I am looking at a sale of two lots together in a residential area, walkable to a small university. One of the lots has a house which can be fixed for rental and the second lot is currently vacant. Seems like the vacant lot actually was used as a parking lot at some point (marking and numbers, non-working flood light left behind). Earlier I was thinking to leave the second lot empty till I figure out if I can/want to construct a duplex or a quadplex on it, since its very close to the university. Now I am thinking of using it as a parking lot, instead of leaving it empty till I get a plan together for buiding on it (I am not a pro). Just trying to figure out the logistics of using the empty lot as a parking lot, if it makes sense or not or if its even feasible. I have seen students parking in that area, right in front of the lot on the street but it is 2 hr parking. I started to talk to the county to inquire about the zoning regulations/process but haven't heard any concrete information yet, still in process. 

It will be very helpful if anybody who owns/runs/invests in parking lots provide some guidance on how to go about it/pitfalls/problems in this area of investment. I have browsed through the information on the internet, general guidelines, how to maintain/running a lot e.t.c but not sure if its the nitty-gritty :).