We often have people contact us looking to lease land for hunting. However, good quality properties to lease at a fair price are harder and harder to find. Another option is the hunting club route, but many become disappointed with over hunted and poorly maintained leases, with the dues and fees increasing each year.
The best option may be more affordable than one may think… Purchasing your own property to hunt. Owning land may be cheaper in the long run than leasing, and equity can be built while enjoying your own private tract and generating income from multiple sources along the way.
*Ways to generate income from owning hunting land
Buy, Improve, Sell, Repeat
Use the same technique as house flippers to scale up to a larger piece of land. You don’t have to own 100’s of acres in order to have a good quality hunting tract, as little as 10 to 20 acres will work if the location is ideal and surrounded by the right kind of land. Keep in mind, a small tract for hunting should be away from nearby houses and businesses. Ideally it should be surrounded by larger tract on one or more sides. Purchase a smaller tract, improve it, use for a few seasons, sell for a profit, repeat steps until you reach your land size goal.
TIMBER
Timber is an excellent passive income producer from any tract of land if managed properly. When considering a property, have a Forester “timber cruise” the tract and give an estimate of timber value. Clear cutting is not always necessary to make money, often thinning an over grown stand or opening up areas for food plots will generate cash and improve the hunting characteristics of the land in the process. As a long-term investment, timber earnings rates are in line (or better than) some investment funds.
Sub Lease to other Hunters
Maybe you are strictly a gun hunter but would be willing to rent out a few weekends a year to bow or black powder hunters. Your focus is Whitetail Deer, you know someone who Turkey hunts. If there are open fields, a dove shoot might be possible. There is no shortage of people willing to pay for short term rights to hunt.
Create a campsite to rent
There are plenty of folks looking for a private getaway spot for camping. Since most of the year it’s not hunting season, why not improve the property with primitive tent camp sites for or an RV pad? Want a a cabin to use during hunting season, why not rent it out during the off season?
These are just a handful of ideas, if you have other creative ways to generate income with a recreational property, please comment or reach out, we’d love to hear from you.
Sid@realworks1.com
Please refer to https://myfwc.com/ for more information on regulations regarding hunting and fishing in Florida.