Frustrated Watching Developers Do Ideas I Couldn't Afford

[Landon Elscott]

Currently, I'm 26 years old, own my own home and also have a SFH my wife and I have been renting out since we bought it last year.

I can appreciate having patience, but latelyvIve been very frustrated about having ideas and watching others develop them because of a lack of cash.  I tend to have grand visions, and I suppose my time will come someday, but I just get so impatient when I see big developers come in and do something I had thought would be a good investment a couple years prior.

For instance, there is an old warehouse the city has been trying to sell for quite some time and theyve been trying to promote it as a business headquarters like it used to be...however I thought over the past couple years it would be better as apartments and lofts with ammenities that appeal to younger professionals.  I just learned today that a development firm is coming in with $7M and receiving huge tax incentives to develop into urban lofts...but instead they'll be subsidized for section 8.  That's not what I had in mind, and i fear it will further negatively impact our city.

I know I could never have $7M, but God I hate watching this company come and profit from an idea I've been thinking of for years...only to do it in a way that hurts the community demographic wise.

So, what is a young and ambitious person to do?  Do I wait it out and grow my wealth slowly until I can afford to do my own revitalization projects or are there avenues in central Iowa for investors like me to find people who can see my ideas through as a partnership and also provide me some equity despite my lack of money?