People tend to hoard land in my neck of the woods because there's so much oil and gas beneath the surface in so many places.
That is true as well. But you also have to consider that just because the market dictates what a selling price should be, that doesn't mean a buyer won't come along and see the value as something greater. What is it worth to them? A good seller will see this in a potential buyer and play that card to their favor, thus getting a better price. One that is above both market value and the price initially paid.
It varies state to state but keep in mind liability laws can neuter your prospects in a lot of these kinds of ideas. Especially things like paintball, etc. Some states, you can be sued even if you made participants sign a waiver of liability. As far as a retreat of some kind, that might work, just as well as a summer camp, but you'll need a lot of money for a startup fund. A summer camp is going to need at least three cabins - girls, boys, and admin/Head bunk. The AirBNB idea might actually help you more than just renting a cabin long term. If you have space and capital, you could build three cabins, near but with privacy between, and then them out through the service. You'll have a website doing all your real marketing work, and with a good camera and a little bit of head-scratching you can come up with pictures and a catchy description for it. As far as buildings go, there's a few ways you can go about getting some that you could try. Prefabricated tool/work sheds run anywhere from $3,000 to $6,000 where I live, and with some basic work can be insulated and set up to have plumbing pretty quickly. You can set them up on cinderblock bases, and put skirting (the synthetic plastic stone panels look good on a cabin) to keep the varmints out but keep ease of access a priority. It might be possible to buy and fix it up for $6,000-10,000 depending on budget. It'll be a one room affair, but most have little porches built on and they're actually pretty spacious. If you build yourself, then you have a lot more flexibility, but budget and time can be a constraint. If you don't do the work, just make sure you can rely on your contractor, even if you do go the prefab route.
Let me join this intelligent conversation, hahahaaa. I believe there is an unsellable land in the eyes of a layman like me. We used to rent a house in a low lying area that is inundated at least 5 times during the rainy season. The floodwater reaches 4 feet and almost anything in the ground floor is ruined. A house like that is unsellable to me because of its unsavory location. Adding insult to injury, the nearby squatters area is a haven of drug pushers. So again, that is a negative point. We left that house in 2001 when we were able to get a bank loan and bought our own house. Sometime in 2010, we visited the place and the house was demolished. Under construction is a low rise building that would be a condominium. So that unsellable was sold, huh.
As suggested by others, I would say try pitching the property to a different market. Field and Stream, Mother Earth New and other publications like this might be the best place to sell property that is far from civilization.
It's all about marketing and finding the right audience to target. As weird and unwanted as some things may seem, there will always be persons who see some potential in it just as how your dad saw that potential. Since you say it's fertile, you may want to target persons interested in farming on even a small-scale or who knows maybe someone could want to develop the property into an attraction that features hiking. Also, you may need to make improvements on the property to increase interest in it and value. It's just as if you're selling an old house, if you fix it up, you will be more likely to get it sold and at a better price. So maybe your father might have to make efforts to make it more accessible.
You are right, @Sandra. It's all about marketing techniques. This reminds me of my aunt who is fond of brokering for raw lands. For so many hectares, a raw land has little value hence my aunt earns a small commission. But one time she was able to sell a raw land that was intended for a mall in the province. It was unimaginable at the time but it happened. And yes, a mall was erected and now is a landmark of that province.
I don't think that any land is completely worthless, and if it's been bought at a low price, any sale that's above what was paid for it will be good business, even if it's less than what it's actually valued at. Some agents specialise in selling land only so I'm sure they would be the first place I'd be going if I had such a plot, and wasn't sure what to do with it.
You are right. I also believe that land has a value no matter how raw it is. Yesterday I saw a former colleague who is now partially retired. He said he has a farm in the nearby province that is 3,000 square meters which he had planted with banana and some vegetables. He bought it cheap at 640,000 pesos. I was wondering why so cheap and he said the community is full of thieves. What? He would be up at night to guard his vegetables and chickens otherwise the thieves would get it without permisison, of course.
