Best Land Loans

Land Loans VS Mortgage Loans

If you are a property developer, or in the construction business, you may be searching for a land loan in order to purchase the land you intend to develop.

You may not be ready to build at the moment, but the property might be in a location that is hot and rapidly selling out.  The most common type of land loans are for builders and developers who want to lock up that piece of property for future development, yet aren’t ready to begin construction at the moment.  They are not hard to find and land loan rates are often negotiable based on your company’s history and credit worthiness.

Often private individuals spot a piece of property where they would like to have a home built either now, or at some point in the future.  If there are currently no developments on the property, then a land loan would be the way to borrow money in order to purchase that property to be developed at a later date.  Land loans are available if the property is undeveloped.  If there is construction on the property you wouldn’t be looking at land loans, rather you would need to apply for a conventional mortgage loan.

There are times when communities grow at such a fast rate that developers plan shopping plazas or malls in order to grab a rapidly growing market area.  If the developer is not quite ready to build yet, but wants to snag that location, he would probably apply for one of many available commercial land loans.  At some future point when he is ready to build, he can then borrow money through construction loans to be used for the actual development of the property.

Land loans are an integral part of the development of any housing developments.  Builders begin with a land loan.  Once the land has been graded and readied to be built on he then acquires construction loans.  The land loan and the construction loan are then paid back in full upon sale of the property.  Land loans and construction loans are often short term loans.  They may come due at six or twelve month periods.  If the property hasn’t sold, land loans and construction loans are often renewable.

Sometimes several developers and construction companies develop a neighborhood.  If a builder only wants to develop a portion of the land in the development he usually applies for a type of land loan known as lot loans.  Because he is only going to build on a lot or perhaps a few lots in the development they are referred to as lot loans.

The basic difference between a mortgage loan and a land loan then is whether or not there is any construction on the land.  Mortgage loans are for properties that have been developed while land loans provide funds to purchase the land for future development.

Raw and Unimproved Land Loans

First things first – land loans have higher interest rates than most of the other traditional loans and there is a good reason for it. If you get a loan in order to buy a house, then you will in turn use that same house as collateral. But can you do the same with a piece of land? No. The most difficult land to get a loan for is raw land, which has no plans on being used to build anything. These types of loans are even more expensive to the borrower, such as farm loans. Again, think of it in terms of collateral. If the lender is left with an unpaid farm loan, and in return, only gets some acres of unimproved farm land, you can safely assume that he won’t have much to make up for his loss. As a general rule, all lenders want to have something to lean back on just in case the borrower bails out on them.

Thus, it goes without saying, that when choosing a land loan, there are many factors one should look at to ensure they are picking the best possible loan. The type of loan you need really comes down to the type of property and what you will be doing with the property. Many lenders may require up to a 50 percent down payment, but if you do your research, you might be able to find kinder ones that will settle for a 20-25 percent down payment. Obviously, you will be able to get better land loan rates when borrowing from someone based in your area that will already have a general idea of the potential development growth of your land.

Getting land purchase loans, especially for unimproved land, is not easy – you can go as far as to compare it to having a bad driving record and trying to get auto insurance. Then again, if you have plans to develop the land, land loan lenders will probably give you a loan with less hesitation because they know that they will most likely be paid back sooner.

It should be obvious by now, that there are a number of different land loans that one can apply for. Even though the economy is not at its greatest, many people are still using these times to thrive above others. It is never recommended to take a loan though, and that is a known fact – because you are borrowing. In other words, you are using money that is not readily available to you and might never be. But obviously, most people do not have the money to go out and buy acres of land. Most people need a loan, and that’s ok, as long as you have a stable plan to pay back the lender. In that case, browse through the various land loan lenders and make your pick!