Try Capital Farm Credit. They'll do land-only loans. Something to understand with CFC is they do their own appraisals of raw land and will only loan you 80% of what "they" believe its worth.

Given that, I would not call the guy running their Katy office. I financed 9 acres of raw land through him a while back out in the Columbus area and this guy ended up calling someone in Dayton to tell him how much it was worth because he refused to believe any of the comps that my realtor gave him. He ended up appraising it for about 60% of what my realtor said it was worth based on the comps. He tried to convince me that rolling hills and large oak trees were worth less than a rice field in Dayton.

He knew the ins and outs of financing, but he was a complete idiot when it came to appraising property.

 

Being an appraiser than communicates with Capital Farm Credit on a regular basis, that has not been my experience in regards to bad appraisals. But I don't deal with anyone in the Houston MSA. Most of the appraisal reports I've seen from CFC have been pretty good in the San Antonio & Hill Country areas. You could also look into Texas Farm Credit as well for a land only loan.

All that being said, I would never use a comp from Dayton to compare to anything in Columbus. haha

 

We used Capital Farm Credit and they were good. Of course ours is an actual working farm with cows.

 

I contacted Texas Farm credit and they wouldnt loan bc my credit was 6 points lower than their requirements.
Does Capital Farm Credit have a minimum loan amount?

What if I do something stupid like applying for home eq loan or car loan or something and writing a check for the property?

 

I don't believe CFC has a minimum loan amount. They have a maximum amount they'll finance however, which is 80% of what they believe the property is worth. In your scenario, you said the loan is $20k, which I assume is the selling price of the property. Given the amount, CFC may not be be as likely to lowball you but you should not be surprised if they value the land at $15k and then they will only loan you 80% of $15k ($12k). You'll have to negotiate the price of the property down or you'll have to come up with the $8k difference. Its my belief CFC (others may as well) lowballs the valuation on raw land in an effort to increase the financial stake of the buyer, which in turn lessens their risk. Again, a $20k loan is very minimal risk to them so they may not lessen the valuation.

If you have $20k equity in your home, then that's the route I would go. Its a lot easier to get a home equity loan and you'll probably get a better rate. Then just write a check for the land.

 

I found a credit union that would finance most of it. 7k for down payment and closing cost. Loan amount of 16k at 9%. Problem is, ive been spending too much in the recent past and dont have that right now!! Thanks to Royal Caribean and some home remodel, about 6k has went away! Hopefully by the end of the year, i'll have my stash back in order!

I have 100k equity in my home.

 

Lightstream