The Land Strategies That Actually Make Money
This podcast episode explores proven land investing strategies that actually generate profits in 2026, discussing approaches ranging from high-level development and subdivisions to mobile homes, survey hacking, and double closing deals. The hosts emphasize that successful investors focus on one or two specific strategies, understand their local markets deeply, and consider both profit and time when evaluating opportunities.
Summary
The podcast discusses land investing strategies organized by experience level and profitability. For experienced investors, the hosts highlight horizontal development (entitlements and subdivisions) as a top-tier strategy where developers buy raw land, prepare it for building without construction, and sell for significant returns—exemplified by deals buying for $1.5M and selling for $3M, though these typically take 24 months. Successful developers evaluate highest and best use cases, balance ROI against time, manage teams of contractors and engineers, and primarily target MLS listings where they can sometimes pay over market value due to the potential returns. They note the importance of geographic proximity, knowing local regulations, building relationships with surveyors and contractors, and structuring creative deals with sellers through various payment arrangements. The hosts also discuss mobile homes on land as a sustainable business model with good margins, faster sales, and access to FHA financing, but note it requires buying land under market value and is operationally harder than house flipping. They suggest modular homes and cabins as potentially better alternatives, targeting higher-income buyers. For newer investors, minor subdivisions and survey hacking are presented as exceptional strategies. Minor subdivisions (splitting land into smaller parcels) offer the best risk-return ratio—the hosts claim they've never seen a better business model in any industry. They emphasize using Land Portal's market research tools to identify counties where smaller acreage commands premium per-acre prices, then working backward to determine maximum acquisition prices while maintaining 2-3X returns. Survey hacking, defined as buying a portion of someone's parcel (e.g., 49 of 50 acres), provides valuable solutions to property owners and can be highly profitable. The hosts stress the importance of not just looking at paper splits but considering physical improvements like roads or paths. Double closing is discussed as viable but more challenging than subdividing because it doesn't provide as much direct value to sellers and involves more skepticism and obstacles. The hosts note that while some investors make excellent money double closing, those focused on development don't typically use it. Info lots are acknowledged as a strategy some people profit from, but the hosts view it as noisy with tight margins ($3,000-$5,000 profits per deal), making it difficult to scale to six-figure income. For recurring revenue, the hosts discuss RV parks, notes, and mortgages. Notes are presented as an appealing scaling option where investors buy discounted notes (at 70% of face value) and collect interest while holding equity, though they eventually expire as loans are paid off, requiring continuous acquisition of new notes.
About this episode
<p><strong>Want to quit your job and build a real land investing business?</strong></p><p><strong>👉</strong><a href="https://landportal.com/subscriptions?a_aid=LandInvestingOnline&a_bid=9e9b000b"><strong>Land Portal</strong></a> gives you access to the fastest-growing land software <em>plus</em> <a href="https://landportal.com/subscriptions?a_aid=LandInvestingOnline&a_bid=9e9b000b"><strong>Land Portal University</strong></a>, where we walk you step-by-step through getting your first land deal.</p><p>🎯 Looking for <strong>1-on-1 Land Flipping or Subdividing coaching</strong>? Schedule a <a href="https://landinvestingonline.com/pages/consultation"><strong>FREE strategy call</strong></a> here.</p><p><br /></p><p>================================</p><p>In this video, Ron and Dan break down the best strategies to buy land in 2026. They break down the growing potential of developing projects, how to break up parcels for more profit with minor subdivides, and even to generate consistent cash flows through holding land notes.</p><p><br /></p><p>If you are interested in growing your land investing tools beyond simple flips, this episode will be your stepping stone to a bigger payday with land!</p><p><br /></p><p>================================</p><p>SOCIAL</p><p><strong>Ron's Instagram </strong>📸:<a href="https://www.instagram.com/ronapke/"><u> </u><strong>https://www.instagram.com/ronapke/</strong><u></u></a></p><p><strong>Dan's Instagram </strong>📸:<a href="https://www.instagram.com/danielapke/?hl=en"><u> </u><strong>https://www.instagram.com/danielapke/</strong><u></u></a></p><p><a href="https://www.instagram.com/danielapke/?hl=en"><u></u></a></p><p>================================</p><p><strong>TIMESTAMPS:</strong></p><p><strong>00:00</strong> – Intro</p><p><strong>01:10</strong> – Developing & major subdividing</p><p><strong>03:09</strong> – Best use of the land </p><p><strong>05:43</strong> – Marketing & Due Diligence for developing</p><p><strong>08:41</strong> – The power of creative financing</p><p><strong>11:11</strong> – Mobile home vs Cabins on land</p><p><strong>17:24</strong> – Capitalizing on Survey hacking</p><p><strong>19:18</strong> – The value of Minor Subdividing</p><p><strong>26:35</strong> – Pros & cons of double-closing</p><p><strong>30:18 </strong>– The margins of Infill lots</p><p><strong>32:25</strong> – Cashing flowing with land notes</p><p><strong>38:33</strong> – Outro </p>
Key Insights
- Successful land investors focus on one or two specific strategies rather than pursuing multiple approaches simultaneously.
- Top-level developers evaluate land deals based on both profit amount and time required, sometimes choosing smaller profits with faster timelines over larger profits requiring 2+ years.
- Minor subdivisions are presented as having an exceptionally favorable risk-to-return ratio compared to other industries, with conservative estimates still yielding 85k+ profits and potential for 400k+ on single deals.
- Investors can pay above market value for land when subdividing or developing because the future highest-and-best-use value justifies the premium, creating inventory advantages.
- Geographic proximity to deals is critical—successful developers maintain relationships with local surveyors, contractors, engineers, and government officials that provide service advantages and regulatory knowledge.
- Market research tools revealing price-per-acre gaps between different lot sizes (e.g., 5-acre parcels at 15k/acre vs. 50-acre parcels at 4-5k/acre) enable systematic deal identification and maximum offer calculations.
- Mobile homes provide sustainability through recurring cash flow from FHA-financed sales but require buying land under market value and involve operational complexity similar to or exceeding house flipping.
- Double closing provides the highest ROI per dollar invested (minimal earnest money for 25k+ profits) but faces higher seller skepticism and acquisition obstacles compared to strategies that provide more direct value to sellers.
Topics
Transcript
Hey everyone, welcome back to the Real Estate Investing Podcast. Today's topic, we're talking about how to actually make money in land investing in 2026. And the purpose of this is we hear so much, you know, buy info lots, flip info lots, you know, flip land at 30%, buy desert squares, buy this. There's so many, there's so much noise, more noise than ever in land investing. And I feel like we know what actually works. Most of them work, but to what extent and where I would go and really put my focus this year. Yeah. We've been doing a lot of, I've been, we both of us have been doing a lot of interviews with successful land…
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