How Much Does It Cost to Succeed in Land Investing? A Realistic Breakdown 

How Much Does It Cost to Succeed in Land Investing? A Realistic Breakdown 

By Jill DeWit  

If you’ve ever looked at land investing and thought, “Okay, but what does this actually cost?” you’re asking the right question. 

Most people don’t fail at land investing because the method doesn’t work. They fail because they don’t plan for the real costs, underestimate what it takes to get traction, and don’t have a clear framework for what “success” looks like in the first 90 days. 

So let’s talk about it plainly, with real numbers, and with the context that matters. I’m going to break down the true costs to get started and succeed using a straightforward model: buy undervalued land directly from owners, create a real estate deal through outreach and negotiation, then sell at market value. This is the kind of land investing education that helps you move forward with clarity—without guessing, and without overcomplicating it. 

Land investing has low overhead—but it isn’t “no cost” 

Compared to most businesses, land investing is one of the lowest-cost models you can start. There’s no storefront, no inventory, no staff you need on day one, and no expensive build-out before you can earn revenue. 

But low overhead doesn’t mean “free.” You’ll need three things to succeed: the right education, a real marketing plan, and the willingness to invest time consistently enough to turn effort into deals. 

That’s the reality. And it’s also why this business is so accessible. You’re not paying for a building—you’re paying to build a skill. 

The three real costs you need to budget for 

When you strip it down, your budget falls into three buckets: education, marketing, and time. 

1) Education: plan on about $3,000 to start 

You need land investing education the same way you need education for anything that reliably produces income. You’re learning a complete system: market selection, pricing, due diligence, seller conversations, negotiation, deal structure, selling, and repeatability. 

A realistic starting point is around $3,000. Some people will spend less. Some will spend more. But the exact number matters less than the point: it’s minimal compared to what you can make on your first successful transaction. 

If you’re thinking, “That feels like a lot,” compare it to other forms of education. It’s the price of a single college class (sometimes less). And unlike most college classes, this one can pay you back quickly—if you implement. 

2) Marketing: budget $3,000–$5,000 for your first 90 days 

Marketing is where land investors either build momentum or stall out. 

If you want deals, you need conversations. And to get conversations, you need outreach. In our world, that often means sending offers by mail. A realistic budget for the first 90 days is $3,000 to $5,000 for mail and startup-related marketing costs. 

This isn’t about burning money. It’s about sending enough volume to learn what works, dial in your approach, and generate real seller calls. Because the business isn’t “mail.” The business is creating real estate deals—often by asking the right questions, digging deeper, and discovering what the seller actually wants to do. 

Mail is what creates the opportunity. Your follow-through is what turns it into a deal. 

3) Time: the most important “cost” of all 

Time is the one cost nobody can avoid, and it’s also the cost most people underestimate. 

If you’re starting while working a job, time becomes a tradeoff. You’ll be shifting some of your free time into building this business. How much time is “enough” depends on your goals, but what I can tell you is this: you don’t build traction by thinking about it. You build traction by doing the small tasks consistently. 

When I started, it became my life—not because I was forced, but because I was excited. It was fun. Talking to sellers was fun. Putting deals together was fun. Watching the numbers work was fun. That matters because land investing isn’t a magic wand. It won’t solve every problem in your life without you changing anything about your habits, your follow-through, or your willingness to take responsibility for the result. 

Motivation isn’t something you “find”—it’s something you bring 

One of the best lines I’ve heard on this topic is: “I don’t motivate people. I hire motivated people.” 

That’s true in business and it’s true here. 

If you’re not self-motivated, no tool will save you. No course will save you. No system will save you. You have to want it badly enough to move from consumption into implementation. 

Land investing can absolutely be a financial opportunity—but only if it feels like an extension of who you already are, or who you’re willing to become. If it’s calling you—if it keeps popping into your head on your drive to work and on your way home—that’s worth listening to. That pull is often the difference between people who dabble and people who build something real. 

A major opportunity land investors should watch: luxury RV real estate 

One of the reasons I love land investing is because land is not just a “buy low, sell high” business. Land is the foundation for other real estate segments, and some of those segments are growing fast. 

A great example is luxury RV real estate. 

This is not the “pull into a campground and put cash in an envelope” world anymore. There are luxury RV resorts now with gated entrances, paved sites, fountains, pools, pickleball, movie theaters, and resort-level amenities. And people are paying for it—happily. 

In 2024, roughly 25.1 million RV camping trips took place in the U.S., which is a new record. Many luxury RV sites are running around $100 per night—roughly double the cost of a standard RV site. This is becoming a meaningful segment inside the outdoor hospitality industry, and it’s projected to keep growing. 

Now, this doesn’t mean you can buy any piece of land and build a luxury RV park. Zoning matters. Infrastructure matters. Location matters. But if you’re a land investor, this is exactly the kind of trend you should have on your radar. 

One smart model is buying an older RV park in a great location—especially one that’s aged out or closed—where zoning is already in place. You’re not building a high-rise. You’re improving land and infrastructure and creating an environment people want to stay in. Once it’s built correctly, guests are largely self-sufficient: they pull in, hook up, and handle their own living. That’s part of what makes the management side more feasible than many people assume. 

The investor who controls the land has the leverage. The opportunity starts there. 

So what’s the real budget? 

If you want a real number you can plan around, here’s a reasonable starting framework for your first 90 days: 

Plan on roughly $6,000 to $10,000 total in the early phase, with the understanding that “time” is personal and flexible. Education plus marketing is the cleanest way to quantify your investment. Your time commitment is what determines how quickly results show up. 

That’s still incredibly low compared to most business models—and it’s the reason land investing remains one of the most accessible ways to build a real, scalable income stream. 

The biggest cost isn’t money. 

It’s whether you’re willing to do the work consistently long enough for the first deal to change everything.