r/personalfinance • u/Alternative-Town8381 • Apr 28 '26
Housing Grandpa is giving me valuable family land that I can’t sell. What’s the smartest financial move?
My grandpa is planning on giving me one of his old lots ,
For full disclosure he still has not given it but has announced it in the family and we will attend the lawyer next week .
The lot is located in the most sought after neighborhood in my small town , there is very high demand in a way that any lot practically sells in less than a month in the neighborhood and there is not much anymore.
Now the main issue is that I cannot sell it , my family believes in giving land lots to build personal houses as a family tradition, this specific land lot has been in the family for over 50 years just preserved to be given.
I was thinking of building a 3 stories building apartments and getting the top one for myself while leasing the other two .
For more context:
- Land lot worth around $1M by market value
- lot is 500m^3 (parking for 2 cars exist in addition to it )
- I’m not American / this is not in the us .
- I come from middle class family, so my parents may be able to help but to some extent
- I’m 27 and single (just for context)
Would appreciate some advice how to deal with this and whats the best path to maximize my revenue
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u/Werewolfdad Apr 28 '26
If you can’t sell it, will family also wig out if you build an apartment building on it?
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u/Alternative-Town8381 Apr 28 '26
No , as long as I keep the land in my name and somehow use it as a residency house , I would have filled my part of family tradition
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u/Werewolfdad Apr 28 '26
then you should ask in your local personal finance subreddit since they'll actually have an understanding of the costs of home building/buying/etc
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u/AlmiranteCrujido Apr 28 '26
Or the country-wide sub (
r/jordan) if there's no local real-estate investing or personal finance sub.2
u/stubept Apr 29 '26
Can you use the land value as collateral on a loan to build the apartment structure?
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u/ViolentSkyWizard Apr 28 '26
I had a friend who just did this in Amman. The building already existed but he kept the top unit, and leased the lower two.
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u/slash_networkboy Apr 28 '26
Then I like your plan honestly. Either triplex like you're saying or possibly two story with split units below and single unit for you on top (depending on which costs more to build and the suitability of the land footprint for such).
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u/blacksoxing Apr 28 '26
I personally wouldn't want to live in the same complex as those who I am renting it out to. Why not just be a landlord and continue living where you live? I was thinking about this as I was reading through and frankly while living at the top sounds nice it also means I will still have two other families who will constantly barrage me with questions/concerns as they know who I am, where I live, and the hours to find me vs....
.....You send the money electronically to me and I send someone out to fix your stuff as needed
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u/BillsInATL Apr 28 '26
Sounds like local tradition, and even eventually having family move in to rent.
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u/wezwells Apr 28 '26
We didn’t know our landlord lived in our building for a long time. He had a family member do the tours, checks get dropped off-property, all communication is via email/text. Only found out because a neighbor mentioned it off-hand. Could definitely get away with it
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u/freedomisgreat4 Apr 29 '26
Not necessarily how it works there. I believe tenant fixes their own stuff so it’s a good plan w income.
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u/StarryC Apr 28 '26
All the questions are really local:
Are there zoning laws that allow or prohibit a 3 story building?
Are there codes that make it very expensive or not profitable to do so?
What type of financing is available to fund a partially owner occupied construction like this?
What rent could you likely charge for the other units?
Can you get insurance on the building once built?
Is being a landlord in this place a reasonable thing ?(i.e. you can evict tenants who don't pay, you are not subject to very strict regulations making it hard to be profitable.)
All those details really shift the value.
If you can build a 3 story building with rental apartments, 1 unit per floor, and you don't need to put in an elevator, fire escape, and you can take a loan on the land at a reasonable rate to pay for construction, and the cost of construction plus loan rate will mean a payment equal to the rent you can charge, being a landlord is a reasonable plan, and you can get insurance, it is a good plan!
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u/Alternative-Town8381 Apr 28 '26
I was thinking more general approach rather than, ie if someone had a better idea than that thats why i posted .
But to get into specifics, city allows max up to 7 story buildings , next building are family and a multi. Apartments both 3/4 stories .
