I Sell Dirt for a Living (And Honestly, It’s the Best Job in Florida) By Juliana Scolari | Golden Ridge Partners

Let me just say it before you do: yes, I sell dirt.

Undeveloped land. Raw acreage. Patches of Putnam County, Florida that currently have more palmetto bushes than people. And I love every square foot of it.

People hear “undeveloped land” and picture some swampy patch behind a gas station. So let me paint you a better picture. Putnam County sits right in the heart of Central Florida. You’re about an hour from the beaches. An hour from Orlando. Close enough to civilization that you can grab a Publix sub whenever you want, but far enough away that nobody is going to build a Walmart on top of your sunset view.

And the price? That’s the part where people stop chewing their food and stare at me.

What .22 Acres Actually Looks Like

Let me put this in perspective for you. The average apartment in America is about 900 square feet. That’s roughly .02 acres. You are paying $1,500 to $2,000 a month to exist inside .02 acres that somebody else owns, with walls so thin you can hear your neighbor’s opinion about last night’s game.

A .22 acre lot in Putnam County is roughly ten times the size of your apartment. That’s nearly 10,000 square feet of land that belongs to you. Not your landlord. Not your HOA president who sends passive aggressive emails about your trash cans. You.

And it costs $249 down and $199 a month.

I’ll wait while you do the math on what you spent at Target last weekend.

“But Juliana, What Would I Even Do With It?”

Oh, I get this question a lot. And I love it because the answers are so much more fun than people expect.

Some folks buy land in Putnam County as a weekend escape. No reservations. No “quiet hours” enforced by a guy named Doug in a golf cart.

Some folks buy it because they want to build eventually. Florida has some of the most flexible building codes in the country for rural land. A .22 acre lot gives you room for a small home, a garden, maybe a shed for all those tools you keep promising yourself you’ll organize.

And some folks? They just want to own something real. Something that isn’t a subscription, an app, or a monthly fee that goes up every year for no reason. Land doesn’t send you push notifications. Land doesn’t raise its rent. Land just sits there, quietly appreciating in value, being land.

Why Putnam County Is Florida’s Best Kept Secret

I’m going to be honest with you. Putnam County is not Miami. It’s not Orlando. It’s not some glamorous coastal town with $14 smoothies and parking meters that charge by the minute.

And that’s exactly why it works.

Putnam County is where regular people can still afford to own land in the state of Florida without selling a kidney or winning a scratch off. The cost of living is low. Property taxes on undeveloped land are almost comically affordable. And because most investors are too busy fighting over lots in Tampa and Jacksonville, Putnam County stays under the radar.

For now.

Spoiler alert: it won’t stay this cheap forever. Florida’s population grows by about 1,000 people a day. That demand has to go somewhere. And when the “discovery crowd” finally figures out that Putnam County exists, the people who already own land here are going to feel very, very smart.

The Part Where I Explain Owner Financing (Without Making Your Eyes Glaze Over)

Here’s how it works at Golden Ridge Partners. There are no banks involved. No credit checks. No 47 page mortgage application that asks for your third grade report card.

You pick a lot. You put $249 down. You pay $199 a month at 0% interest until it’s paid off. That’s it.

I do the financing myself because I actually want people to be able to buy land. Crazy concept, I know. The traditional system makes it almost impossible for a normal person to buy a small piece of property without jumping through hoops designed by people who have never had to jump through hoops. I don’t think that’s right. So I built something simpler.

And if you get your lot and decide it’s not for you? We have a 100 Day Love It or Swap It guarantee. I’ll swap you into a different property. Because buying land should feel exciting, not stressful.

So Here’s What I’d Do If I Were You

If you’ve read this far, you’re at least a little curious. Maybe a little suspicious. Maybe wondering if this is one of those “too good to be true” things.

It’s not. I’m just a woman in Florida who figured out that selling affordable land with simple financing is a pretty good way to help people own something real. No gimmicks. No countdown timers. No fake scarcity.

Just land, in a beautiful part of Florida, at a price that doesn’t require a second job.

Want to see what’s available right now? Browse our current inventory of verified Putnam County lots. Every property comes with a deed, a survey, and the knowledge that you officially own a piece of the Sunshine State.

Not ready to buy but want first dibs on new lots? Join our VIP list. You’ll get early access to new properties before they go public, plus a $250 credit toward your first purchase. It’s free. No spam. Just land alerts from a woman who really, really likes selling dirt.

Or just call me. Seriously. I pick up. (407) 917-0848

Talk soon,

Juliana Scolari

juliana@goldenrp.land

Golden Ridge Partners