Real Estate
How to profit from vacant land without selling it

How to profit from vacant land without selling it

Well now you’ve bought that ideal piece of land you’ve always dreamed of. Maybe you are planning to build your retirement home there or maybe you are taking the family camping. Now what? Tax bills will start rolling in and that could put a strain on your wallet. It’s not like a rental property where you have the opportunity to generate positive cash flow, is it?

If you give it some thought and are willing to get creative, there are many ways to generate income from vacant land before you even sell it. Below, I have listed several methods to generate excess income from your property based on its size, location, and topology.

1) Billboard Advertising – If your property has good road access on a fairly busy highway and a local zoning law permit, you can contact a billboard company and offer your land to allow them to erect a billboard. Such charges can generate monthly income without taking up much of your property. Generally, you need to commit to a certain amount of time so that they can erect a new billboard. Google ‘billboard advertising’ in your zip code for the details.

2) Logging: If your property is forested, you could allow a logging company to cut down some of the trees you own and sell them as lumber. There are usually restrictions on how big a tree must be before it is cut down for lumber, so you don’t have to worry about all the trees on your property being removed. Generally, the registrar does all the work and splits the profits with you in the 60/40 area and they get 60%. Negotiate the best deal you can before signing any contracts.

3) Leasing your property to hunters: If you have a large enough parcel of land, hunters will pay you to allow them to use your property to hunt. Usually this is restricted to a certain time of year, so you will need to check local ordinances. You can access the internet and Google ‘gun clubs’ and hunter websites in your area and post an ad on your site offering your land to hunt.

4) Leasing Your Property to Campers and / or ATV Drivers – Many free-spirited people love the outdoors, but they don’t have any property to enjoy. Consider placing a free ad on Craigslist or BackPage offering your property to campers, ATV drivers, etc. I once found a local movie production company that had advertised on Craigslist that they wanted to rent a property to shoot a short film outdoors. The duration was about three weeks and they were offering around $ 1000 for the use of the land. I also found another ad where some old college buddies met once a year to camp, drink beer, and play waffles. They didn’t really care about the regular campgrounds and were willing to spend a couple hundred dollars to use some property just to get away from it all.

5) Get paid to have a business remove your stone walls – There are businesses that will pay you to enter and remove the stone walls on your property. I personally like stone walls, I think they have character and they would never take mine away but it is an option.

6) Rent some land to local farmers: Consider leasing some of your properties to local farmers so they can grow vegetables in season. Or if you have enough property, you might even consider letting them grow a Christmas tree farm on your property. You can find local producers through your Chamber of Commerce or by searching the internet. Usually there are groups that farmers in local areas join. You can also go to your local Farmer’s Market and discuss such appearances in person.

7) Leasing your property to raise livestock – Similar to leasing your property to local farmers to grow vegetables, you can lease your property to ranchers to allow them to raise livestock on your plot. There are also farm tax exemptions for raising livestock on your property, check with your local government for details.

8) Rent your property for windmills or mobile phone towers: Leasing your property to a company to allow them to place windmills or mobile phone towers on your land can be quite profitable. They take care of all the details of the construction of these structures and you end up paying a monthly rent for the privilege.

9) Subdivide your property – Depending on local laws, you may be able to subdivide your property and sell some smaller sections. This can allow you to keep most of your property while generating some cash and also lowers your tax bill.

10) Storage or Parking Rental – Place an ad in the local Penny Savers deal and let someone place a storage container on your property so they can store your ATVs, boats, etc. Very often, people from the city and suburbs enjoy coming to the country for all it has to offer, but they don’t like having to carry their ‘toys’ all the time. Let them put one of those Pod units on your property to store their vehicles for their weekend outings and charge them a monthly fee for the privilege.

11) Leasing Highway Facades to Businesses – If your property is located on a busy road, the location could be convenient for a business to rent a portion of its plot. Properties with good road exposure can lend itself well to a gallery or studio, a farm stand, or even a food truck.

These are just a few of the many ways that one can generate income from the land they own. You are only limited by your own imagination so take some time and think outside the box and I am sure you can find many more ways to benefit from your property. Good luck and email me at [email protected] and tell me what unique ways you have come up with. For more ideas, visit us at http://www.CheapUSLand.com

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *