Owner Financing Terms For Land

Jacksonville, Florida
Buying & Selling Real Estate
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Owner Financing Terms For Land

Robere Istatia
Accountant · Jacksonville, FL · Member since 2015 · 33 posts · 7 votes

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!!

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Chris SeveneyBusiness Member
Moderator
Investor · VA · Member since 2015 · 21k+ posts · 19k+ votes
3mo

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 

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  • James Mc Ree
    Rental Property Investor · Malvern, PA · Member since 2016 · 1k+ posts · 934 votes
    3mo

    Reading between the lines, I get the impression your knowledge in this space is very thin. You are right to be concerned.

    You should hire a real estate attorney to assistyou. They will cost a little bit, much less than the mistakes you might make going forward without expertise at your side.

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  • Chris SeveneyBusiness Member
    Moderator
    Investor · VA · Member since 2015 · 21k+ posts · 19k+ votes
    3mo

    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 

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    • Robere Istatia
      OP
      Accountant · Jacksonville, FL · Member since 2015 · 33 posts · 7 votes
      3mo
      Quote from @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 

       Thank you Chris,

      If I were to structure this as a cfd, and the buyer ended up in a situation where I needed to take back control of the property due to non‑payment or county issues, would foreclosure be the only legal method to regain possession? Is there a way were I could just evict them if anything happens? 

      I think if I create a rent to own contract I can evict them if any fines arise. They would technically be renters and I would have a rental agreement with them. Do you think that would be better than a cfd? This way I would retain ownership and if I would need to remove them I would do an eviction rather than a foreclosure, that would help with costs and speed. Any thoughts would be much appreciated. 

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    • Chris SeveneyBusiness Member
      Moderator
      Investor · VA · Member since 2015 · 21k+ posts · 19k+ votes
      3mo
      Quote from @Robere Istatia:
      Quote from @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 

       Thank you Chris,

      If I were to structure this as a cfd, and the buyer ended up in a situation where I needed to take back control of the property due to non‑payment or county issues, would foreclosure be the only legal method to regain possession? Is there a way were I could just evict them if anything happens? 

      I think if I create a rent to own contract I can evict them if any fines arise. They would technically be renters and I would have a rental agreement with them. Do you think that would be better than a cfd? This way I would retain ownership and if I would need to remove them I would do an eviction rather than a foreclosure, that would help with costs and speed. Any thoughts would be much appreciated. 


      That depends on the state, if it is florida, you must foreclose on a CFD, so in florida a CFD basically does no benefit for you based on my experience unless laws have changed

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