Owner Financing Terms For Land

[Robere Istatia]

Hey Everyone,

I’m looking for guidance on structuring an owner‑financing deal for a small land sale (~$17k). I need to draft a contract for my buyer, but I have a few concerns:

1. 1)If the property stays in my name during financing, I want to avoid being liable for any county fines or fees the buyer might incur while living on the land. Is there a way to protect myself from this?
2. 2)I was advised to use a promissory note, transfer the deed to the buyer, and record a mortgage lien. My concern is the cost: creating the mortgage + potential foreclosure + dealing with county violations could run $7k–$11k on a $17k property. That margin feels risky.

Has anyone structured owner‑financed land deals like this? How did you protect yourself from county fines and keep legal costs manageable?

Any help is appreciated!! Bonus points if it applies to FL!!

[Chris Seveney]

1. Doesn't work that way - you stay on title you get fined. You can have the borrower responsible but good luck suing them to get them to deal with it. This is done via contract for deed is how it's typical done - that's the risk

2. this is traditional method and you are correct, if you are in a judicial state you will pay a lot to foreclose and take a lot of time. This is the risk with having a note and mortgage

up to you to determine which risk you want to deal with, also make sure if you do a cfd you don't still have to foreclose on the asset - as now you combined both levels of risk

if it was me on vacant land, I would do a cfd assuming you don't have to foreclose - a violation for cutting grass a lot cheaper than foreclosing