In 1963, I purchased two long-advertised vacant lots for $750. I did nothing to them but mow the brush a few times. In 1992, I sold them for $15,000. I think I could have held out for $20,000, but I still did well. This was my crowing achievement. — Jack Miller, Neenah, Wis.

The Fool Responds: There’s indeed a lot of money to be made in real estate, as long as you know what you’re doing. Be sure that whatever you buy has great prospects for appreciation or can profit you in some other way, such as via rental income. You realized a 1,900 percent gain on your $750 investment over 29 years. Annualized, that amounts to an average of roughly 11 percent per year. That’s not too shabby, and it’s also in the same neighborhood as the stock market, which has averaged annual returns of about 10 percent over the past many decades. If you’d held out for $20,000, your annual gain would be closer to 12 percent.