No matter your end goal, purchasing land is a serious investment. Whether you’re looking to farm your land for crops, raising livestock, or enjoying the acreage through hobbies like hunting, fishing and hiking, smart landowners should develop and participate in programs outside of the main purpose of their land in order to generate an additional income stream. When executed properly, these programs can offset the hefty costs involved with being a landowner. With a good plan in place that uses resourceful thinking, land can pay for itself and ultimately provide a monthly income for property owners.
Potential Revenue Streams for landowners
There are a number of ways to generate additional income with your acreage even if it’s just raw, vacant land. The following outlines several viable options for landowners.
The hassle free way to monetize your acreage.
Leasing Land
Possibly the most common and passive option to make money off raw land is leasing the property or a portion of it to another party. There are countless reasons why a third party may want to lease your vacant land, and if your property has the features that others desire for their venture, you may be able to capitalize on these needs by creating a lease agreement. Depending on the features of your land you may be able to lease acreage to local farmers, hunters, nearby businesses that need outdoor space for a function, or even temporary sporting events. What you might see as vacant land or waisted acres on your property could be highly sought after space for someone else.
At more of a corporate level, landowners may be able to connect with larger scale businesses that are seeking land for wind energy projects, solar panels, a cell phone company for tower placement, or even an oil drilling company. The sky’s the limit if you own the resources and have an open mind to allowing a variety of practices on your property. If these types of larger scale connections are in play for you as a landowner, meeting with local developers can help spur additional business ideas in this realm.
Local schools or residents could be interested in space to rent plots for a community garden, local festival or farmer’s markets. land ownership can be taken for granted at times but make sure to always remember that there are countless individuals and groups out there that are thirsty for access to the natural environment and are willing to pay anything from a small fee to a game changing dollar figure for you as a property owner. Keep in mind every activity has its own risks and benefits that must be weighed when leasing property. What will it be used for? What will the short term and long term impacts be on the property? Will said usage impact long term value of the property? landowners will want to evaluate all pros and cons of any short or long term lease.
Pros: You can make substantial money from leasing your land out.
Cons: It can be very difficult to find someone that wants to lease your land on your terms. The more land you want to rent and the better the terms for the renter, the less control and access you end up with.
Recreational Usage
Recreational land usage saw significant growth during the pandemic. Fishing license sales increased significantly. Recreational Vehicle sales exploded, and hunting numbers grew as well. These people are all looking for additional places to pursue their passions. If you have a stocked pond on your property, anglers will be interested in paying you for access. Even something as simple as a place to pitch a tent or park an RV for the weekend can create an additional revenue stream for you as a landowner. Finally, it may go without saying, but hunters in top hunting states and areas are paying top dollar for short term and long term leases. Invest in a few game cameras, share with the hunting community the quality of animals you have on your land, and you will quickly find hunters that are interested in leasing land for hunting rights.
Pros: Maintain greater control and access to your land than a normal lease.
Cons: Difficult to find the right people and will lose some access and control.
Just Wing It™
Have you ever rented a house on Airbnb or hitched a ride with Uber? It’s incredibly common these days, because it’s reliable, cost effective, and mutually beneficial for both parties. The term “share economy” was created in recent years to define this relationship and the use of modern technology to market, broker, and ensure trust and safety in the entire process.
Wing It™ enables this same type of relationship, but between landowners and outdoor enthusiasts.
Signing up as a landowner on Wing It™ allows you to monetize your land on a per activity basis for short periods of time. This removes the issues that leasing your land or creating specific recreational access over longer periods of time can cause.
It allows you as the landowner to share your acreage with others looking for recreational opportunities. These activities could include hunting, fishing, hiking, camping, star gazing, metal detecting, shooting, archery, upland hunting, waterfowl hunting, mushroom hunting – the list is endless, and limited only by your imagination.
Whether you have a quarter of an acre or thousands, if the land is idle, now you can put it to work for you without losing control and access over long periods of time.
Fortunately, Wing It™ is 100% free for landowners to use and even includes an insurance policy to cover you and your guests if any problems should occur.
There’s no downside to signing up and you can likely still monetize your land in different ways at the same time. You control how much land is accessed, when they can access and what activities guests are able to do. Similar to Uber, Wing It™ finds the interested parties, makes sure that you get paid and protects you along the way.