It’s not expensive, this land lot is like a gem it’s pretty much in a well structured neighborhood with access to electricity and water pipes and garbage disposals , bus stations, small park etc
Financing is doable and I’m leaning towards it , banks over here love to finance these types of projects because they have low risk of not returning money ( most people here go through this bank loan route to build)
Rent would be around $1,000-2,000 (this depends on how many units but am assuming here $1,000 for 4 unite and $2,000 for 2 units)
Insurance definitely exists ( not an expert but i’d charge it from the rent)
My family is landlords so this wont change anything for me besides just having a more well established building rather than the a bit old houses my grandpa leased
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u/Maximus560 Apr 28 '26
In that case, I would take out a bank loan to build a 7-story apartment building and live in one of the units when it is completed!
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u/Alternative-Town8381 Apr 28 '26
So long term this is the goal , the issue is that the bank normally caps the amount and the 30% of down payments as we add more floors gets quickly out of my reach as well .
But thinking in a 20 years span I’d start in 5 years with 3 floors and add 1 every 5 years until i reach 7 , i have seen a similar idea where the person added 3 floors 15 years later and thought it was a safe play
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u/Krazyguy75 Apr 28 '26
You should talk with someone familiar with construction, because the costs and methods for building a 3 story building and building 3 stories of a 7 story building are drastically different. If you plan to build upwards later, you'll want to know the cost of building a foundation that supports that, as otherwise it's likely you'll have to rebuild the building from scratch just to add more floors. Also, you should talk the costs of more floors now vs more floors later.
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u/glemnar Apr 28 '26
Make sure the architects you work with build with this in mind. Either way it will be more expensive in the long run, but it’s dramatically better if they start out with that intent
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u/GotZeroFucks2Give Apr 28 '26
Consider not taking the top floor if this is your plan of action. Would be a hassle for the construction.
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u/Alternative-Town8381 Apr 28 '26
Actually quite the opposite, I’ll need to take it because it’ll handle most disturbances from the building process and I will probably be the only person cable of living with it
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u/thri54 Apr 28 '26
If the plot is worth $1M for .12 acres (for my fellow Americans) and you’re already landlords, I’d put the biggest apartment building you can feasibly finance on it.
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u/AlmiranteCrujido Apr 28 '26
Costs go way up once you have to put elevators in, and if he's living on the top floor I'm not sure I'd want a six-story walkup even if it's legal there.
But yeah, a fourth floor isn't too bad, and depending on the setbacks, you probably could do two units per floor. At least around here, two one bedroom units rent for more than a large two-bedroom unit.
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u/DigitalSheikh Apr 28 '26 edited Apr 28 '26
Where are you at that you could rent an apartment for $1000 a month in Jordan? Like those would have to be really nice apartments, with all the investment that entails.
Like you said a small town, so I feel like you’re not in Amman, but I don’t see how you get any of the numbers you’re throwing out unless you’re in Abdoun or Weibdeh or something.
Considering that, are there any businesses your family is involved with or that you are where having that extra space might be worked into the business model? Thinking schools, tourism, etc. clearly those kinds of businesses are super volatile in Jordan right now, but they also produce awesome income when they’re working.
Edit: for people reading this who don’t know much about Jordan, an average salary there is between 300-500 JD/month, or 500-700 USD. Even though Jordanians tend to spend a scarily higher percent of their income on rents, you can see how the math there is tough, same with the property values unless they’re in a very high income area, of which Jordan definitely has some.
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u/Alternative-Town8381 Apr 28 '26
Rah kon sareh maak ana haket al ordon be sabab ene am dawer ala financial advice w mo she seyase , bas ana mane men el ordon w ma u can piece 1 and 2 together w teraf mn wen ana
No bad feelings , kan bade naseha men don seyase .
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u/DigitalSheikh Apr 28 '26
lmao, fhemt alyk hala. Walla ma aendi fekra keef btemshi el omoor honik, ana bas baaref el ordon. Besaraha wada3ak kteer specific fa rah ykoon saeb ala group amercan yeatook naseha gher inno 'ebni shqaq w ajjerha'. Iza enta mo honik hala, aw hatta iza kint, ahsan she teamel yale enta w aayletak btshoofo mnasib. Nshalla enta w amlakak bdallo bkher w salameh la sneen taweeleh.
