You mentioned this property is near new casino construction.

Getting a deposit also stops a customer from backing out , once the contract is signed I schedule a slot , order materials , get permits .

Not to say there aren't people who are great developers and make money doing it, but I would say it is not the best way to get started in real estate.   15 acres of raw land sounds like a deal for someone who has made plenty of money doing a variety of deals and now wants to go to the casino to take some of those winnings and double down.Only you know your plan.....I think you start with what the city wants to be there. 

Here in Ohio 50 million dollar license fee to start a casino.

Then I always have a 10-20% rate of people who don't show up to our scheduled time (which is just a time slot within an hour I create...open house style), and then from whatever is remaining, some people don't make the cut because of minimum requirements.I ran it like you with the paper app and the link and stuff, but there is an application already on Zillow they can fill-out and it does the work.

The main difference between you and I might be that I'm using a property manager to take care of bed bugs and toilets, which goes against your final point about having better luck at a casino.

Basically you sign up for a time slot during an open house so you will have the home to yourself. 

A former Structural enginee:  designed airports, casinos, 1M+ sf industrial buildings.

. :)I'd add Anza to the list which is close to Anza-Borrego Desert State Park and The Slot along with Julian and Borrego Springs which has a golf course and some really nice midcentury homes.I was just in Desert Hot Springs visiting the Desert X installations and have changed my mind about DHS.