Natural Building & Real Estate Investing

[Christopher Kinney]

Hey guys!

As I am starting out, I can´t help but imagine the possibilities of driving forward more natural building (cob, straw bale, hemp, etc.) in regards to investing in real estate. Does anybody have any experience related to this? I have plenty of experience building with these materials myself and am a practicing Civil Engineer in Coos Bay, Oregon. I know the building code regulations can get tricky and there is little data in determining the average cost per square foot for a building made out of hemp, for example. But I´ve been noticing a positive trend in accepting these structures as part of code. What do you guys think?

Taking this idea another step further, what is the possibility of investing in land to create ecovillage communities? Studying in Scotland, Portugal, and Colombia, I´ve come to realize this is a positive global trend but almost non-existent in the States. I´d love to see this reality more prominent in the future but then have to tie myself back into the present moment and strategies my first step. I reckon starting out within the "Raw Land" niche with a "Flipping" strategy.

I´d love to hear any kind of feedback you may have.