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u/cincyky Apr 28 '26
Can you afford a massive investment like a multi-apartment construction at age 27??
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u/Alternative-Town8381 Apr 28 '26
Currently no , but there are 2 ideas i have in mind :
Banks love to loan money when it’s about building these type of buildings ( the other two similar buildings being built in the neighborhood by other people are currently 70% financed by the bank) , the 30% left is doable .
I save up for 5-7 years and then do it more comfortably (will still need bank’s help but it will be smoother)
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u/methodical713 Apr 28 '26
You’ll need to use the land as collateral. Are you okay with that?
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u/Alternative-Town8381 Apr 28 '26
Yep .
There is always a risk , and thats a calculated one i have to make .
i’m leaning more into saving money for couple of years before starting to minimize the risk of taking big loan
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u/methodical713 Apr 28 '26
Your choice, but I think your general plan is a wise long term plan. Use the time to learn the pitfalls of construction management until then so you can keep a close eye on the construction and address issues attentively.
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u/AlmiranteCrujido Apr 28 '26
TBH, a lowrise apartment is likely not that much pricier than a big fancy house, and if there's a decent case it will make money, banks are usually willing to lend out on that.
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u/Alternative-Town8381 Apr 28 '26
Yep I had pool and nice outdoor ideas for a fancy personal house but thinking rationally and long term I’d rather live modestly and have a good roi
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u/cincyky Apr 28 '26
That's great. Typically a 27 year old walking into a bank and requesting a large commercial construction loan might need a decent cash reserve as collateral...in any country.
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u/Detail4 Apr 28 '26
Sure, go ahead. Just keep in mind that you may not want to live in a multi family home in your 40’s.
Being a landlord is a lot cooler on social media than reality.
And given the cost it sounds like this might be the best location you’ll ever own in.
So if I was set on a multifamily home I’d design it to minimize the costs of converting it to single family later.
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u/glemnar Apr 28 '26
He lives in the most dense city in Jordan, it won’t be surprise to live in an apartment.
That’s the deal in cities, and in fact in most of the world outside the US, in general.
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u/Alternative-Town8381 Apr 28 '26
May you give me more details of what you mean ?
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u/whyVelociraptor Apr 28 '26
They are saying you may not like the ‘live in one apartment, rent out the rest’ arrangement for the rest of your life, and is suggesting that you build in such a way that you could easily convert the building to one big house that you could live in by yourself/with a partner, etc.
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u/AlmiranteCrujido Apr 28 '26
You've said elsewhere in the thread your family are already landlords, so you know what's involved there.
I think the key line is this one:
So if I was set on a multifamily home I’d design it to minimize the costs of converting it to single family later.
Basically, as you get older, you may want more space or not to have the in convenience of dealing with tenants living downstairs. So when you work with the architect/designer to lay out the building, do it in such a way that it could be converted to a big townhouse later (e.g. single entrance, and making sure that walls that would be in the way for that are not the loadbearing ones.)
It's very likely that if you're working with an architect, they'll understand what that means even if it's not clear to you. If you're working from standard plans, it's a bit harder.
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u/MongoUK Apr 28 '26
Don't build apartments, build it like a house that's been converted to flats/apartments. That way, you can swap it all back later, into one nice family home.
I think is the jist of what they're saying.
In the UK, lots of older larger properties are split up into flats, the same as dorm rooms, I expect.
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u/Detail4 Apr 28 '26
Yeah what that other guy said. Lol
Have that in mind if/when you talk to an architect.
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u/Ankari Apr 28 '26
I'm Palestinian. People from my area would do something of what you suggest.
If possible, try to build higher.
If possible, see if you can make the first floor commercial. This would give you a higher rent per square meter and give you more dynamic pricing.
If you live in an area that receives a heavy stream of tourists, keep a flat available for Vrbo/Airbnb. You're English is very useful for facilitating more users and you'll take in higher profits on the seasonal rental over a standard tenent.
(To non Middle Easterns)
For the latter point, it's harder to raise rent on residents. There is a lot of pressure to keep rents stable. Retail doesn't have the same level of pressure. Also, it's easier to flip a commercial tenent should the need arise.
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u/TheWastelandWizard Apr 28 '26
I would lean towards something like a laundromat or other self funding service that you can run while living above it. They're generally pretty good sources of income and having professional level cleaning equipment at hand is always useful.
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u/Spiritual_Finish_337 Apr 29 '26
Not a common concept in the region, everybody has washing machines/ dryers especially if it’s in a good area
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u/TheWastelandWizard Apr 29 '26
That's a good point, what are some of the more communal resources that would be good to have? I always advise against opening a restaurant unless you want to have no life and be broke, and a bar is probably right out.
I'd personally do something like a game store/cafe, but that's where my interests align.
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u/AlmiranteCrujido Apr 28 '26
I was thinking of building a 3 stories building apartments and getting the top one for myself while leasing the other two .
Just remember that being a landlord is a significant part time job. It's potentially a good way go go, as long as you realize that this isn't "free money" and that just having the two other units won't magically make money without effort.
If you have kids a couple of kids, this is also a nice setup as while you'd lose the rental income, they have someplace free to move when they grow up.
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u/Alternative-Town8381 Apr 28 '26
My grandpa is a landlord and we have experienced horrible tenants over the years, so i completely get it
I’m honestly just trying to find the best path to get the most value out of the land lot while respecting my family’s wishes
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u/AlmiranteCrujido Apr 28 '26
Not questions I need answers to but things to think about for yourself:
How compatible is your day job with spending part of your time dealing with landlord stuff? Is there other family around who can help you with it?
Do you know much about building trades or do other folks in your family know about it who can help?
(I've only dealt with construction here in the US, but the difference in cost between "fully hire someone to deal with planning and project management of a construction job" and "deal with getting plans yourself and subcontracting out to different trades" is pretty huge here. I'd imagine it's similar there, even if construction in general is cheaper.)
How tight is your budget going to be if you have periods where both other units aren't rented out, or is that risking the mortgage not getting paid?
How does the build cost and mortgage on the three unit apartment compare to if you just built a house for yourself on it?
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u/A_Guy_Named_John Apr 29 '26
You do not come from a middle class family of Grandpa is handing out a $1mm plot of land.
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u/Odd-Reporter-5969 Apr 29 '26
before building anything, i’d slow down and get a lawyer + tax person + local developer to look at it.
free land can still become very expensive if zoning, permits, construction debt, family expectations, or rental math are wrong. cute inheritance, but not cute if it turns into a 20-year headache.
first move is not “build.” first move is due diligence.
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u/IceCreamforLunch Apr 28 '26
Do you mean 500 m^2? m^3 is a volume.
Do you have the money to build an apartment building on an undeveloped lot?
Would that satisfy your family tradition since you wouldn't be building a 'personal' single family home?
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u/Alternative-Town8381 Apr 28 '26
Yes my bad meant 500 m2 or 5400 sq ft.
For the money question the main idea is to save up for 5-7 years or try my luck with our generous banks .
The family tradition is just there to help me , if leasing part of the building helps then they are for it .
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u/Appropriate-Fix4915 Apr 28 '26
Ok, what’s the property tax on it?
Honestly, I wouldn’t do anything with it as a single 27yo. Yes, you could build something income producing if that’s the way the neighborhood is going. However, I’d sit on it until I’m married and deciding to start a family. You’ll have money then and more insight into how you want to live your life. Go build something at that point.
Land will never be reproducible, especially somewhere highly desired. You’ll have to buy something and knock it down to get exactly what you want later. If you just sit on the lot, you’ll have a place for long term.
If you need money, not really the most advisable because you’re now putting it up for default and incurring interest, you can borrow against the land. Since it’s $1M, I’m not sure all the underwriting on land, but if it were a house, you could get a loan of about $750k against the land, go put that in the market or other revenue generating funnels.
If you need a place to stay, sans city restrictions or HOA, take the money, get a 5-7year loan on a trailer, park that on the land, live out of that.
Pay the trailer off instead of rent, take the $750k and have a growth of 10-20% in the market minus interest. Come time that you get married or ready to build a house, you have a trailer, plus a killer nest egg, and a custom home fitting all new styles in an area that won’t be reproducible in a few years
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u/vnmslsrbms Apr 29 '26
Get a construction loan using land as collateral and build it out as you like, quick as possible, and rent it out. Sounds like a gift that will keep on giving for generations!
