What Should You Do With That Vacant Land?

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When it comes to different ways of putting vacant land to use, the possibilities are pretty much endless. You can use it for personal use, or you can find a way for others to benefit from it. You can also decide whether or not to make money from it. It’s completely up to you (it’s your land!). Below are just a few ideas that could inspire you.

Sell/donate your land

One option could be to give your land to someone else. You could sell it and make some cash from it, or you could donate it. When selling land, consider who you are selling to and what their plans are – especially if the vacant land is on the doorstep to your property. Investors may have plans to develop it, and you need to make sure these developments don’t have a negative impact on you. Similarly, when donating land, try to donate it to a person or organisation that you can trust will put it to good use.

Use it for personal recreation

Vacant land could be used for all kinds of personal recreational activities. You could build a private swimming pool on it to use at your leisure, or you could even build a private tennis court. Alternatively, you could come up with wilder and more creative ideas like turning it into a dirt bike track or setting up your own private mini golf course. You could also consider keeping unusual large pets on it such as goats or alpacas. Or you could use it to grow plants. There are so many recreational options. It depends where the land is located and how large it is as to what plans are feasible.

Re-wild it

‘Rewilding’ is a way of giving land back to nature. It typically involves planting trees and reintroducing wildlife to the area, and then letting nature take its course. Rewilding is popular for its environmental benefits, however may not always be appropriate for all plots of land. There are charities that can offer funding to help with rewilding projects. You can read more about rewilding here.

Build a house on it

A popular way to make use of land is to build a house on it. This could be a custom house for you to live in that is designed to all your specific needs. Alternatively, you could build a house to rent or sell another resident. Before building a property on your land, make sure to pay for a land survey first to check that the land is suitable for construction. You should then choose the right construction company for your project – a custom home builder is your best option when building a custom home. Whatever type of property you build, there will likely be a fairly large upfront cost to consider. However, it will pay off in the long run. 

Build a guest house to rent out

If your land is located in a touristy area, you could consider building a guesthouse there that you can rent out to people on vacation via sites like Airbnb. This could be anything from a yurt to a villa. When building a guesthouse, think about the types of people who are likely to visit the location and try to cater the facilities to them. Luxury features like hot tubs and fireplace will make your Airbnb more attractive and could help you win over guests. It’s worth noting that while guesthouses can make a great business, you don’t have to charge people for staying there – a guesthouse could just be somewhere for friends and family members to stay for free if you prefer. 

Start a farm

There are all kinds of produce that you may be able to grow on your land. Large areas of land could be turned into fields for crops. Alternatively, you could raise livestock to be used for meat, milk or wool. There are also farms that you can set up on smaller areas of land. This includes raising chickens, keeping bees, growing mushrooms or growing plants like peppers in greenhouses. Work out exactly which type of produce is likely to best suited to your land and then look into the upfront costs. Starting a farm can be expensive due to equipment costs and land preparation, but you will eventually make back this money if your farm is successful. 

Grow timber to harvest

You could also consider setting up a sustainable forest. This involves growing trees to be cut down for timber and then replacing them with new trees. A timber farm can be very profitable, however it takes a lot of patience – some trees take thirty or forty years to reach maturity. You should therefore think carefully about what type of tree you grow. You may want to consider planting trees in different stages of growth so that every year or every few years you’re able to harvest new timber. This guide to sustainable forestry explains more about what is required when starting a sustainable timber farm. 

Generate sustainable energy

There are two main ways in which you can use vacant land to generate sustainable energy: solar panels or wind turbines. This energy could be used to power your home for free, or you could sell it to energy companies. A solar farm is likely to be easier than a wind farm to get approval, simply because wind turbines are bigger. Both projects can be expensive, but will make a large return quickly – there are very few running costs in both cases.

Drill a well

Providing that your vacant land isn’t at too high an altitude, you could consider drilling a well here. If located near your property, you could use this well to supply your home with free water. Alternatively, you could build a well that can be accessed by the entire local community. In impoverished areas, such wells could have a great positive impact. Think carefully about where you place your well and make sure to hire a professional company to drill it.

Build a community garden

A community garden is an area of land that your local community can all use to grow plants. Plots are typically rented out to individuals, making it a good way to make money from vacant land. Free community gardens do exist, but can be harder to maintain. The best place to start a community garden is often in a heavily developed urban area. Here, you are likely to find many people living in apartments and townhouses without yards – increasing demand for a community garden.

Rent it out as storage space

Another way to put your vacant land to use could be to build storage units on it for the local community to rent out. This could be anything from a few outdoor units to a multi-story self-storage building. It’s essential that units are secure and weatherproof in order to protect the contents of the people renting them. For this reason, you may want to hire a specialist company such as a multi-story self-storage building construction company to build your units.

Start a campsite

A campsite could be another option. This could allow you to make some money from your land by charging campers and caravan owners. In return, you’ll want to offer a few perks for using your land – such as security, lighting, bathroom facilities and well maintained plots. Some campsites even have playgrounds and cafes. Think about who your audience is likely to be based on the location and try to cater your facilities to them.

Set up a parking lot

If you own some vacant land in an urban area with restricted parking, you could consider turning it into a parking lot. It typically does not cost a lot of money to build a parking lot, nor does it cost too much money to maintain it. This allows you to make a quick return by charging every vehicle that parks here. You can read more about starting a parking lot business here. 

Turn it into a public park

Vacant urban land could also be ideal for turning into a public park. Even a small strip of land could be somewhere to place some trees and benches, or even a playground for kids. Just bear in mind that you will have to maintain this park. Donating it to a local council to run could save you time and money spent maintaining it. 

Hire it out for events

Finally, you could consider hiring out vacant land for events. This could include anything from markets to festivals depending on the size. You can make a lot of money renting out land for events, but you will have to make sure that the land is well maintained and that events are regularly booked up. When choosing to focus on a certain type of event such as weddings, make sure that there are adequate on-site facilities (in this case, you’ll probably want a barn or a marquee with toilet facilities, a bar and other amenities).