Blog
Can I Get a Loan on Unimproved Vacant Land?
By Jason Taken · Principal, Jaken Finance Group
Yes — you can finance unimproved vacant land, but not at high leverage. Lenders price off quicksale value, cover large acreage, and help fill the equity gap.
Can I get a loan on unimproved vacant land? The short answer is yes. The part investors skip is the leverage: this is not a high-LTV house loan. The dirt may be worth something on paper, but if the lender has to take the parcel back, exiting your specific plan is not easy.
Prefer the dedicated watch page for playback: Watch the video.
The short answer: yes — not at house leverage
Banks rarely treat raw acreage like a rental. There is no PITIA, no 1007 rent schedule, and no quick retail resale if the project stalls. Asset-based vacant land and raw land financing can still fund the purchase when the sponsor has a defined build, lot-split, or sell exit — and enough cash (or other capital) to fill the gap below what the land loan will advance.
Typical land-only terms at Jaken Finance Group:
| Parameter | Land-only range |
|---|---|
| Rate | 8.99%–13.5% interest-only |
| LTV (infill, utilities at the lot line) | 50%–65% of as-is land value |
| LTV (agricultural / no utilities) | 35%–50% |
| Term | 6–18 months bridge |
| Close speed | 10–14 business days |
That is the same rate band as fix-and-flip / hard money, with less leverage because the collateral is dirt. Higher leverage (sometimes into the 70% area) shows up when land is combined with a construction budget in one facility — acquisition plus vertical, not land-only. See ground-up construction loans.
Why lenders will not max leverage on your parcel
A house has a buyer pool even in a bad month. Unimproved land often has a plan-specific buyer: the person who wanted this zoning, this well/septic path, this road frontage, this acreage for a build that is still in their head.
If the loan fails, the lender does not inherit your vision. They inherit a parcel they have to sell. That is why leverage stays conservative. The video’s point is the exit, not a lecture about dirt:
If the lender has to take it back, it is not going to be easy to exit that parcel of land that you had a specific plan for.
Underwriting therefore cares about:
- Survey, access, and legal description
- Zoning and entitlement path
- Utilities vs well/septic
- Environmental flags (Phase I when the use history warrants it)
- A written exit: build, plat and sell lots, or sell the acreage
- Sponsor liquidity to carry interest with no rent coming in
Land files without an exit are hobby acreage. Those do not get high leverage. Many do not get a loan at all.
Quicksale value: the number that actually sizes the loan
Land appraisals often show more than one value:
- Market value — what a willing buyer might pay with normal marketing time
- Quicksale value — what the parcel might bring in a faster, auction-style sale
Lenders frequently lever off quicksale, not the headline number you used to justify the purchase. That is the gap investors feel as “they only offered 50%.” Fifty percent of market value can be 60%–70% of quicksale — or the reverse, depending on how wide the discount is.
| Appraisal line | What it means for leverage |
|---|---|
| Market value | Your offer and your equity story |
| Quicksale / auction value | What many land lenders will actually advance against |
| As-completed (if plans exist) | Used more on land-plus-construction, not raw land-only |
Do not fight the concept. Price the contract so the down payment still works after the lender haircuts to quicksale. If the seller will not move and the loan only covers half of what you need, that is a capital-stack problem, not a “find a 90% land lender” problem.
The land spec margin calculator is useful when the exit is vertical construction: it keeps land basis, build cost, and sale proceeds on one page before you lock a dirt loan you cannot take out.
Acreage is not the blocker — 300 or 1,000 acres can still be first position
Parcel size is the question people ask first. It is usually the wrong constraint. First-position land loans can cover any acreage you want in the ranges from the video — 300 acres or a thousand acres is not automatically a decline. Rural and assembly plays fail on exit and liquidity, not on a magic acre cap.
A 0.25-acre infill lot with water and sewer at the curb is a different file than 800 acres of unentitled ag land. Both can be financeable. Neither should be underwritten like an 80% DSCR purchase on a rented four-plex. Streets, utilities, and a recorded plat are subdivision development financing. One spec house rolls from land terms into new construction loans for investors.
