How to Make Good Use of Your “Idle” Land
It is sad and disappointing to see beautiful pieces of land lying uselessly overgrown with grass and thickets. The lands’ welcome signs usually read, “This Plot is not for Sale.” So, what is the land for?
Emomeri Maryanne
Most landowners buy land only for the plot to appreciate in value for them to sell later. Some will sell the land at double the price while others can sell it triple the price. But the landowners can cash in on the land even as they wait for it to appreciate. Others just have plenty of land and they don’t know what to do with it.
Unutilized land can be used for income-generating activities. Whether on a high scale or on a small scale. We will discuss all the activities here.
1. Farming
If your plot is in a conducive place for farming, this could be a good starting point for investment. Research which farm produce is on-demand in that particular place and get your hands dirty or hire someone else to do the work for you.
2. Tree Planting/Timber Harvesting
Trees have many uses, the common ones being building and firewood. Planting trees promises greater returns with little effort, but patience is key here. Trees take time to grow. So, if you know you won’t be attending to your land for a long time, planting trees can be a better option for investment.
3. Leasing Land
You will need to be very careful before you lease your land to someone else. Make sure there is an agreement and also ensure that you are in agreement with whatever the land is going to be used for.
4. Mobile homes
With the advent of containers, you can easily come up with homes or even businesses that you can sell once you want to use your land for another purpose.
5. Horse Stables
This can be a great way to use your land if you love horses and you have a large piece of land. You can have horses on your land and people will come to ride on them for a fee. Some will even come for horse riding training lessons.
6. Grazing Land
We have heard of war erupt because of grazing lands, but this does not have to be the case. If you have land you can demand payment from the pastoralists for their animals to graze on your land. You can plant Napier grass and increase the cost per livestock.
7. Event Hosting
Events have increased the demand for recreational spaces. Weddings, get-together parties and many other activities crave space. You can tailor your land to make it meet such needs and have trusted catering services and event managers to work with you.
8. Photo Shoot Space
You can easily create a photo ambiance by putting up simple structures and hang some beautiful wallpapers on. You can also design the land to fit an outdoor photoshoot background and make easy money from it.
9. Community Children’s Park
During holidays and on weekends you can allow children to play at your piece of land for a small fee. You can add features such as bouncing castles and slides to make it more fun. You can partner with daycare centres and have children on weekdays.
10. Spiritual Prayer Spaces
If your plot is in a reserved and quiet area, you can make it a prayer space. You can opt to build a chapel where people can spend the night in prayer and during the day when the weather is not favourable. People will come and pay to spend a quiet time with their maker as you gain.
11. Parking Lot
This is one of the cash cow investments, especially if your piece of land is at a strategic place like near the entrance of a city or town. You can even include services like washing cars and mechanical services to maximize profits.
12. Golf Course
If you have been to some shopping malls, you have probably noticed the golf courses that have been put in place. You can buy one or have a DIY one, here is an example So many people would like to play golf but most assume it’s a rich man’s sport, and so they shy away. So, why don’t you give them a chance to enjoy this rare sport?
13. Billboards
If your piece of land is on a highway or just near a busy road, you can have simple or large billboards and invite companies and businesses to advertise.
14. Warehousing
You don’t have to go to the huge warehouse buildings. With the many open-air markets, you can provide storage services to the vendors. So long as you are sure of safety, you are good to go. As you capitalize on the small storage, after some time you can be able to build bigger warehouses.
15. Dumpsite
Few people will consider this as a profit-making idea. People can actually increase income through the dirt. You can make your land a dumpsite and hire people to collect valuables for recycling, and then you can make a business out of the recycled stuff.
Some of the ideas mentioned above will require you to have an insurance cover and you will also need to take other precautionary measures. But whatever you do with your land, please make sure it does not go to waste.
