Land acquisition
Land acquisition for development in Texas and Florida
What Marques sources
The right land for the product
A good lot is defined by what you plan to build. An infill lot that suits two duplex units may be wrong for a townhome row; a tract that works for build-to-rent may not support the price point of a for-sale community. Marques starts with your product, your budget and your submarket, then looks for land that fits all three.
Opportunities come through owner, developer and builder relationships across Houston and Central Florida, including land that is not publicly marketed. As with every off-market opportunity, details are shared privately with the builder or investor whose criteria it meets.
Feasibility checklist
- Survey and title: boundaries, easements, encroachments and any liens or exceptions on the title commitment.
- Deed restrictions and land use: what the parcel may be used for, setbacks and minimum lot sizes, and in Florida the city or county zoning.
- Utilities: water, wastewater and power at the property line, and whether there is capacity for the units you plan.
- Drainage and detention: what the jurisdiction will require for new impervious cover.
- Flood designation: the FEMA flood zone and any local floodplain rules that affect elevation or cost.
- Access and platting: frontage, driveway rules, and whether a replat or subdivision is needed.
- Environmental: prior uses that could call for a Phase I environmental review.
General guidance only. Engage your own surveyor, title company, engineer and attorney for every acquisition.
Houston and Central Florida play by different rules
The City of Houston has no conventional zoning. Use is shaped instead by deed restrictions, lot size and setback rules and other ordinances, so feasibility in Houston is a parcel by parcel question. Outside the city limits, utility districts and county rules come into play.
Florida cities and counties use zoning and future land use designations, and a site's entitlements can matter as much as its price. In both states, the question is the same: can your product be built here, on your schedule and budget? The builder lot acquisition guide goes deeper on Houston.
Questions
Land questions
Do you source land for investors as well as builders?
What size of land do you work with?
Can you help sell finished homes built on the land?
Private deal list
Get first look at the next off-market opportunity
Join the private deal list. New construction and off-market opportunities across Houston and Central Florida reach the list before they are shared anywhere else, with the numbers up front and the full address and pro forma on request.
Addresses and pro formas are shared privately, never broadcast.