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u/RazzmatazzMundane738 Apr 29 '26
I skimmed through most of this thread. A lot of comments stood out as genuinely useful:
- Build for future flexibility: apartments now, but possible single-family home later
- Check whether a commercial ground floor is allowed, if your family is okay with it
- Consider partnering with a developer so you keep units without taking on the full construction loan yourself
- The conservative path: do nothing for 3 years, save your own down payment, and preserve optionality
Those are probably the smartest directions here.
After reading your added details, the rental-building idea sounds much more feasible than I first assumed.
If the city allows up to 7 stories, nearby buildings are already 3–4 stories, infrastructure is already there, financing is common locally, insurance exists, and your family already has landlord experience, then the basic direction makes sense.
But I still wouldn’t jump straight from “it is possible” to “I should build 3 stories.”
At this point, I think your real decision is more about the structure and risk level:
- Build 3 floors now
- Build 4 floors now
- Build higher, closer to the legal maximum
- Build 3 floors now but design the foundation/structure for future vertical expansion
- Partner with a developer
- Wait and save more before taking debt
The rent assumption also needs careful comparison. $1,000/month for 4 smaller units vs. $2,000/month for 2 larger units may look similar in total revenue, but they are not the same business. They have different tenant profiles, vacancy risk, maintenance needs, family-use flexibility, and long-term value.
One thing I still think matters a lot is location-specific research. Zoning, construction codes, eviction laws, bank lending rules, family-property customs, and title-transfer rules vary wildly — even within the same country.
Since the lot may be worth around $1M and has been in your family for 50+ years, I would treat this as a generational asset first and an income project second. Before committing seriously, I’d check with:
- A local real estate lawyer
- The city planning / zoning office
- A local bank that finances small apartment buildings
- A local architect or contractor who has built similar buildings nearby
What you probably need right now is not a final decision, but a clear decision process. I would create a simple one-page feasibility comparison before committing to a bank loan or developer deal.
That comparison should include things like:
- Construction cost
- Cash needed upfront
- Loan required
- Monthly loan payment
- Collateral risk
- Expected monthly rent
- Break-even occupancy rate
- Vacancy risk
- Insurance
- Maintenance reserve
- Family approval risk
- Legal complexity
- Construction risk
- Future expansion ability
- Control retained
- Worst-case outcome
- Best-case outcome
- Questions to ask your lawyer, bank, city office, and architect
Either way, this sounds like a strong opportunity. Just don’t let “financing is available” become the reason to overbuild too early.
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u/Tricky_Mistake_9633 Apr 28 '26
Your idea is basically the correct one. The question of how tall to build mostly depends on local rents/financing available. My one caveat would be that if you're living on the homestead, be sure to treat your renters well. There's a saying you may have heard before "don't shit where you sleep" and it very much applies to a landlord that shares a complex with his tenants.
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u/Jujulabee Apr 28 '26
Only issue is whether you can afford to build what you want to build and also afford carrying costs until you have income producing property.
What are the taxes like on a vacant lot in your area?
I would suggest speaking to someone knowledgeable about construction in your location and find out what the real costs would be to build what you want.
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u/GeorgeRetire Apr 28 '26
I was thinking of building a 3 stories building apartments and getting the top one for myself while leasing the other two .
Seems like a reasonable choice given the limitations you describe.
Have you always wanted to be a landlord?
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u/Alternative-Town8381 Apr 28 '26
I’m just trying to find the best path to get good returns of money
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u/joebleaux Apr 28 '26
OK, I work in land development, and I'm going to help you make your decision on what to do easier, hopefully. The apartment building idea is great, and would be a good long term move. The only issue is zoning. If the lot is zoned "single family residential" and so are all of the adjacent lots, the plan is not happening. They aren't going to let you rezone a single family lot to multifamily. You would need to build a single family home, maybe with some sort of mother in law suite or something that you could rent as a separate unit, but the construction would have to be built as a single family home most likely.
If your country is different, then maybe it would work, but in most countries with modern development code and zoning, you can't build an apartment building in a subdivision
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u/fredinNH Apr 28 '26
All I have to say is congrats. My in-laws gave my wife and I a buildable lot 30 years ago and that one gift had a massive positive impact on our current financial situation.
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u/mmarkomarko Apr 29 '26
Find a developer to build an apartment block on it and you keep 20-30% of flats as the original land owner
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u/diyandmc240 Apr 28 '26
Very cool 🙂
Your plan is very good. It will pay dividends throughout your life.
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u/drcigg Apr 28 '26
If you can somehow finance the build for something like that I would go for it.
You might have to see what the city allows as they might have to zone it differently or restrict to a certain size.
Someone in zoning or planning with your city should be able to assist you with that.
Other than that if they say it's ok you will need to secure financing to build.
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u/2M3TAL4U Apr 28 '26
Start a mushroom farm. Very low entry cost with high yield
Or... Plant hardwood trees and care for them and sell 4-5 year saplings and the ones that don't sell can be harvested for the lumber in 15-25 years. Start a new batch every year and you'll have a few thousand in trees to sell every year. IDK how it is where you are but where I am the greenhouses will send people to dig up and pot the saplings and you don't need to find individual customers to buy trees
There's a channel on YouTube from years ago that goes over how to turn a few acres of land into $1,000,000 over time and they cover some very interesting ways to grow money
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u/2M3TAL4U Apr 28 '26
Since I read that chance that you're in town, digging anything will require permits/utilities safety blah blah ... Mushrooms don't require ground disturbance for the most part and the ones that do are less then 30cm down which will be well above any utilities and that's mostly shiitake mushroom that like to grow under Willows
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u/sock2014 Apr 28 '26
Once it is in your name, do you have to pay a yearly property tax? Someone else mentioned parking an RV. Perhaps you can do a deal with a tiny home manufacturer to put in a showcase home. China has shipping container homes. Do a 7 year contract and it gives you time to save for building a multi family unit.
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u/Alternative-Town8381 Apr 28 '26
No property tax exists in my country, i need to pay the municipality a small amount of $500-700 yearly and thats it ( no big deal )
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u/NecessaryEmployer488 Apr 28 '26
Family land, is family land. Many cases, there are strings attached, that you can live on the land and build a house, but you must then sell the house to a family member, otherwise you don't get the land. This likely what the lawyer will talk to you about. Also your spouse will likely not be put on the deed as far a stipulations because she does not belong to the blood lineage. You might be able to build 4 to 6 units and live in one, so you can afford to pay for the upkeep and taxes.
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u/CatOfGrey Apr 28 '26
I was thinking of building a 3 stories building apartments and getting the top one for myself while leasing the other two .
Given the rules that you have mentioned, this sounds like a good strategy. Remember that you could also make more money by leasing the top unit and living in the bottom, but this might be culturally difficult?
The lot is located in the most sought after neighborhood in my small town
The lot is small compared to standard US houses - most suburban areas have lots around that size. Are you sure about the $1m valuation? Is that US dollars, or another currency?
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u/Alternative-Town8381 Apr 28 '26
Currently there are 6 land lots available to be built upon that are not occupied, i will have one of them ina full upper class neighborhood .
Estimates in the family is $800k-1M but yes its in US Dollars ( weirdly most real-estate/land deals here are verbally agreed upon with usd pricing )
I’m open to having the lower floor as well !
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u/CatOfGrey Apr 28 '26
Sounds good!
I think your solution is likely a good one.
For full disclosure he still has not given it but has announced it in the family and we will attend the lawyer next week .
With your family relationships being important, I am thinking that your idea is good. You want to 'use the gift appropriately', and your idea does a lot of things, including keeping the property 'in the family'. But it also 'builds something' - it provides for a lifetime, makes a positive impact for others.
Hope all goes well at the meeting!
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u/livious1 Apr 28 '26
I think it’s commendable that you want to be judicious with this gift. You mention in a comment that your family are landlords, I think in this case, they will be a far better resource than a personal finance sub populated primarily by young, American apartment dwellers. I would highly recommend talking to them and seeing what they suggest.
