As budding adults, most people find themselves drawn to opportunities that have lots of potential for growth despite their current states. The aptest example for this is buying an empty land for cheap because it’s not a hot spot for condos or chain restaurants.
Vacant lots are often seen as unwanted lands and unworthy investments because they won’t give immediate value to the owner. But in hindsight, there is so much potential buried in undeveloped land because empty spaces are becoming scarce especially in urban areas.
If you bought an empty land because you thought that it will grow in value one day, then you aren’t completely wrong. Before you decide to sell the land, think about what you can do with it; let your imagination run wild. Here are three profitable ideas for you to get started:
Commercial Parking Lot
There are so many car owners everywhere you go — these manifest in the lack of good parking spaces and mind-numbing traffic congestion at all times. But that abundance in car ownership is exactly what you can take advantage of for your vacant lot.
Instead of letting the lot remain empty, you can turn it into a commercial parking lot and ask for a fee from those that will want to park there. You won’t have to build any structures that will cost a fortune, but you can passively earn money from the parking fees alone.
However, it can be hard to park on rugged land because of the rough and bumpy surface. To fix that, what you can do is hire an asphalt seal coating company that can easily smooth out the edges and make your lot feel more pampered than it actually is. Plus, it can extend your asphalt’s life by three to six years.
Storage Facility
Most people have a lot of things that they have accumulated through time. These can include old furniture, collections, inherited items, and other properties that they can’t let go of. That’s why self-storage facilities have become essential services in recent years.
With your vacant lot, you can build a self-storage facility filled with units that you can rent out monthly for regular passive income. Most rates depend on the size of the storage unit, but it can easily reach up to hundreds of dollars a month.
Building the structure for a self-storage facility is much cheaper than building a commercial or residential space in the lot, which makes it a better option in the pursuit of making a profit. You can also look into container units originally used for cargo if you don’t want to spend money on building structures.
Another option that you have is to build an outdoor storage facility for vehicles like RVs and boats. This is perfect for owners who don’t have enough space in their homes to keep their vehicles. All you need to provide is an empty lot with fencing that can be secured so that the vehicle owners will be assured that their properties are being kept safe.
Drive-In Movie Theater
There was a time when drive-in theaters were all the rage. But with the rise of shopping malls, in-house movie theaters have replaced the drive-in theater, and they ceased to exist. Although there might still be a few locations for drive-in theaters, they have easily become a novelty that can only be seen in movies.
If this is something that you’re passionate about, then you can turn your vacant lot into a drive-in movie theater and attract the generation that wasn’t able to experience them before. Your target market will be teenagers who are experiencing this for the first time and adults who are reminiscent of their past.
All you need is a big screen, a good sound system, and an empty lot where your customers can park while enjoying the movie. Of course, there are still permits to be secured and film rights to be procured before you can open for business. But that’s a small price to pay in exchange for what you’re going to earn from this venture.
You might wonder why all the profitable options mentioned were only semi-permanent structures. This is because choosing among these options will give you the freedom to decide whether you want to build a more permanent business in the future.
Most of these business ideas won’t require you to spend much on upfront costs, nor will you have to excavate the land or build permanent structures. So, if you want to build a house or turn the lot into a commercial space in the future, you can. But if you feel like this is your end goal, then investing in good structures immediately can save you more money in the long run.
