This is not the first time I heard someone use the term “useless land”. Or that certain types of land are a “scam”. 100% of the time it is from someone who is still in a “consumer mentality” and has not yet progressed into an “Investor Mentality”.
If your idea of “useless land” is any kind of land that you cannot immediately build a house on or put a mobile home or RV on, then it is not because the land is useless, it is because you just do not understand land investing.
People who understand land investing know that raw land that happens to be in the path of growth, and/or in a state where people are moving to (there are over 1000 people a DAY moving to Florida), know that fortunes have been made by buying and holding land that uninformed people called “useless”.
Besides the old story of Walt Disney quietly buying up acres of swamp in the middle of Florida to create Walt Disney World “in the middle of nowhere”, there are many more recent examples all across the state.
For example, right near where I sell “useless” land in Polk County, there now sits an Amazon fulfillment center, A Fedex Facility, a Walmart distribution center and more.
In my home town of Sarasota, there was a parcel that was 100% wetlands that Whole Foods wanted to build on. There was initially pushback by environmentalists (who were probably torn between wanting to save the swamp and having a place to buy their organic tofu), but eventually Whole Foods won. Now it is a Whole Foods, a Wawa and several shops and restaurants. Not so useless any more.
Another example is a wetland area that was right alongside a very busy and noisy section of I-75. Stand there long enough and you will have a headache from the noise and feel sick by breathing in all the truck exhaust. Well, the wetlands have been dried out by the construction of ponds and a huge “luxury” apartment complex is being built on the site.
There is a Starbucks on University Parkway in Sarasota. A couple of years ago I would sit in their outside area, right next to a swampy parcel. There was a sign on that parcel facing the sitting area that said “Conservation Area”. Several months went by when I hadn’t been by there. I drove by and saw a large swath of the “Conservation Area” was being bulldozed. A few months after that it was a new Chik-Fil-A. The “Conservation Area” sign has now been moved to the other side of the Chik-Fil-A property. I recently noticed that there is land clearing equipment being used in the Conservation Area. I wonder what will go there?
Please note: I am NOT condoning runaway development and I do not like the idea of natural habitat being destroyed. But, the reality is that Florida is booming and, regardless of whatever recessions may hit the rest of the country, Florida will continue to grow exponentially. That means that “useless land” that can be bought now, especially with a low down payment and low monthly payments, could very likely be MUCH more profitable than “good land” that people without vision will buy.
Buying land as a place to build a home, or put a mobile home or RV on, or to use as recreation is fine, but that does not mean anything else is a scam! All you need is a little bit of education, open eyes and an open mind. Unfortunately, that is rare these days.