Vacant Land investment is not only the most safe and secure investment you can make, it is one of the most limited resources in the United States. There is a finite amount of land and clearly, they are not making more of it. Being that land is becoming scarce, investors are growing more and more attracted to it. A definite pro of vacant land is the fact that there are not buildings, meaning there is little to no maintenance compared to other common Real Estate investments. There are no fixing leaky roofs, unclogging pipes or replacing carpet, the minimal upkeep is the beauty of vacant land investment.
A definite upside of investing in vacant land is the small initial investment amount that won’t burn a hole in your pocket. When searching for vacant land investment opportunities, work with a reputable seller, preferably the property owner or someone who is educated in the current market and sells vacant land below market prices.
There a couple of different strategies used to make profit off of vacant land, the most common being the buy and hold strategy. Just like you would with stocks, when you make your investment, hold on to it for a period of time and sell. Unlike the stock market which is extremely volatile, the probability of making a substantial amount of profit is very high with vacant land.
If you managed to get yourself a great piece of farmland, you’ve lucked out. Leasing your land to a farmer can generate a hefty amount of profit for a fairly hands-off investment. Historically, farmland has produced in bigger returns than stocks, mutual funds and bonds in the long run. Fun fact – Bill Gates is an avid investor in agriculture. Revenue generated by farmland has increased by 4.6% since the early !990’s, returns have averaged 11.8% annually.
McDonald’s is known as being one of the the top fast food restaurants in the world, but did you know that McDonalds makes the vast majority of their billion-dollar empire with real estate? Instead of making their money by selling supplies to franchisees and demanding massive royalties, they simply become the landlord to their franchisees and collect on rent. The entity currently has 36,000 + locations worldwide and only direct operates 15% of those locations., which means they collect rent on roughly 30,600 properties. Genius!
Depending on the area and size of your property, you can also lease your land to a hunter or a hunting club. Leasing your land for this purpose will cover your annual property taxes and probably generate a considerable amount of profit. This is an optimal strategy if you plan on holding then selling, you have the opportunity to make a generous amount of profit to cover land expenses while you wait for the opportune moment to sell your land.
