A Texas man turned 10 acres into a $100,000-a-year glamping business with just $12,000 down

A US real estate investor has built a successful outdoor hospitality business on the outskirts of Houston, Texas, after buying a 10-acre residential property with an upfront payment of just $12,000 (£9,200). Garrett Brown has a full-time job and also teaches through the property education platform BiggerPockets. He used a strategy he calls "land hacking" to build Cameron Ranch Glamping. According to an industry report published by Modern Campground, the business now earns more than $100,000 a year in gross revenue, without Brown having to leave his main job. By choosing residential property instead of undeveloped rural land, Brown avoided the long process of installing utilities and dealing with complex local planning rules. These challenges often delay new outdoor accommodation projects.Land hacking strategyTo start the business, Brown bought a house on 10 acres of unrestricted land for $550,000. Instead of making a standard down payment, he negotiated concessions with the seller and secured the property with a down payment of just 2 per cent. The land already had utility connections, enough septic system capacity, and road access through the main house. This meant he avoided spen...