Land recommendations for south Florida

[Jaboticaba45]

Hello everyone,
I have a land itch lol. Was really looking into PR land and although it’s cheap it’s a hassle to go visit each time and really hard to find work etc.
I’m looking for some land in FL… and am wondering if anyone has any recommendations.
Basically anywhere from WPB to homestead and pine island.
I would like somewhere where it doesn’t freeze…but I guess that being said, I could go all the way up to PSL.
Looking for 1 to 2 acres ideally, but I know land is super expensive in certain places sooo maybe it’s cooked lol.
I saw some places in Pine Island a couple years back and the land isn’t super expensive compared to other places😭☠️, but am wondering if there’s more spots out east, since most of my friends live on east coast anyways and historically much more hurricanes hit the west coast.
Of course this may be a long project since I’m still a student, but I’m always on the lookout!

[Coconut Cream]

You will get the best bang for your buck in St. Lucie County, probably in the Fort Pierce area. There are still lots of residential lots close to the Intracoastal (aka Indian River) of good size. Other options would be Jupiter Farms, Loxahatchee, The Acreage and then random lots in Palm Beach County that are bigger than average with no HOA. Those are going to be a lot more expensive.

Your best bet for something super cheap is to buy a dumpy old house from the 1920's in Fort Pierce on a half acre lot with an empty lot next door in a foreclosure auction or bank sale. There is no frost here, the ocean currents keep the temps nearly identical to West Palm Beach, and I think we are less prone to hurricanes due to the geography of the St. Lucie River and the way the Florida peninsula bends back in to the west north of Lake Okeechobee.

[Galatians522]

I mentioned this last time you posted, but Indian Town might be a good place to check. It's 35 where I am at this morning with light frost. It's 42 in Indian Town--same temp as PSL. Might be a good compromise between economy and frost free.

[johnb51]

I mentioned this last time you posted, but Indian Town might be a good place to check. It's 35 where I am at this morning with light frost. It's 42 in Indian Town--same temp as PSL. Might be a good compromise between economy and frost free.

They're building subdivisions in Indiantown now.  It's about to be absorbed into Greater West Palm Beach!

[Julian R]

Land prices are absolutely nuts here right now. Hurricanes are an inevitability in FL so pay attention to historical flood maps before grabbing something. You don't need to get directly hit by one for it to ruin your day! I've been trying to find some extra land here in central west fl (Hillsborough county is incredibly freakin' expensive). Been noodling on the idea of grabbing something over in Frostproof since the bang/buck seems decent there. Only thing keeping me from pulling the trigger is the 1hr+ drive.

Since $$$ is always a factor, I wouldn't restrict yourself to coastal areas. If you're around or south of i4 an unheated greenhouse seems to be good enough for most things. A Natural Farm up in Howey-In-The-Hills have a few huge Cacao trees in their greenhouse and in-ground mangoes in their food forest. I've seen many large mangoes in Tavares' micro climate as well. Hollis Garden in Lakeland is another good example with what you can do in a micro climate, I recall seeing in-ground Garcinia and Artocarpus there. So far I've been able to get away with several in-ground garcinia jackfruit and mangoes

[SunshineState]

I can’t speak on east coast land but I purchased land on the west coast similar for tropical fruit farming. I can say on the west coast raw land near the coast where frost is not an issue is probably 150-200k an acre now. Also if you don’t have cash, most bank/credit unions won’t lend you money for raw land, too risky you could just walk away. There are farm credit unions but most of their standards are for acreage larger than a few acres and also don’t loan anywhere near the coast for flooding risks. The few banks that do lend for raw land will charge probably 8-9 percent interest right now.

Your best bet may to find land with a house on it if you need a loan. Or if you are looking for a cheaper off the wall idea, don’t look for coastal land but look at topography. There are ridges in central Florida and lots of lakes where it stays much warmer than most of central Florida. Look Lakeland area for the higher elevation. Land would be drastically cheaper in those areas

[RS]

Been noodling on the idea of grabbing something over in Frostproof since the bang/buck seems decent there.

I visited that area over the holidays and was surprised to see some mango, dragon fruit and guava orchards. Nice to see something other than houses replacing the old citrus groves.

