, or Poinciana?

Yes, those subdivisions produce many of our Florida inquiries. We check access, utilities, flood zone, wetlands, and tax status for each lot before we decide whether to make an offer, and we say so in writing either way.

Can I sell Florida land that has a tax certificate on it?

Usually. The certificate is a lien, and the title agency pays it off from your proceeds at closing. If a tax deed application has already been filed, get a payoff from the tax collector and talk to a Florida attorney before you do anything else.

Is there a redemption period after a Florida tax deed sale?

The redemption right described in section 197.472 runs until the tax deed issues. We did not find a statute giving the former owner a right to redeem after the deed issues, so treat the tax deed sale date as the real deadline.

Do I need a Florida attorney to sell vacant land?

The statutes we read do not require one; licensed title agencies handle closings and hold the money. You can hire a lawyer to review the contract and the closing statement, and we encourage it when an estate or co-owners are involved.

Who pays the documentary stamp tax on the deed?

Section 201.02 makes every party to the deed liable for it, and our contract states which side pays. Ask for that line in writing before you sign, together with an estimate of your net proceeds.

My parent owned the lot and died without a will. Can I sell it?

Not until someone has authority to sign. Without a will, no title passes until the probate court authorizes or confirms the sale (section 733.613), although a small or older estate may qualify for summary administration (section 735.201). Send us the death certificate and we will tell you what the title agency is likely to ask for.

What if my parcel has no legal access to a road?

Tell us. Section 704.01 recognizes implied and statutory ways of necessity, but confirming one can require a court, and a landlocked parcel is priced accordingly. Our guide on selling landlocked land explains the options.

Sources

Statutes are the 2026 Florida Statutes as published by the Florida Legislature, read on October 21, 2026. County links were opened the same day.

Tell us about your land in Florida

Send what you know about the parcel and your situation. You can start without a parcel number. Submitting this inquiry does not commit you to sell.