Why I Started a Business Buying and Selling Land
When you hear names like Jeff Bezos or Warren Buffett, you probably think of online retail or the stock market. But they are also some of the biggest landowners in the country. It makes you wonder: why are some of the smartest business minds in the world buying up millions of acres of land? What’s so great about it?
I asked myself the same questions, and the answer I found was surprisingly simple. Land is a unique asset. It’s a straightforward and durable foundation for a real business, free from the usual headaches that come with other types of investments. For anyone interested in , it presents a compelling case.
Land Is Simple and Enduring
Unlike most assets, land just… exists. It was here long before us, and it will be here long after. That permanence gives it a unique stability. A friend of mine owns four acres in Lake County, California. A few years ago, a massive wildfire tore through the area and destroyed everything on her property—her house, a guest cottage, trees, everything was reduced to ash. But the land itself? It was still there. In time, the grass and trees will grow back, and its value will recover. You can’t really steal or destroy land. Sure, someone could haul away a wheelbarrow of dirt, but there’s always more underneath. Your land will always be there.
On top of that, there is virtually no maintenance. I personally hold over eighty properties, and not a single one costs me anything for upkeep. This makes it one of the best you can find, especially when you plan to hold properties long-term in the path of growth, as I do.
Avoiding the Headaches of Traditional Real Estate
Anyone familiar with traditional knows about the common frustrations: renters, rehabs, renovations, and rodents. The appeal of rental income often comes with a heavy price. My neighbor, an anesthesiologist, owns twenty-two rental properties. While we both do well with our investments, our weekends look completely different. I’m relaxing and watching a basketball game while he’s constantly fielding calls and dealing with tenant issues.
I learned this lesson firsthand. Early on, I tried a fix-and-flip with a friend. I’m not a handy person, and after three months of managing subcontractors, paying commissions, and pouring in our own time and effort, we were exhausted. We made a little money on paper, but it was nowhere near worth the stress. I sold the house and went straight back to raw land. It's a much cleaner .
You’re in Complete Control
Unlike investing in stocks or currencies, you have total control over your land. You choose the location, you can make improvements, and you decide what to do with it. Most people default to the stock market, but it often feels like a rigged game where big institutional investors use high-speed algorithmic trading to profit from tiny price shifts in fractions of a second. The average person is at a significant disadvantage.
With land, you control the asset. You also have the opportunity to generate income, and as the world's population grows, usable land only becomes more valuable. This is the foundation of a truly . Think about someone who bought land in North Dakota before the oil boom or in Los Angeles thirty years ago. Stories of people becoming millionaires by buying land in the path of growth are more common than you’d think.
Cash Flow and Almost No Competition
Here’s something that surprises most people: raw land can generate consistent cash flow. By structuring your sales with owner financing, you can create an income stream that lasts for years. This is a key component that can help turn your .
Better yet, there’s virtually no competition in this niche. Most investors think land is either too expensive or only for major developers. But that’s only true for prime lots in major city centers. The secret is to focus on properties that nobody else is looking at—lots and acreage in smaller towns and rural areas that cost less than $30,000. And there’s a huge, often overlooked demand for this kind of property. A recent study showed that only 9 percent of Americans want to live in a major city, while a combined 46 percent would prefer a small town or rural area.
This isn't just a hobby; it’s a powerful . I started this journey completely broke, and within three years, I had built a passive income stream of over $150,000 a year. It required very little starting capital and no travel. Here are a few examples from my first year:
- Bought a half-acre in New Mexico for $300 and sold it online for $1,200 a week later.
- Purchased hundreds of lots at a tax auction for as little as $3 each and sold them for a total profit of over $90,000 in six months.
- Bought a five-acre parcel in Colorado for $500 and sold it on Craigslist a week later for $4,000.
These kinds of returns are what make this one of the available, especially for those .
Finding Your Deals
The entire starts with a simple fact: all over the country, there are people who no longer want their property. They often signal this by falling behind on their property taxes. This is not about tax lien investing, which offers low returns (12-18%) and rarely results in owning the property. It’s also not about competing at crowded tax deed auctions where prices get driven up.
The best method is to avoid the competition entirely. I do this by sending direct offers to landowners who are delinquent on their taxes. My system is designed to be efficient; we don’t waste time on phone calls with people who are just curious. We make a straightforward offer, and it works. In a recent mailing of 100 letters, I got back seven signed purchase agreements. The market is massive, with over 23 million properties nationwide with back taxes owed.
If you go to a meeting of 100 real estate investors, 99 of them will be focused on flipping houses or managing rentals. You and I would be the only ones there for land. It’s a huge niche with shockingly little competition, and it's how a simple for me. It’s a journey that offers more control, fewer headaches, and the potential for life-changing wealth.