Jaboticaba45, another option might be to consider leasing land or partnering with a smaller nursery to help maintain the plants if you won't be there regularly. A nursery near me used to do this, you could rent a plot and use their water/irrigation. No other bills, maintenance, mowing etc.

[Jaboticaba45]

Thanks for the recommendations everyone!
I'll take a look around Indiantown and PSL...just a brief search definitely shows it is cheaper than the surrounding areas!
Such a shame you can buy 10 acres here for the price of 1 in FL
But even 1 acre in FL would increase my growing capacity by 70 times the size of my greenhouse which is really nice.

[RS]

Indiantown and Port St Lucie are forecast to be in the upper 20's/low 30's this weekend. Even Homestead is showing 33 currently.

I was looking because I'm just sick at the thought of losing so many plants here north of Orlando, low 20's with windchill in the teens Will see what survives! A lake microclimate always helps.

[nullzero]

If you looking at PSL focus on areas near the river and east of the 95 and turnpike. Your more likely to find a better deal on a double lot at .5 acre.

[Coconut Cream]

For $280K you get a decent house on a 1/3 acre lot that would fit a good number of trees. The house is in a decent section of Port St. Lucie, close to US-1 and right next to an amazing park on the St. Lucie River. The I-95 exit at St Lucie West Blvd runs right to it with all the major amenities along the way.

https://redf.in/j2OhmE

While far from perfect, the value for money is pretty solid at that price. I don't think you'll find anything better for the money in a location where you can grow mangoes.

[BloomAndSprout]

If you're going to get land make sure you can get a job or have that taken care of close enough... Due to AI, I no longer have a hirable skill set, am consigned to manual labor jobs due to lack of connections, and therefore will never have the means to so much own a greenhouse and my big lofty almost-impossible audacious "American Dream" is owning a trailer on an acreage of rocky land. Anywhere I could get land, there doesn't seem to be any jobs anywhere anymore to support the costs of owning it. Land may be relatively "cheap" but there may be no work anywhere nearby ...

I've thought about this topic a lot myself and I concluded FL was out the the picture for my situation. Good luck, let us hope property prices crash and some baby boomers are forced to sell a third or fourth home ... Property prices are insane... This should not be acceptable...

[Galatians522]

If you're going to get land make sure you can get a job or have that taken care of close enough... Due to AI, I no longer have a hirable skill set, am consigned to manual labor jobs due to lack of connections, and therefore will never have the means to so much own a greenhouse and my big lofty almost-impossible audacious "American Dream" is owning a trailer on an acreage of rocky land. Anywhere I could get land, there doesn't seem to be any jobs anywhere anymore to support the costs of owning it. Land may be relatively "cheap" but there may be no work anywhere nearby ...

I've thought about this topic a lot myself and I concluded FL was out the the picture for my situation. Good luck, let us hope property prices crash and some baby boomers are forced to sell a third or fourth home ... Property prices are insane... This should not be acceptable...

That is a real bummer man. I know this is off topic, and I apologize, but I have this terrible habit of actually caring about people.    I have thought about what I would do if my job were no longer necessary. Two jobs that have surprisingly good pay with minimal training are CDL driving and Lineman work for the electric company. One of my co-workers has a son who went into long haul trucking. He works some long hours when he is on, but can make what I would call good money. Linemen start at about $70k--however, there is the risk of being killed every day if you do something dumb. As a last ditch option I would apply for work as a waiter at a good restaurant--they always need help and the total pay package can be surprisingly good, but you have to be good with people and have a good establishment to work for. All the best to you man.

[Coconut Cream]

Every HOA I know is frustrated with their property management company or the reps they have to deal with. New neighborhoods are going up everywhere that have multiple layers of governance including CDDs. You can get into property management with minimal training and start your own business or join an existing company. Demand is high and it's easy to break in. I also know people in the business that just manage a few winter homes for rich snowbird clients. If you have accounting experience or construction experience there are specific demands for that within property owner associations.

If you are able bodied and can pilot a boat, you can find work maintaining boats for clients who are not here in the off-season. The boats need to be taken out regularly, serviced, and looked after. You don't have to do the actual hands-on maintenance yourself, just take the boat where it needs to go for service. You should get a captain license but that's not hard. I know a guy that does this and he loves it. Another option if you are a boat guy is marine salvage - a huge industry but might require more physical labor. You also have the option of working for a cruise line (ports in WPB & Miami) or as a private yacht crew member (different roles available).

