In this case, you move slowly backward, eroding your cash value.

Just like any real estate purchase, you need to go backward: Resale value- costs of construction-profit margin=value of finished lotsIf you are talking about undeveloped lots, you also need to talk out all the engineering costs, entitlement costs, attorney fees, proffers, any risk premium, etc.

*Someone I heard once talk about this topic said it best, it’s like two cars going in reverse, one car being Value of Money and the other Real Estate, One of those cars is going faster in reverse than the other so it makes the other seem like it’s going forward (up in value) however both are going backwards (down in value) just at different rates (hope I didn’t murder their analogy). 

Always keep in mind that appreciation can stop or go backwards very quickly at any time, so if that is your jam, make sure that you can afford to keep the properties in a worst case scenario when the cashflow is limited. 

Write a plan out and work backwards. 

Now work backwards.

See if you can work backwards from your goal. 

It doesn't change the fact you are going backwards...you're just taking it from your job income instead of the property.When you have negative cash flow, you are paying for your property.When you have posititve cash flow, your tenant is buying your property for you.