John Deere 200G excavator lifting a large root ball during land clearing in Ocala, Florida E & C Hope Enterprises logo
Ocala, Florida  ·  Est. 2009

Land Clearing in Ocala, FL

We clear the way for your next project — lots, acreage, stumps, grading and site prep. Family owned, licensed and insured, and running our own iron since 2009.

Call (352) 480-6287 Get Your Estimate Today
17Years in business
100%Family owned & operated
$0Cost for an estimate
12Marion County towns served

What we do

Complete land clearing solutions

Ten services, one crew, one number to call. Most jobs use three or four of these together — tell us what the land needs to become and we will sort out the order.

John Deere 200G excavator lifting a large root ball during land clearing in Ocala, Florida

Land Clearing

Wooded lots, overgrown acreage and homesites cleared down to workable ground — brush, palmetto, stumps and all.

Land clearing in Ocala →
Skid steer with a grapple attachment removing brush on a cleared lot in Ocala

Tree & Brush Removal

Overgrowth, downed timber, fence lines and undergrowth taken out with grapple and mulching heads.

Tree and brush removal in Ocala →
CAT excavator staged for stump removal work on a residential lot in Marion County

Stump Grinding

Ground flush so you can mow over it, or dug out root ball and all so you can build on it.

Stump grinding in Ocala →
Mulching head skid steer at the edge of dense overgrowth before forestry mulching in Ocala

Forestry Mulching

Underbrush ground into mulch where it stands. No burn pile, no hauling, and the ground is left protected.

Forestry mulching in Ocala →
Freshly graded and leveled sand lot with heavy equipment track marks in Marion County, FL

Grading & Leveling

Low spots filled, high spots cut, water sent where it should go instead of toward your slab.

Grading and leveling in Ocala →
Wide finished building pad graded flat with a pine tree line behind it near Ocala, Florida

Site Prep & Pads

House pads, barn pads and shop pads cut, filled and compacted to the grade your builder asked for.

Site preparation in Ocala →
Excavator and skid steer working a residential demolition and lot clearing site in Ocala

Demolition

Mobile homes, barns, sheds, slabs and outbuildings taken down, loaded out and hauled away.

Demolition in Ocala →
Pile of broken concrete slab and demolition debris stacked for removal on a cleared Ocala lot

Debris & Cleanup

Storm debris, brush piles, old fence, scrap and junk loaded up and gone. Property left clean.

Debris removal in Ocala →
Cleared sand lot with fresh equipment tracks and pine tree line, Ocala FL

Driveways

Cut a drive into raw land, or rebuild a washed-out one with limerock and proper drainage.

Driveway clearing and installation in Ocala →
Cleared and graded Ocala property with live oaks preserved, ready for pasture or arena work

Arenas & Pasture

Arena pads laid flat and draining right, pastures reclaimed, fence lines opened back up.

Riding arena and pasture work in Ocala →

The proof

What we start with, what we hand back

Two Marion County jobs. On the left, the kind of overgrowth we get called out to look at. On the right, what the same kind of property looks like when we pull the equipment off it.

We start here
Dense overgrown brush and tree line along an Ocala roadside before land clearing began
We finish here
Cleared and graded Ocala property with mature live oaks left standing after land clearing

Notice the oaks are still there. Clearing does not have to mean scraping a property flat — on most jobs the good trees are exactly why somebody bought the land, and they stay.

See more before & after

Why E & C Hope

A family name and enough iron to finish

The E and the C are Edward and Cassie Hope — the parents who started this business. It is still in the family, and it has been a registered Florida corporation since January 2009. In this trade that counts for something: land clearing has a lot of outfits that show up for one season with a rented skid steer and are gone by the next.

We own our equipment. Excavators, skid steers with grapple and mulching heads, and a backhoe, which means we are not waiting on a rental yard to schedule your job and not stuck bringing the wrong size machine because it was the only one available. A quarter-acre lot in the Shores and twenty acres out toward Fort McCoy are different jobs, and they get different machines.

You get a straight price before we start, the same people on site the whole way through, and a property left clean enough that the next trade can pull right in.

More about us
Wide finished building pad graded flat with a pine tree line behind it near Ocala, Florida

Where we work

Land clearing across Marion County

Land clearing in Silver Springs ShoresLand clearing in Marion OaksLand clearing in BelleviewLand clearing in OcklawahaLand clearing in SummerfieldLand clearing in DunnellonLand clearing in CitraLand clearing in AnthonyLand clearing in Silver SpringsLand clearing in Fort McCoyLand clearing in ReddickLand clearing in The Villages

Straight answers

Questions we get asked

How much does land clearing cost per acre in Florida?
It depends almost entirely on what is standing on it. Light brush and palmetto on open ground is the cheap end. Heavy timber, big root balls, or anything that has to be hauled off instead of mulched on site costs more, because you are paying for trucking as well as machine time. Wet ground, tight access and buried debris all push it up too. We do not quote acreage sight unseen — we walk it, tell you what we see, and give you a real number for free.
Do I need a permit to clear land in Marion County?
Often, yes — and it varies by parcel. Marion County has rules covering tree removal, protected species, wetlands and land alteration, and some subdivisions add their own restrictions on top. Cities like Ocala, Belleview and Dunnellon have their own ordinances. We will tell you what we believe applies to your property before we start, but the permit is pulled in the landowner's name, so the final check is yours. We would rather flag it early than have a job shut down halfway through.
What is the difference between forestry mulching and traditional clearing?
Forestry mulching grinds brush and small trees into mulch where they stand and leaves it on the ground. There is no burn pile, no hauling, no debris to dispose of, and the mulch mat holds your sand in place until grass takes. Traditional clearing pushes everything into piles and removes it, which is what you need when the ground has to be clean enough to build on. Mulching is usually cheaper. Clearing is usually necessary before construction. Plenty of jobs use both.
Do you remove the stumps too, or just cut the trees?
Both, and which one you want depends on what happens next. If you are putting up a house, barn or driveway, the stumps and root balls come out entirely — leaving them means settling later. If you just want to mow the area, grinding them flush is faster and cheaper. Tell us what the land is going to be used for and we will tell you which one you actually need.
How soon can you get to my property?
Usually within a few days for an estimate, and we own our equipment rather than renting it, so scheduling the work is not held up waiting on a machine. Storm season is the exception — after a big blow everyone in Marion County calls at once. Call (352) 480-6287 and we will give you a straight answer on timing instead of stringing you along.
Are you licensed and insured?
Yes. E & C Hope Enterprises Inc has been a registered Florida corporation since January 2009 and we carry insurance on all of it. If your builder, lender, HOA or farm manager needs a certificate before we mobilize, ask and we will send it over.

Free estimates

Get your estimate today

Tell us where the property is and what you want done with it. We'll call you back and come walk it with you — free, and no obligation either way.

Free, no obligation. We'll call you back to set a time to walk the property.

Rather just pick up the phone?

Call and talk to the person who will actually be on your property. Big project or small, we do it all.

(352) 480-6287 (352) 496-2546