Raw land loans and land financing.

A raw land loan is financing for undeveloped ground with no buildings on it. Terms are tighter than a home loan — commonly 20–40% down with fixed or adjustable structures from 5 to 30 years — because there is no dwelling to appraise and the parcel produces no income. I originate raw land financing on parcels other lenders decline.

Buyers are often surprised the first time they try to finance bare ground. The same bank that would write a mortgage on a house without hesitation suddenly wants a much larger down payment, a shorter term, or declines outright. It is not arbitrary. Three things drive it.

There is nothing to appraise in the usual sense. An appraiser valuing a house has recent sales of similar houses nearby. Land trades far less often, parcels are rarely alike, and value swings on access, terrain, and permitted use. That makes the collateral harder to pin down.

The property produces no income. A working farm generates crop or lease revenue. A rental generates rent. Bare ground generates nothing until you do something with it, so repayment rests entirely on the borrower's outside income.

It is slower to resell. If a loan goes bad, a house in a normal market sells reasonably quickly. Raw acreage can sit. Lenders price that risk into the down payment and the term.

None of this means bare land cannot be financed well. It means the structure matters and the number of realistic options is smaller — which is exactly where knowing the landscape saves you time.

Raw land commonly requires 20–40% down. Fixed and adjustable terms run from 5 to 30 years. The specific figure depends on access, acreage, terrain, zoning, and what you plan to do with the ground.

Within that range there is real variation. A forty-acre tillable parcel with road frontage and a neighboring farmer already leasing it is a very different risk than twelve steep wooded acres reached by a right-of-way. The first can often be structured close to the bottom of the range; the second sits at the top, if it works at all.

Longer fixed terms are generally easier to achieve on larger agricultural parcels with genuine productive use. Speculative ground held for future resale tends toward shorter terms. If you plan to build, the structure should account for that from the start rather than forcing a refinance later.

• Down payment commonly 20–40%, depending on the parcel
• Fixed and adjustable terms from 5 to 30 years
• Structure set up for a future build where that is the plan

When a parcel gets declined, it is usually one of a short list of things — and most of them are knowable before you write an offer.

Access. Legal, recorded access is the first question. A parcel reached by an informal lane across a neighbor's field is a problem, no matter how good the ground is. Deeded right-of-way or road frontage changes the conversation entirely.

Usable acreage. Total acres matter less than usable acres. Steep slope, wetland, floodplain, and stream buffers all reduce what the parcel can actually do, and lenders discount accordingly.

Zoning and permitted use. What you are allowed to do with the ground drives its value. Agricultural zoning, conservation restrictions, and minimum lot sizes all matter, and a buyer's plan has to match what the zoning permits.

Utilities and site work. If a build is planned, perc testing, soils, well feasibility, and power access all come into play. A parcel that cannot support a septic system is worth materially less than one that can.

Comparable sales. Thin land comps are the quiet reason many land deals fall apart at appraisal. Knowing what has actually sold nearby — and what it sold for — is a large part of pricing an offer that will hold up.

Tillable and agricultural ground

Cropland, pasture, and mixed agricultural parcels. This is the strongest category for land financing, particularly where the ground is already in production or leased to a working farmer. Productive use supports both value and terms.

Wooded and recreational parcels

Timber ground, hunting land, and recreational acreage. Terms are typically tighter than tillable ground. Timber value, access, and whether the parcel is landlocked are the deciding factors.

Building lots and future homesites

Parcels bought to build on later. These work best when the structure anticipates the build — a land loan that converts, or a purchase sized so construction financing can follow cleanly.

Larger assemblages and add-on acreage

Ground bought to expand an existing operation. When the buyer already farms adjoining land, the case is often stronger than the bare parcel would suggest on its own.