Not every investment requires you to keep feeding it cash just to stay in the game.
Everyone knows investing involves risk.
What most people don’t realize is when they’re gambling.
Most landowners I talk to have received unsolicited offers in the mail.
A lot of them are laughable. Half of what the property is worth. Easy to ignore.
But not all of them.
Sometimes the number is decent. Not full retail, but not absurd either.
If a property would reasonably sell for $200,000 and net about $185,000 after expenses, an unsolicited net of $170,000 to $175,000 gets your attention.
So they bring it to me.
The first questions I ask are simple:
How long to close?
How much earnest money?
Almost every time it’s something like a six-month close and $500 down.
I tell them I could be wrong, but the odds of that buyer closing with their own money are close to zero.
They are contracting your property and spending six months trying to flip the contract to someone else.
If they succeed, maybe they make $10,000 to $15,000.
If they fail, they lose $500.
If they hit even one out of three, that’s a solid business model.
They are gambling.
Which is fine, as long as they understand the math and believe they have an edge.
Now look at it from the other side.
If you own a custom home lot you’ve decided not to build on, you probably tell yourself you’re holding it as an investment.
And maybe you are.
But you’re gambling too — and you may not realize it.
Not in the abstract “everything has risk” sense.
I mean you’re writing checks every year just to stay in the game.
If property taxes are $5,000, HOA dues $2,000, and mowing another $500, that’s $7,500 out of pocket every year.
The lot has to appreciate at least $7,500 just to break even.
Some years it does.
Some years it doesn’t.
Markets don’t move in straight lines.
And unlike a stock, you don’t see the price update daily.
The bills, however, show up right on time.
Now compare that to rural land with an ag exemption.
Minimal taxes.
No HOA.
A farmer keeping it maintained.
Your carrying cost might be a few hundred dollars instead of several thousand.
That property can appreciate more slowly and still produce a better return because you’re not constantly feeding it cash.
I’m not saying you have to sell.
But you should at least know the math.
Because whether you call it investing or not, you’re placing a bet.
The only question is whether you understand the odds.
P.S. You may not have to sell. But it would be wise to know exactly where you stand.
That’s what you get with a MBR Land Reality Check.
No cost. No obligation. Just clarity before decisions.
P.P.S. If you’re not ready to even see the value of your property but like reading these you can get them in your inbox (daily) here: