Course · Lesson 4 of 8
Reading a parcel before you bid
Run the checks that decide most deals before the auction opens.
Most bad buys are decided before the auction opens. Work this list on every parcel, and walk away from any you can't finish.
- Read the whole tax deed file on the clerk's site.
- Pull the Property Appraiser's record and map.
- Look at the land itself: road, wetlands, shape and access.
- Read the zoning across the whole parcel, not one spot on it.
- Ask what it takes to build, and get the conditions from the county or city.
- Search code enforcement separately. Local government liens can survive the deed.
One lot, two zones
Zoning isn't always one answer. My DeBary lot on the city's map carries R-4 and RC, Resource Corridor, on the same parcel. If you only check the center of that lot, you read one zone and miss the other. The lot next door has the same two zones and a house on it, which told me more than the label did.
"Buildable" is a question, not a fact
The county has told me that some of my smaller lots are buildable under certain conditions. A lot under the zoning's minimum size can still be built on if it qualifies, and it can also be a lot you can never build on. Only the county or city can tell you which, so call before you bid.
A warning sign
When a county's value sits far below similar lots nearby, it's often a parcel you can't build on. Cheap land usually has a reason.
Do this now
Take the parcel from Lesson 2 through all six checks. Call the zoning office with one question, and write down the answer.
Check yourself
Why check zoning across the whole parcel?
A lot can carry two zones, and a single point on the map shows only one.
Who decides whether an undersized lot can be built on?
The county or city. Ask them, and get the conditions.