Well now you bought that ideal terrain you 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 a chance to generate positive cash flow, is it?
If you give it a little 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 additional 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 local zoning law permission, you can contact a billboard company and offer your land to allow them to erect a billboard. Such charge readings can generate monthly income without taking up much of your property. Generally, you have to commit to a certain amount of time for them to erect a new billboard. Google ‘billboard advertising’ in your zip code for the details.
2) Logging: If your property has trees, you can allow a logging company to harvest some of the trees on your property 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, the hunters will pay you to allow them to use your property to hunt. This is generally restricted to a certain time of year, so you will need to check local ordinances. You can go online and Google ‘gun clubs’ and hunter websites in your area and post an ad on your site offering your land for hunting.
4) Leasing your property to campers and / or ATV drivers – Many free-spirited people love the outdoors but 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 film 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 about $ 1000 for the use of the land. I also came across another ad where some old college buddies got together once a year to camp, drink beer, and play waffle ball. They didn’t really care about the regular camping trips and were willing to spend a couple hundred dollars for the use of some property just to get away from it all.
5) Get paid to have a company remove your stone walls – There are companies that will pay you to come and remove the stone walls from 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) Leasing some land to local farmers: Consider leasing some of your property 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 join in local areas. 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) Leasing your property for windmills or cell phone towers: Leasing your property to a company to allow them to place windmills or cell phone towers on your land can be very 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 to allow someone to place a storage container on your property to store your ATVs, boats, etc. Too 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’ around 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 the road front to businesses – If your property is located on a busy highway, the location might be desirable for a business to rent a portion of your parcel. Properties with good road exposure can lend themselves well to a gallery or studio, a farm stall, 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 profit from your property. Good luck and email me at [email protected] and let me know what unique shapes you came up with. For more ideas, visit us at http://www.CheapUSLand.com