So here is the scoop: there is a little piece of property that I know of. About 20 years ago, it was just a little lonely farm house sitting on 9.9 acres about 15 minutes outside town. Since then, the town has grown, and this piece of land has found itself right on the outskirts of all the new commercial and residential developments. My mom found out from a friend that the little old lady that owned it was recently ill and put in the hospital. Immediately my mind went, cha chinggg. I should have stopped by, offered them 700k for it cash and walked away grinning. But I just wasn't ready yet, I'm still young and learning, and it seems I may have missed the real good deal I could have made. Fast forward a month or two, and I see a realtors face psoted on the front lawn. DAMMIT. She WAS ready to sell!!! I call him up, now they are asking 3.9M.

No problem though. After chatting with him, and knowing fully what their personal situation is and the reason for selling, I am confident I could chip that down significantly. In about 5 years time, the value of this property is going to be MUCH higher, as it will be smack dab in the center of a bunch of high end residential, commercial, and literally 800 meters from the main arterial road of the city.

Here is the question: What can I build on this property that would be able to sustain the, lets say 2 million dollar loan plus development costs, for enough time until the rest of the development catches up and swallows it, allowing me to sell and cash out a few mil profit?

I'm thinking a car lot...potentially cheap, all you need is a building and a bunch of pavement, and then that way when you sell, there isn't much to demolish to make way for new stuff, just a car lot. But are car lots making any money these days?

What else could I develop on this property that would sustain itself for 5 ish years? The land is to be zoned C4. This is in Alberta, Canada.

I would plan on working with private lenders to fund this.

Any input? Big opportunity here. Just need to figure out how to make it work and I'm a millionaire!

Josh, if you want to move this to commercial, go ahead. I wasn't sure where it fit best. :)