# Paying for land

> Cash, land loans and seller financing in general terms, Florida's taxes on each, the agricultural classification and carrying costs.

Source: https://moorerealtyapopka.com/academy/land-buyers-field-course/paying-for-land/ · Last updated 2026-11-12 · Robert Moore, Broker/Owner, Moore Realty Group, Inc. · 352-504-6371

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- Paying for land

Lesson 04 of 05 · 7 min

# Paying for land

Cash, land loans and seller financing in general terms, Florida's taxes on each, the agricultural classification and carrying costs.

The point

Land is harder to finance than a house, so many purchases are cash or seller-financed. Whichever you use, price the holding cost. Vacant land has no homestead exemption and earns nothing until you put it to use.

## Cash

Cash is the simplest structure: no lender appraisal, no loan approval deadline and no tax on a note. You still pay for the survey, the feasibility work and your share of title and recording.

## Land loans, in general terms

Lenders treat raw land as riskier than a finished home. In general that means a larger down payment, a shorter term and a higher rate than a home mortgage, plus questions about access, the survey and your plan to build.

Terms vary too much by lender and parcel to quote, and this course does not publish land loan rates. Get written quotes from a local bank, a credit union and a farm lender for the same parcel on the same day.

## Seller financing basics

In a seller-financed sale the seller is the lender. You sign a promissory note and a mortgage, the mortgage is recorded, and you pay the seller. The down payment, rate, term and any balloon payment are all negotiated. Close it through a title company or attorney, and have them confirm no existing mortgage on the land is left unpaid.

Florida's taxes apply to a recorded seller-held mortgage exactly as they do to a bank loan.

State taxes on a $250,000 land purchase with $50,000 down and a $200,000 seller-held mortgage, Florida rates in effect November 2026

| Tax | Math | Amount | Paid by custom |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Documentary stamps on the deed | 2,500 hundreds at $0.70 | $1,750.00 | Seller |
| Documentary stamps on the note | 2,000 hundreds at $0.35 | $700.00 | Buyer |
| Intangible tax on the mortgage | 0.2% of $200,000 | $400.00 | Buyer |
| Total |  | $2,850.00 |  |

On a cash sale only the deed tax is due.

## The agricultural classification

Florida assesses land used for "bona fide agricultural purposes" on its agricultural use, not its market value. The statute, s. 193.461, defines that as good faith commercial agricultural use of the land. The return is due by March 1 each year.

The property appraiser may weigh how long and how continuously the land has been in that use, the price paid, its size for that use, how it is cared for, and any lease. The statute says a minimum acreage may not be required, and that land diverted to another use is reclassified.

So this is a classification for working land, not a discount for owning acreage. If the seller has it, ask the county property appraiser what you would need to do to keep it.

## Worked example: the holding cost

Without that classification, vacant land is taxed on its assessed value with no homestead exemption. Inside Apopka city limits the 2026 rate is 16.0079 mills. On $250,000 of taxable value, 250 times $16.0079 is $4,001.98 a year, or about $333 a month.

Non-homestead assessed value can rise up to 10% a year through 2026 for non-school taxes. Amendment 3 would lower that cap to 5% from 2027, pending the implementing law. A sale resets it to market value.

Watch for

A balloon payment. A note that comes due in a few years assumes you can refinance or pay it off by then. Decide now how you would.

## Before the next lesson

- Enter a lender's quoted rate and term in the [land calculator](https://moorerealtyapopka.com/tools/land-calculator/).
- Estimate the annual tax on the parcel with the [property tax estimator](https://moorerealtyapopka.com/tools/property-tax/), homestead switched off.
- Ask the county property appraiser whether the parcel carries an agricultural classification now.

Sources: [Florida Department of Revenue, documentary stamp tax](https://floridarevenue.com/taxes/taxesfees/Pages/doc_stamp.aspx), [Florida Department of Revenue, nonrecurring intangible tax](https://floridarevenue.com/taxes/taxesfees/Pages/nonrecurring_intangible_tax.aspx), [s. 193.461, F.S. (agricultural classification)](https://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0100-0199/0193/Sections/0193.461.html), [Orange County final 2026 millage](https://ocpaimages.ocpafl.org/api/Content/GetContentDynamicFile?contentFileID=418587). Checked November 2026.

  What are the documentary stamps on a $200,000 seller-held note?