How can I make use of this empty plot of land?

Question

When my wife was 15 her dad convinced her to buy a 10 acre plot in Arizona off Ebay. She paid $100/month for ten years, so now we own this little bit of land. The upside to the property is that it's about 10 miles from the entrance to the Painted Desert National Park, and it has about 150 feet of frontage on HW 40. I don't actually know the current value of the land.

What options (aside from selling) are there to do something with this? Can you take out a loan against the value of an empty piece of desert? Is it possible to use it as collateral for some sort of deal? I don't want to sell it, but right now it's just $12,000 sitting there doing nothing, and that irks me.

If this was your land, what would you do with it?

Steve Babiak · Answer

Billboards - and you can set up solar arrays to generate electricity so the billboards will be visible at night.

Not sure if there are any zoning restrictions you'll face ...

Samuel Bavido · Answer

*Business idea: buy a used well digging rig, purchase desert land off Ebay, dig a well, cap it, and resell.

Account Closed · Answer

@Samuel Bavido Put up a Teepee and sell momentos?

Put it on Ebay for $110 per month for ten years?

Jose Mendivil · Answer

it would crack or even have the color fade

Jose Mendivil · Answer

the cheapest investment can be rehabing a  $1500 manufactured home and  color stucco the outside with the same synthetic the casinos use. That structure will last decades before

Randy K. · Answer

When wanting to check out vacant land, I typically gravitate toward sites like LandWatch.com or Vermaland.com, but Trulia works just as well, if not better, in some cases.Considering the proximity to the interstate, it couldn't hurt to look into whether or not you'd be able to put up a billboard and collect ad revenue. I've always thought about that when I see vacant lots alongside the I-8 and I-10 near me. Main customer base would probably include nearby hotels, motels, tourist stops, gas stations, and/or restaurants. During ski season, perhaps Snowbowl in Flagstaff could take interest?Are there any unique landscape features on the property? Large boulders, dry riverbed, mini-canyon, cacti, drastic elevation changes? Though I'm not sure how much cash it would yield, perhaps you could contact photography studios in the area and charge them to use the land as a photoshoot set. That is, if any studios exist reasonably close by.

Samuel Bavido · Answer

@Andrew Johnson Yea, it's mostly an emotional tie. I love that part of the country, and I have visions of taking my kids camping and fossil hunting there in the future.

I get what you're saying about huge parts of that land being basically worthless; you can still find a ton of it on Ebay for next to nothing (and that's probably still more than it's worth).* The one thing that recommends this property is the highway frontage; there's potential to sell it for a gas station, truck stop or tourist trap. If I was more familiar with the market, I'd consider putting up a structure and renting it out for that purpose, but I'm far too ill-informed to take that risk.

Hmm...the one thing just typing out my thoughts is making clear to me is that I need to contact someone in the area and get an appraisal....

How can I make use of this empty plot of land?

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