Filling the gap without pretending land is 90% LTV
The video is blunt: you cannot expect high leverage. Then: there are other ways to fill that gap.
That does not mean a secret 85% vacant-land DSCR. DSCR needs rent. Raw land has none. Gap-fill usually looks like:
| Tool | When it fits |
|---|---|
| More sponsor cash | Cleanest. Land loans assume a large equity check. |
| Land + construction in one facility | Higher advance when plans, budget, and builder are real — ground-up construction |
| JV equity vs preferred equity | Partner capital behind the first mortgage when you will not (or cannot) write the whole down payment |
| Seller carry / subordinate note | Seller leaves money in; must be allowed by the first-position lender |
| Lot-split or phased takeout | Entitled lots are easier to lever than raw acreage |
Stack those on purpose. Do not assume a second-position DSCR cash-out will sit behind raw land — that product is built for improved residential with combined DSCR above 1.0, not unimproved dirt.
What to send with a vacant-land file
Bring a package that answers the liquidation question:
- Purchase contract and entity docs
- Survey or recent legal with acreage
- Zoning confirmation and a one-page build or sell plan
- Utility will-serve letters or well/septic feasibility
- Land comps and an honest quicksale read
- Liquidity to carry 6–18 months of interest with no rent
- Exit: vertical budget, plat timeline, or resale comps
If entitlements are the whole job, say so. A hearing calendar is an underwriting document. “We’ll figure out zoning after closing” is how land files die.
Related: subdivision entitlement and platting when the acreage has to become lots, and build-to-rent financing when the takeout is a rental community rather than a retail sale.
In this video
- 0:00 — Can I get a loan on unimproved vacant land?
- 0:04 — Yes, but not a high-leverage loan
- 0:10 — Collateral can be worth something; lender exit is still hard
- 0:22 — Lenders often lever off quicksale value
- 0:32 — Appraisal: market worth vs auction-style quicksale
- 0:40 — First position on large acreage (300 or 1,000 acres)
- 0:50 — Not super high leverage; other ways to fill the gap
Full transcript
Can I get a loan on unimproved vacant land? Short answer, yes. Um, but you need to understand that it’s not going to be like a high leverage loan, right? Because the collateral, while it might be worth something, if the lender has to take it back, it is going to not be easy to exit that parcel of land that you had a specific plan for. Okay. So, um, often times you’ll hear that lenders will, uh, lever off the quicksale value. Um, you you might see that in a land appraisal. You’ll see, you know, what it’s worth and then what it would quick sale for, say at like an auction or something. Um, but you can’t expect high leverage. That being said, we have, uh, I can lend on any acreage you want, um, up to, again, could be 300 acres or thousand acres. Uh, we’ve we’ve got a first position loan for that. However, however, it is not going to be super high leverage, but we have other ways to fill that gap. Call me.
Have a vacant land deal under contract?
Send the address, survey, and exit plan — new construction / land scenario — or tell us what kind of loan you need and a Jaken Finance Group lending specialist will size first-position leverage against quicksale. Prefer to talk it through? Call (833) 264-7776.
Rates, terms and conditions offered only to qualified borrowers and are subject to change at any time without notice. Closing times are in business days and commence upon receipt of appraisal payment and satisfaction of borrower conditions. Closing times may be delayed due to appraiser property access. All loans are subject to full underwriting for loan approvals. Jaken Finance Group only finances non-owner occupied investment properties.
Review our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.
Click Here to Read our FAQs
Jaken Finance Group, 2300 Barrington Road, Suite 400, Hoffman Estates, IL 60196
Can I Get a Loan on Unimproved Vacant Land? — next step
Land-only files typically run 8.99%–13.5% IO at 50%–65% LTV (lower on raw ag). Size the loan off quicksale, then fill the rest with cash, a construction facility, or equity — not a fantasy 90% dirt loan.
Submit scenario · Pre-qualify · (833) 264-7776.