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Wetlands – Uplands How it affects your land purchase in Naples Southwest Florida

Wetlands – Uplands How it affects your land purchase in Naples Southwest Florida

wetlands southwest florida


Looking for a great piece of property – maybe an acre, maybe five acres – to build your dream home, family compound or a small farm-like homestead? Golden Gate Estates might be the perfect location with amazing weather, just a half hour to the Gulf of Mexico, and no HOA fees!

But what does it mean when the land description says wetlands, uplands, or no determination? Wetlands are areas that are either saturated or inundated by surface water or ground water. The frequency and duration of these waters would be sufficient enough to support the type of vegetation that adapts to life in saturated soils. Uplands means that the land can be built upon without the need for build up or payments to the DEP (Department of Environmental Protection). If a listing states no determination, that means that there is no proof or no testing has been done to verify that the land is either wetlands or uplands.

Real Estate agents can easily find out if a determination has been done. If it hasn’t been performed, you can make an offer contingent on the results of a determination. Depending on if a private company, Collier County or the Florida DEP does the testing, it can take between 3 and 4 weeks to get the results – so make sure the inspection period in your contract reflects this extended period of time.

What if the results come back as Wetlands? If the land is 100% wetlands, you will have to pull permits and pay to fill in the portion of the property that you will be using, both to the DEP and for the actual material you are using. Sometimes, this is cost prohibitive. If the land is only partially wetlands, you can build only on the upland area with no financial impact or build on the upland and some of the wetland (and pay the fees on only the area that you develop).

Many parcels of land already have the determination completed and the asking price will be reflective of the results.

Contact Linda Ginsberg to request an updated list of available VACANT LAND in Southwest Florida.

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