Weston FL Real Estate Blog-The Real Deal: Did you ever hear the joke about buying swamp-land in South Florida?"....Well the jokes on you!

Did you ever hear the joke about buying swamp-land in South Florida?"....Well the jokes on you!

I remember back in the 70's when I lived in NY....there was always this talk about the little joke about buying swamp-land in Florida. You know what I'm talking about.....right? I would always hear...."and I have some swamp-land I want to sell you in Florida" Well...if I look back now and if I knew then what I know now....I would have been a millionaire.

I have a client who owns about 30 acres around my area. I sold one of his homes a few years ago and after the transaction we became fast friends. After the closing I found out he owned that acreage and I told him that if he ever was interested in selling that I would love to help him.

About 6 months after we talked he called me to let me know that he still wasn't planning on anything but he asked me if I would be interested in selling a small parcel for him. He wasn't even sure I could complete this transaction due to the fact it was a bit of a unique deal.

Here is the deal....he had a neighbor who owned 10 acres next to him. The neighbor owned the land and wanted to either develop it and build about a 10 homes on it. The problem was that he couldn't get to the land unless he flew a helicopter there. Why? ...Because it was landlocked...he had no road access and he was fighting for years with the city to get access. The city could not help him and none of the neighbors would allow access through their properties. There were many agents who were trying to find the missing link but never could find the solution.

My broker at the time knew about this land and also couldn't find anyone who would buy it unless there was access. Little did she know but I had the secret. My client had a road and was willing to give access.....but for a price. To make a long story short....I managed to put a deal together with both parties to allow access and the neighbor sold the property to a developer a few years ago for a nice price.

During this time my client was telling me a bit of history about his family and how his late father owned many acres of land around the area. Just to let you know...I live in the everglades and the everglades are considered the swamps. He told me that back in the 60's his father had picked up a few hundred acres for about $500 an acre. Yes...you heard that right... FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS AN ACRE!

At the time were were working together that lands value was at about $500,000 an acre...yes...that's right....FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND AN ACRE! I almost fell off my seat...I was so jealous...I said.....Dam! I was born at the wrong time!...now when people mention that joke I was talking about I start to cringe at what could have been if I knew then what I know now...even though I was too young and wasn't even living here.....I still think about how much land I could have owned here when there was so much to go around. Nowadays there isn't much room.

Today as I drive up and down the freeway I see developers buying every little hole...every little blade of grass just to fit some sort of structure on it.

I'm still waiting for the day for my freind and client to call me and say 'Let's develope the land and sell the parcels off.

Isn't it amazing how much South Florida has evolved since then?

For more information please contact Neal The Real Deal Bloom-Realtor® /Remax Hometown