As for the zoning references above, contact your local county's planning and development or zoning office to discuss what their process for finding out the zoning and then possibly changing the zoning on a location you are looking to buy.

See the attached linkhttp://city.milwaukee.gov/AreaPlans/NearWest.htm#....Some of the local bigger players/companies  supporting the project are Harley Davidson, Miller Coors, Marquette HS, Marquette university, Aurora Health care and  West End Development Corporation.

That's a good start while you have W-2 income, and it will start you developing a knowledge base for managing a property and also start creating a track record of your performance.

A little about me: I'm currently based in Boston where I'm a Business Development manager for a SaaS company serving the energy industry. 

My parents own a few rentals and because of this the idea of buying and renting properties is fairly natural and I’ve had my part in turning a house over between tenants, giving tours, and talking to prospective tenants on the phone.My goal, is to get my feet wet by buying and remodeling a property here in El Dorado.

I'm a local HML myself now, but I encourage everyone to develop their own private money in their circles of influence and spend a little time each year putting on a class on how to do it. 

It doesn't do the phone or door knocking prospecting for you, but is a one stop shop for managing and marketing all leads in one place and knowing that when you pick up the phone, you know what step you should be at.

Still good deals to be had, but developments going on in the downtown are fueling the surrounding areas, revitalization of older warehouses for luxury units, etc.

@Michael Hayes @Joe MooreI’m getting excited about my last 2 prospects.  

Other options might be finding a partner who wants to develop the land (if that is possible) and building a regular home to sell or rent when complete.