Pros: Free for landowners to sign up and use. Insurance is included and you retain control over the entire process.
Cons: ?
The hassle free way to monetize your acreage.
Renting Indoor and Outdoor Property Structures
If your property has structures such as a livable home, tiny home, or a large building that could be used as storage space, landowners can rent those assets for yet another revenue stream. A demand for RV, vehicle and boat storage can be incredibly profitable. Indoor and outdoor storage areas that can be used as horse stables or space to raise livestock are also an excellent idea. In a post covid era, as outdoor pursuits such as boating and RV’ing become more prevalent, The need for storage of such assets will continue to grow, and can provide landowner’s with several money making ideas.
Properties with homes can be rented as a living quarters to individuals or families, this can also provide a lucrative business. Programs like Vrbo or AirBnB can be joined if your home or cabin would fit the needs of vacationers and others in need of a place to spend 2-3 nights. Property structures can provide easy money for landowners with the right plan in place.
Pros: Great option if you have structures you can rent.
Cons: May require building structures or not using some areas of the property so that people can use these. Won’t work for vacant land and raw land.
Investing in Altering your Land to Make Money
If you have high aspirations of turning your property into a money maker and a viable long term revenue stream, you may want to develop a detailed plan and strategy. With the proper resources, landowners can make significant additions to their land that will create long term value. While ideas are endless, several popular ideas include:
Tiny Houses
Adding a series of “tiny houses” or rental units to your property for vacation lodging can turn your property into a mini resort. If you have unique features, epic views, scenic lake shore, or simply solitude from the hustle and bustle of everyday, a simple get away can be very attractive to city bound folks looking to get away.
Secure Outdoor and Indoor Storage
Providing enclosed, secure outdoor storage or indoor storage provides significant value to areas with large rental communities. Apartment dwellers, condo owners, etc. often-times lack adequate storage for their toys and as such are looking for safe and secure storage. Investing in fencing, roads and secure access may be perfect for your area or your property.
Wedding and Event Venues
The popularity of outdoor wedding and event venues has exploded over the last several years. If you have the natural scenic beauty, adequate parking, and solid access, an event venue may be perfect. Numerous farms have converted their entire operation from farming to event venues with incredible success. People will pay top dollar to rent your land for an 8 hour event. If you can provide additional amenities such as catering, equipment rental (chairs, tables, etc.) bride and groom quarters, outdoor altars, Tents, etc., you may be able to further increase your revenue. These however are not prerequisites, as many companies already offer these services, and in most cases it is up to the renters to make arrangements for such services.
Really want to go big? Consider utilizing your space for outdoor festivals. From car shows, to large music venues, with the right infrastructure, an entire year’s salary can be made during a 3-4 day event. This of course doesn’t take into account the months spent planning and preparing for the big event. All of this being said, it is a proven and profitable model for the right land, location, and landowner.
Agri-Tourism
Share your knowledge of farming, animal husbandry, and much more with a thirsting urban crowd. Let’s face it, many kids these days don’t even know where a hamburger comes from. Share your experience and knowledge with those that have no connection to the rural lifestyle and farming community. With a little work honing your presentation skills, you can make extra money, and educate the next generation.
Outdoor Dining
Love to cook? Love the Outdoors? Why not combine these two and open an outdoor resturaunt. Brick Oven Pizzas served in a plush meadow or from the foundation of an old barn is a proven winner in many parts of the country. But before you start tossing dough, be sure to check local regulations, and fully understand the joys and frustrations of such an endeavor!
Invest in Renewable Resources
Although not for everyone, investing in renewable resources such as Wind Energy or solar farms can provide significant revenue for landowners. Build your own, or lease the land to others, with today’s green energy push, renewable energy is a gold mine if you are in the right location.
Conclusion
The sky is truly the limit for property owners that have an open mind and the drive to turn their land into a money generating asset. Many landowners may want their property kept all to themselves for whatever their desired use might be, which is entirely their choice. But for those looking to tap into the lucrative market that is land, and maximize revenue per acre, the options are numerous.
The hassle free way to monetize your acreage.