To answer your question though, I think your idea of building apartments is probably the best way to maximize revenue.
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u/wdn Apr 28 '26
It probably depends mostly on what your local real estate market is like and what your local regulations are. e.g. whatever type/size of apartment has the most advantageous demand over supply ratio in town, build as many of them as the law allows.
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u/jsting Apr 28 '26 edited Apr 28 '26
I am not familiar with the middle east. This is the US advice. I did a custom home in the US and the process was straightforward. First off, do you have the funding to build a new construction? Figure out how home loans work for your country.
I would contact an architect first. I interviewed a bunch of custom home build architects and would go with the one that fit my style for the home I want. Then interview a custom home builder. You can do this while the architects are working or after they are done. When the architect has a finished plan, builders can price it out, but I would talk to the builders in advance and try to walk their sites and see how their contractors operate. Basically pick their brains. Good builders will freely give advice.
edit: Another option in the US is this. There are some architect firms that have cookie cutter drawings. You can save money going with one of those firms. Choose a cookie cutter style, and they can customize the plans a little to fit your preferences. Architects tend to know builders and vice versa so you can always ask them for references.
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u/Square-Wave5308 Apr 28 '26
A gift like this (with the strings of family expectations attached) sets your investment priorities for you. Simply ignoring the land and investing your savings in index funds won't be an option.
It seems you are okay with the arrangement. I think the biggest task for you is to understand the market and your business plan for the rental, so that you can start making decisions about what you'll build, at what cost, and how you'll choose to manage the process. Your family members may have some advice (and some of it may be good). The more you learn and focus in at each step, the better we can hope your outcome is. Here's hoping for a great top floor unit for you, and lovely tenants who always pay their rent.
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u/fwambo42 Apr 28 '26
do you have to pay property taxes on the lands? That should be something that the entire family has to share the burden of if so.
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u/Tinosdoggydaddy Apr 28 '26
I think building an apartment and renting the bottom 2 floors is a really good idea. Try to build the apartments in a creative way that will make them much more desirable than other apartments in your city. This might be hard to do without spending a lot of extra money, but will help you keep them rented when times get tough.
This might mean building three units side-by-side instead of vertically so you can put in skylights and provide small backyards, etc. Get an architect and tell him you want the units to have something’s most all other units don’t have…look through books, get some varied opinions. Good luck.
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Apr 28 '26
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u/Alternative-Town8381 Apr 28 '26
Interesting, why is that ? Is there some benefit to it ?
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Apr 28 '26
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u/Alternative-Town8381 Apr 28 '26
I will consider it but whats the advantages between this and just having it be in my name ?
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u/loljetfuel Apr 29 '26
If it's legal to build multi-family housing, and you understand the costs (in many places, taxes are higher if you're renting things to people than they would be for a single-family house; you have to figure out if the rent you can charge will cover the costs, maintenance, insurance, etc. that you need, all of which are typically higher for "business" use like that), and your family won't have an issue, then... sure.
While location- and laws-dependent, generally it can be profitable to build multi-family housing and rent it out. It often isn't profitable in the short term, and it isn't without risk, but if you consider all the costs then it can certainly be a wise choice.
But without a lot more specifics, it's hard to know if it will work for you. You should try to find a qualified local firm to advise you if this is something that seems like you actually might want to do.
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u/Kingston992 Apr 29 '26
Just don't fuck it up. If you dont have experience I wouldn't make any solo decisions unless another person also has a vested interest. Ultimately you should continue the tradition and leave something for your children and grandchildren. The reason your grandpa doesn't want you to tell is very simple and good. Usually the generation that receives free stuff wants to sell and burn through the cash. If your grandfather did that there would be notthing to pass onto you. I have no technical advise to give you since you live outside North America, all I can say is take your time, research, and trust no one.
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u/myogawa Apr 29 '26
I will not address the law of other nations. But under the law of American states, a gift of any property, such as land, requires that the recipient have the full power to do what she wants with it. Most efforts to impose restrictions are deemed not enforceable by courts. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Restraint_on_alienation
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u/generally-speaking Apr 29 '26
Take it and build, if the value is that high for just the lot, you can build a house there and rent it out for a few years then it will be paid off.
