Have the means to make monthly payments but at this point can't make a down payment without it killing the savings acct....any way out there to buy land with less than 20% down?

Every time I have talked to the farm credit folks they always tell me the 20% down is standard and rarely departed from for first time buyers....

Any help is appreciated!!

Are you a vet? How much land?? It will be easier if there is a house on the land.

If the land appraises for quite a bit above the sales price they may reduce the down payment to 10%. That is the least I have heard of.

I definitely would not rule out local banks, sure worth checking into in my experiance.

Rustler, for land loan default purposes requiring quick sales?

If I understand your question correctly, no, for financing land purchase.

It is a rare event when semi decent land isn't bought by a local before it ever reaches the court house steps auction or for a bank dumping defaults.

If you are a vet you can use Texas Veterans land Board. They require 5% down with land loans up to $125,000. That's who I am using right now. Also if anyone is in the Kempner area they have a 14 acre plot of land up for auction right next to the one I'm buying.

I used a local bank about 4 years ago when I purchased my place. They wanted 15% down. Only kicker was interest rate was about 1% or so higher.

20% down is standard but think about it why keep $ in your savings rather than put it in land? You will make no to little interest where your land will gain much more value every year its a much better investment. Obviously you need some emergency $ but you never here anyone one say "darn i wish i wouldnt have bought that land".

I disagree. Plenty of people can get themselves in trouble by buying property. Especially if they leverage themselves and are cash poor. (Which is kind of what the OP is sounding like).

What is the land? Hunting land? Gonna build a house someday? Today?

I agree that depleting my savings is not a wise investment. Being a small business owner that could cripple me if something happens and the business needs something. I need to have a safety net, and I don't want or have any desire to take that away, despite my desire to have a place to call my own (and my son's greater desire).

Ideally, would be looking at raw land or something with a cheap cabin or manufactured home on it we could live in temporarily and then ultimately build a nice small cabin to live in as we get a little older. Something with a nice house on it doesn't interest me at all since most houses are someone else's style and not the wifes, and are built to meet their needs and not ours. Plus, those really jack prices up. Seems raw land is the way to go. But, sounds like I need a couple more years to build up the savings before I can afford the down payment for what I am looking for...nobody said patience is easy right?

Sounds like a cool plan.

Good luck!

Why not lease a nice place to get your hunting in as well as take a Client and write off lease expense at tax time? At least until you are set to buy....

Owner finance is a possible low money down option. But APR is going to be sky high and your term short. You can get into scenarios on an owner finance with 5-10% down in some counties.

I agree, continue to save until you're ready.

But is there something you can sell? I sold my Harley to help with the down payment. I love being a landowner much more so than a biker. Something to think about.

What about a double morgage?