See if any of this sounds familiar. You own vacant land but you don’t have plans to hold on to it long term. You’re tired of paying annual taxes. You initially bought the land to develop it – a home or something else – but your plans either changed or didn’t work out. You’ve just accepted an offer on your property (congrats!) and need to decide what to do with your cash proceeds once closing has been completed. Or, maybe you haven’t decided to sell yet but you’re wondering what are some things you can do with the proceeds from your vacant land sale in Florida, Georgia, or elsewhere.
Invest In A Better Asset
Fortunately, there’s many ways to invest your money. You could decide to reinvest your cash proceeds in a piece of vacant land that better suits your needs or goals. You could also put a down payment on a new home. Better yet, you could take your newfound cash and put a down payment on an investment property to earn some monthly lease income and your proceeds will earn a return.
You could also invest in the stock market through index funds, mutual funds, or individual stocks or bonds. with plenty of types of companies and varying degrees of risk. These days, there’s plenty of companies and apps that make analyzing investments and investing your funds relatively simple.
Build Your Savings Account
It might not be the most sexy thing to do with your money, but another valuable use of the proceeds from your vacant land sale would be to start or grow a savings account. It’s never too late to save money! You might not earn the biggest return, but the reliability and peace of mind that comes with a well-funded savings account (or accounts!) has its own intangible value. You could also use your savings account for a larger purchase in the future like a new home, second home, or maybe you just had a child or grandchild and want to give their college fund a big head start. Reach out to or google different local banks or online savings accounts to discover the best account that will provide best interest rate for your savings account.
Go Have Some Fun!
If you already have a stable savings account, it might be great to simply take the proceeds from your Florida vacant land sale go on vacation (maybe to Florida, ha!) Explore someplace new, go on a cruise for the first (or seventh) time. Life is short, and investing in adventure also has its own non-monetary value.
There’s certainly more to fun than simply vacations, too. Your cash proceeds could put a down payment on – or completely pay for – that boat you’ve had your eye on, or perhaps a new car for you and your family.
Make Needed Improvements
Your newfound cash could help remodel your kitchen or bathroom! This doesn’t have to just be your home, it could be for a rental property too. These improvements can boost your property’s value and over time, pay for themselves. The bottom line is there’s always something that you need to fix or put money into. If you have a big roof or HVAC replacement in your near future, this would be a great relief for that upcoming improvement that’s hanging over your family’s finances.
Pay Off Unwanted Debts
Sometimes life’s emergencies can cause even the most frugal and diligent of savers and budgeters to build up some short-term debt. It goes without saying you don’t want to hold on to higher interest debt like credit card debt for too long. This could also be from a draw you took from your home equity line of credit (HELOC) for a home improvement that you don’t want hanging on to your family’s balance sheet. Naturally, a smart thing to do with the proceeds from your vacant land sale would be to pay down some or all of this kind of temporary debt. Pay these debts down or off completely avoid wasting your hard earned money on extra interest. Finally, it’s not just short-term debt. For peace of mind, you can also make extra payments on your mortgage to accelerate its pay off. Large payments over the minimum due will save you significant interest costs in the long run.