Hey Land Owners, What Have You Been Waiting For? Turning Your Land Into Multiple Sources of Cash Income is Easier Than you Think!
We live in the age of AirBnB and VRBO mania. Residential owners across the globe are taking advantage of the need for residential renting opportunities. They post their properties on listing websites like AirBnB or VRBO, and quickly turn their residential properties into piles of instant cash income. Guess what? Land owners can do this too! There is an enormous demand for private land use of various types, in which users are willing to pay. It’s time for landowners to get in on the money making action too.
The demand for private land use across our great nation is nearly immeasurable. Simply put, an exponentially enormous portion of the population has the desire or need to use private land for various purposes. As an example, in addition to being President and CEO of LandLeaseExchange.com, I am also Vice President of Maury L. Carter & Associates, Inc., a land investment and brokerage firm based in Orlando, FL. Our firm and our investors have owned hundreds of thousands of acres over a 50+/- year time frame. We currently have a portfolio of 12,000 acres.
Every year we get hundreds, if not thousands of unsolicited phone calls and email inquiries on the 12,000 acres in our portfolio. These inquiries are from individuals or companies searching for property to lease or rent. Again, it is important that landowners understand just how much demand there is for the leasing and use of land. We DO NOT market our properties for lease, yet we receive all of these unsolicited inquiries from users who are ready, willing, and able to lease a property.
Most of the land in our portfolio that we lease is conducive for production agricultural farming, cattle leases, citrus leases, timber leases, and hunting leases. These are fairly standard land leasing categories, yet they are just the “tip of the iceberg” when it comes to the possibilities available to landowners and how they can turn their land assets into cash revenue. The land leasing market has been identified as an extremely under-served marketplace. What am I saying? There are tens of millions of people in the U.S. that have a need for land, yet there isn’t even a small fraction of land available to them to do so. Enter the private landowner.
On the LandLeaseExchange.com side of things, I have many landowners say to me “John, all I have is (enter amount of land) acres, and there really isn’t much I can do with it to make money.” Really? I beg to differ. Each parcel of land is different and offers its own uses based upon its characteristics. Landowners don’t really need to get too creative, actually. They simply need to take advantage of the land they already own and provide leasing opportunities to users that are conducive to the characteristics of the land owned.
As land owners, we have to think outside of the box. We have opportunities that we take for granted, available to us RIGHT NOW on the land we own, that others are willing to pay to for to experience.
Here is a list of examples I have compiled. Remember, you can lease your entire property, or just a portion. For one use, or for many uses. No property is too big, or too small to turn into cash income.
Agricultural Opportunities
- Do you have land that you aren’t currently using that could be leased for agricultural purposes? Whatever agricultural use your land is conducive for, the likelihood of someone wanting to use it for commercial agricultural purposes is high. Our website offers listing categories on anything from citrus to peaches to tomatoes to more traditional commodities like soy beans, corn and cotton.
Recreational Opportunities
- Birdwatching, camping, equestrian, fishing, hiking, hunting, mountain bike trail riding, RV/Motor Home/Camper, Shooting, Off-Road Trail Riding/ATV/Motorcross, Waterfront properties, and more. Recreational use is one of the most desired uses for land right now.
Special Event/Corporate Retreats/Religious Retreats
- Do you have an old barn you could clean up, hang some lights and rent for weddings or parties? Brides and grooms and party hosts want to create something different and unique while hosting their parties.
- Corporate retreats – Does your land have activities available? Skeet shooting, hunting opportunities, adequate lodging amenities, meeting areas, etc.? Turn it into a corporate retreat and charge companies to use your property.
Cabins, Rural Residences, Estates:
- People want to have a getaway weekend or an experience on a farm, ranch or property outside of the city. Provide the opportunity to them by leasing out cabins, rural residences or estate properties.
Agri-Tourism Sites
- Now, more than ever, people want the opportunity to get on land, see where their food is coming from, visit the farm and experience something outdoors and have a good time. What type of agritourism can you provide? U-Picks, corn mazes, pumpkin patches, vineyards, petting zoos, Christmas Tree U-Cut, etc.
Communications and Energy
- Do you have a site that would be perfect for a cell phone tower?
- Are you located near high tension power lines and you think your property would be good for a solar panel project?
- What about a road, and your property would be good to lease to a billboard company?
All of the above are ideas on how to turn your land into cash revenue. As a landowner, what are you waiting for? Additional cash income is only a few clicks away!
About the Author: John Evans is a 2008 graduate of the University of Mississippi with a degree in real estate finance. A seventh-generation Floridian, he lives in Winter Park, FL, with wife Ann and son Jack, 1. He is Vice President of Maury L. Carter & Associates, Inc and founder, CEO and President of Land Lease Exchange, LLC. which is an online marketing tool that connects landowners to land users.