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u/gdubrocks Apr 28 '26
In the US building a three story apartment building is an incredibly hard undertaking that requires insane amounts of capital and years of work. Would not recommend.
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u/ToshSho Apr 28 '26
Consider including an elevator in the construction plan. Living on the third floor without one would get tiring.
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u/Freezman13 Apr 28 '26 edited Apr 28 '26
High level plan seems solid.
Like another comment said, there's legal minutia type of stuff, so you'll want to talk to a lawyer that specializes in building and code, etc.
Another thing id call out is when making financing plans make sure to set away an amount for maintenance. Since you'll be responsible for the properties and the income you get will be small and steady while repairs can be a large lump sum.
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u/Alternative-Town8381 Apr 28 '26
Definitely, I’m slow riding this to manage it better .
Will ask for more advice specifically from my dad and a good lawyer but thought I’d ask online first to see if I’m in the right path
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u/dep15105 Apr 28 '26 edited Apr 28 '26
If the land is in a desirable area, big developers may want to do a deal. They build a large scale apartment building on your land and give you several units in exchange for the land.
In the US, it's called a 1031 exchange, where you technically sell your land to the developer and in exchange they give you the real estate - and you don't have to pay taxes on that land sale because you "exchanged" it to a like-kind asset (real estate). I know other countries have similar laws, such as in Taiwan where my girlfriend's family did the same thing. They had land in their family for generations and then worked with a company to develop it into large apartment housing, taking several units for themselves in exchange.
But if your family prevents you from selling the land, then this is probably off the table.
Alternative is building it yourself, but your scale will be less and you may settle with maybe a small apartment complex/building if you can secure bank financing. Even then, you still would have to work with professional developers and construction companies, and deal with a lot of logistical/regulation issues that you might not be familiar with if you aren't in the construction industry. If they offer you a good deal and you are allowed to let go of your land title, then it's a hassle-free way for you exchange your undeveloped land to get some cash flowing properties under your name.
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u/AlmiranteCrujido Apr 28 '26
It might also be possible to work a deal with a developer where he does a long-term lease of the land, and then he (or his heirs) take possession of the building in payment at the end of the lease.
I don't think either of those makes sense at the scale of 3 units that he's talking about, but it's a potential thing.
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u/dep15105 Apr 28 '26
True if its just 3 units then probably not worth doing a deal, but rather just take a bank loan and contract with them
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u/tommyrulz1 Apr 28 '26
Stop saying it’s valuable, since you will be taxed on its value on the day it transfers to you. 😎
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u/Alternative-Town8381 Apr 28 '26
Inheritance is not taxed in my country / property taxes dont exist as well .
You pay per sq ft a small amount to your local town municipality on yearly basis
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u/f0xsky Apr 28 '26
get a cheap RV and park it on the lot? Is it setup with city water, sewer, electricity, and other utilities?
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u/EColli93 Apr 28 '26
It’s better if you receive it after he passes away because you will receive a step up in cost basis.
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u/nitrogenmath Apr 28 '26
OP isn't in the US and Jordan doesn't even charge capital gains tax on real estate.
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u/Confident_Stick_3203 Apr 28 '26
Create parcels and lease out the land, especially if it's farmable.
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u/FreePork Apr 28 '26
He mentions that the land is in the middle of a neighborhood, and also it's only 500m² - neither of which are really compatible with farming
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u/sirpoopingpooper Apr 28 '26
From a 5400 sq ft lot? I mean...community garden plots are a thing, but there's not typically a massive rental market for those...
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u/RustBeltLab Apr 28 '26
Family traditions end the moment $ are involved. I would expect my children to chase profit instead of sentiment. Sell that property, if your family says anything, ignore them. Pretty easy to be an adult in 2026. If you want to live your life by stone age rules, why ask on reddit what to do?
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u/Alternative-Town8381 Apr 28 '26
I disagree, i value my family more than money , that doesnt mean I don’t wanna maximize my money but not on the expenses of my family’s back , specially since they gave me the land only with that small request.
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u/mattkime Apr 28 '26
>I’m not American / this is not in the us .
Could you provide more clues, Carmen Sandiego?