Florida Power & Light is hiring near me, and I think so is the Fish & Game Police. So, lots of opportunity in Florida for any skill set.

[Nick C]

If you're going to get land make sure you can get a job or have that taken care of close enough... Due to AI, I no longer have a hirable skill set, am consigned to manual labor jobs due to lack of connections, and therefore will never have the means to so much own a greenhouse and my big lofty almost-impossible audacious "American Dream" is owning a trailer on an acreage of rocky land. Anywhere I could get land, there doesn't seem to be any jobs anywhere anymore to support the costs of owning it. Land may be relatively "cheap" but there may be no work anywhere nearby ...

I've thought about this topic a lot myself and I concluded FL was out the the picture for my situation. Good luck, let us hope property prices crash and some baby boomers are forced to sell a third or fourth home ... Property prices are insane... This should not be acceptable...

That is a real bummer man. I know this is off topic, and I apologize, but I have this terrible habit of actually caring about people.    I have thought about what I would do if my job were no longer necessary. Two jobs that have surprisingly good pay with minimal training are CDL driving and Lineman work for the electric company. One of my co-workers has a son who went into long haul trucking. He works some long hours when he is on, but can make what I would call good money. Linemen start at about $70k--however, there is the risk of being killed every day if you do something dumb. As a last ditch option I would apply for work as a waiter at a good restaurant--they always need help and the total pay package can be surprisingly good, but you have to be good with people and have a good establishment to work for. All the best to you man.

Getting a CDL is definitely a smart move. With all the endorsements as well

[Francis_Eric]

I do not know What to say with these comments
I did not read
Coconut Cream seems good

I will say

City data has good Info

I do not have any thing to gain , but I know this could maybe help

Dang males population 9.1 percent females (90.1

Good goin g



https://www.city-data.com/city/Pine-Island-Florida.html

[Francis_Eric]

I know My post seems like a joke , but It may be good to see the population area , and the cancer/ crime rates etc.

[Francis_Eric]

I can’t speak on east coast land but I purchased land on the west coast similar for tropical fruit farming. I can say on the west coast raw land near the coast where frost is not an issue is probably 150-200k an acre now. Also if you don’t have cash, most bank/credit unions won’t lend you money for raw land, too risky you could just walk away. There are farm credit unions but most of their standards are for acreage larger than a few acres and also don’t loan anywhere near the coast for flooding risks. The few banks that do lend for raw land will charge probably 8-9 percent interest right now.

Your best bet may to find land with a house on it if you need a loan. Or if you are looking for a cheaper off the wall idea, don’t look for coastal land but look at topography. There are ridges in central Florida and lots of lakes where it stays much warmer than most of central Florida. Look Lakeland area for the higher elevation. Land would be drastically cheaper in those areas

Hey I am listening to  Black Sabbath Heaven, and Hell
Right when I read your post I heard _____WALK AWAY_____(WALK AWAY SONG )

[Coconut Cream]

Here is a property with almost 1 full acre of land in Fort Pierce, with a house and swimming pool already on it for under $400K.  At 2700 square feet, this is one of the bigger homes in the area, most are built under 2000SF. Fair warning, this area froze this winter but it's still viable for a nice big tropical food forest. It's tucked away in a secluded area, but still close to access 95 and the turnpike. Something like this in Jupiter Farms would be double or triple the price.

https://www.redfin.com/FL/Fort-Pierce/5742-Briargate-Ln-34981/home/139314298

5742 Briargate Ln, Fort Pierce, FL 34981

[BloomAndSprout]

It's tucked away in a secluded area,

If growing things that's a good thing given people's penchant for fruit scrumping in openly visible areas.

[Jaboticaba45]

Thanks for the update!

[Coconut Cream]

Here's another one, more of a fixer upper, on 0.38 acres, much further East in Fort Pierce. Only $150K but it's a very old historic frame construction home that needs a lot of work. It's on a trough street called Sunrise that gets a good bit of traffic. Still, if you need something entry level on a tight budget to move to Florida and grow tropical fruit, here you go:

https://redf.in/VJUk2v

2606 Sunrise Blvd, Fort Pierce FL 34982

Check out that sandy soil!