Quote Originally Posted by sniper7 View Post
Buy it if you can afford it. They aren't making any more (or at least not much)
Unfortunately, that doesn't make it an investment.

My mom bought a residential-size, waterfront lot on Table Rock lake near Branson, MO in the mid-60s. Price at the time was $2k, give or take, I think. She gave me the property in the early 80s after it was obvious the area wasn't really going to become what it was predicted to become (in terms of development, tourism, etc...). I've been to it once...it's just an overgrown, tick-infested chunk of land that costs me a modest amount in taxes every year (about $45). And with the way the water table varies due to the higher water usage with an increased population in the region, it's only occasionally a waterfront property now.

I've paid over $1300 in taxes on the place in 30 years. I can't even find a realtor who will accept the listing to sell it. It's not even worth what my mom paid for it. I haven't seen the place in probably 28 years. For all I know someone could've built a house on it.

Will that change? Maybe. But at this point I wouldn't consider it an investment. Hell...it's not even a good tax write off.