The practice of 'flipping' houses is quite common in Canada - many people buy a property, fix up the building, and sell it at a markup that covers the cost of the renovations plus a profit. Flipping land itself is a more rare practice, but given the increasing demand for farmland and availability of 'distressed' properties (due to clear cutting, petrochemical spills, etc) it seems likely to be a growth industry, so long as there is enough 'slow' capital to start. As rejuvenating distressed land ties in very closely with our investment philosophy, this is one of our founding projects.
Most rehabilitation techniques require very large capital investments and have a short turnaround time. However, bioremediation techniques can be applied as well, often with low upfront costs in exchange for a long turnaround. A group willing to work over a longer timeframe could thus be competitive in a market that is typically prohibitively capital-intensive.
By cross-pollinating this project with the 'rural incubator' project, unproductive rural land can be put to use as a temporary workshop for innovators working on other projects, while at the same time undergoing low-cost, long-timeframe rehabilitation. The basic exchange is a long-term lease in exchange for making a positive impact on the land for the duration.
This project is partially inspired by Adecoagro's Land transformation business sector and will be balancing best practices from other industries with our own experimentation.