Land Purchasing Specifications

Developed lots, ready to build on, are hard to find, but preferred. Areas:  Land located within the USDA service areas of Hillsborough, Pasco , Manatee, and Polk Counties is generally eligible.  Acceptable land is generally located in the non-urban areas of the county.  Maps are provided to show acceptable areas. 

Hillsborough County is our first priority. The following USDA website will identify eligibility of a specific site:   http://eligibility.sc.egov.usda.gov/eligibility/mainservlet

Size of Parcels:  If raw land, 10 -100 acres of contiguous land is desired.  If developed lots, a minimum of 16 scattered lots within a one mile radius are acceptable.  One hundred plus developed lots would be very desirable.

Zoning:  Land should have current or future zoning of 3 to 6 units per acre.  Zoning must be in place before closing.  We can  do the zoning, often under the seller’s name.  

Utilities:  Water, sewer, electric and phone are almost always preferred.  We may build a lift station depending on the size of the project.  We may run water from a distance, if economically feasible.

Access:  Sites must be accessible by public county maintained and paved roads.  Depending on the site, we could do a small amount of paving to access the site.

Wetlands:  A very small, limited amount of wetlands may be acceptable, depending on the site, unless wetlands can be used to gain density.

Closings:  As with many large commercial parcels, we must go through a variety of issues prior to closing.  Buyer’s contract to be utilized.  A federal environmental release is usually required, and this is done by our agency.  Closing can often take six-nine months from contract.

Brokers:  commissions are honored and can be negotiated.

For More Info:  Call Earl A. Pfeiffer, Executive Director at 813-672-7860 x 242; or email Earl.