Guide · Land
Florida vacant land due diligence: what to check on the map before you offer
Before an offer on Florida land, check nine things on the parcel: who owns it and what it sold for, its zoning and future land use, its flood zone, its wetlands, its soils, whether it is on septic or sewer, the lie of the land, and any conservation easement. All of them are public, from the county, the state and federal agencies. What no map settles is legal access, a survey and a wetland determination.
The nine checks
| Check | What it tells you | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Owner and mailing address | Who to write to, and whether they live out of state | The county property appraiser |
| 2. Sales on record | What it last sold for, when, and how long it has been held | The county's sales file |
| 3. Zoning | What may be built today | The county or city zoning map |
| 4. Future land use | What the comprehensive plan allows, and at what density | The county or city comprehensive plan |
| 5. Flood zone | Whether it is in the 100-year floodplain | FEMA's flood maps |
| 6. Wetlands | How much of the lot may be wet | USFWS National Wetlands Inventory |
| 7. Soils | Drainage, hydric soils, what septic may face | USDA NRCS soil survey |
| 8. Septic or sewer, well or utility | What the parcel uses, or what its neighbours use | Florida Department of Health inventory |
| 9. Contours and easements | High and low ground; land held for conservation | FDEM LiDAR contours; the conservation easement records |
Zoning and future land use are two different maps
Zoning says what can be built now. The future land use map, part of each county's and city's comprehensive plan, says what the plan intends, and a rezoning has to fit it. A lot zoned agricultural with a residential future land use can often be rezoned; one with a conservation land use rarely can. Read both, then call the planning department with the parcel ID.
On our map, 10,776,730 of Florida's 11,090,226 parcels have a future land use, and 9,479,596 have a zoning code, in 46 of the 67 counties. Where we show no zoning, the county's or city's own zoning map has it.
Flood and wetlands are separate checks
A lot can be in flood zone X and still be partly wetland: the flood map does not show wetlands. 1,491,432 Florida parcels touch a mapped wetland, and 367,028 are half wetland or more. The National Wetlands Inventory is a first look, not a jurisdictional determination: before you build, an environmental consultant or the water management district decides where the wetland line is.
Soils and septic decide what a rural lot can hold
Most rural Florida lots need a septic system. The soil survey's map unit tells you the soil's drainage and whether it is hydric (formed under wet conditions), which a septic permit has to work around. The Department of Health's inventory records what each parcel uses for wastewater and drinking water, known or likely: if the neighbours are all on septic and wells, plan for both. A soil map is not a perc test; the county health department's site evaluation is.
What the map does not settle
- Legal access. Frontage on a road on the map is not a recorded right of way. A title search answers it.
- The boundary. Parcel lines on any map are drawn from the county's records, not surveyed. A survey sets the corners.
- The wetland line. As above, a determination, not a map.
All nine on one parcel
Map Views covers every parcel in all 67 counties, 1,274,921 of them vacant residential lots. Open one and the report shows the owner, the sales, zoning, future land use, the flood zone, the wetlands' share of the lot, the soil, sewer or septic, and any conservation easement; the contours, soils and wetlands draw over the map or an aerial. Write a note on the parcel as you go, and read it again from your phone at the site.
Every layer is public data as its agency published it. Check what a decision rests on with the county, the agency or a professional.