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Updated almost 4 years ago on . Most recent reply

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Austin B.
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Crazy idea -- is it stupid?

Austin B.
Posted

Hi all,

So I am new here. Love real estate & land. Always browsing Realtor.com just for the heck of it. I want to get into REI but I haven't been sure where to begin. Was considering house hacks but then I got laid off...so maybe not right now.

Anyway, I had a crazy idea that might actually work. Assuming I find some income in the meantime, that is. I currently own a house in Utah. Thanks to the market, this house has a sizable amount of equity in it and I've been here almost 2 years. I know this house is not the long-term place for me. I have a good roommate who I would like to keep.

I'm getting into competitive pistol shooting (USPSA). It's pretty popular here in Utah, along will all other shooting sports. The laws are very friendly to shooters. There is a club in Salt Lake City and near St. George. My idea was to purchase a parcel of land with a house on it in a more rural area -- not middle of nowhere but certainly more rural than here -- and build a shooting range on the property. I would then make it publicly available for a fee and start a Central Utah pistol shooters club. I suspect that such an enterprise could be profitable in the areas I am looking, although I do not know anything about the profitability of a shooting range so it's really a shot in the dark. This all assumes, of course, I do it legally and don't tick off the neighbors. I am thinking of minimum 10 acres.

Anyway, just curious as to what people's thoughts are on this endeavor. Thank you.

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Alecia Loveless
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Alecia Loveless
Replied

@Austin B. You will need to check out the local planning/zoning ordinances in the jurisdiction you might be interested in starting your business in and see if that is an allowable use or how it might be regulated etc.

My town has two shooting ranges in it, one a private club and one owned by the police department that other law enforcement departments sometimes use. The privat range has been there 40+ years. The law enforcement range was put in within the past 8-10 years and now the local neighbors, not just the abuttors are complaining about the noise.

The private range people use sporadically. The police range someone uses daily according to the neighbors.

You may have an uphill battle for a shooting range where noise will go on all day long.

  • Alecia Loveless
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