Empty land...what to do?

[Taarik Rahaman]

Hi everyone,

I live in S Florida and was given a lot of empty land in Cocoa, FL (~3 hrs drive). It is zoned for single-family and in an established neighborhood.

My first thought is to build and rent, but the distance and my current life situation (working, working wife, 3 young kids; doing OK financially but not exactly rolling in it if you get what I mean) doesn't leave much left to undertake large projects. I'm a little handy, but don't have the experience (yet?) to take on larger construction/repair projects.

Hoping to do something this year as it feels like wasted land and opportunity (plus I'm paying taxes that keep increasing!!)

Here are some of the options I've been considering:

- Sell the land when the price is right - this would allow me to get capital to invest nearer...but S Florida is expensive as hell these days.

- Build and rent - I should be able to get this done with financing. I'm not sure what the upside will be though, whether I'll lose money or I can make a profit.

- Build and sell - again, similar to #1. If Warren Buffett is right and there is a crash ("correction") coming, then pocketing the money on the sale of the house might come in handy and will allow me to invest if/when prices tank...though I'm not sure what profit I'll make after everything is said and done.

That being said, any thoughts folks?

Thank you!