By Eric Scharaga | Updated December 2025 | 15 min read If you've tried selling vacant land for cash, you know the frustration. Properties sit listed for 12-18 months with few showings and lowball offers. Meanwhile, you're paying property taxes on land that's not producing income. There's a better way: owner financing (also called seller financing). By offering owner financing, you can sell your land 2-3x faster, attract 10x more qualified buyers, and often get your full askin

By Eric Scharaga | Updated November 2024 | 7 min read What if I told you that you could buy vacant land without putting a single dollar down—using properties you already own instead of cash? Most land investors struggle to scale because every deal requires 20-40% down in cash. You find a great deal, but your cash is tied up in other properties. The opportunity passes. Sound familiar? There's a better way: cross-collateralization . I've been using this strategy for over 15 yea

By Eric Scharaga | Updated November 2024 | 9 min read I recently watched an investor spend three weeks negotiating a 1% lower interest rate on a $80,000 land loan. While he was haggling over terms, another investor swooped in and bought the property cash. The first investor saved exactly $0 by getting a better rate—because he lost the deal. This happens every single day in land investing. Investors obsess over interest rates while competitors who focus on execution close deal

By Eric Scharaga | Updated November 2024 | 10 min read Mike thought he was getting an $80,000 land loan at 12% interest. Simple enough, right? Then came the closing disclosure: 3 points ($2,400) Origination fee ($1,200) Underwriting fee ($800) Appraisal fee ($650) Document prep fee ($500) Commitment fee ($400) Credit report fee ($75) His "simple" loan suddenly cost $6,025 at closing—before making a single payment. That's 7.5% of the loan amount in fees alone. And these were j

By Eric Scharaga | Updated November 2024 | 11 min read You've graduated from $50,000 land flips. You're analyzing $300,000 subdivision opportunities. You found a $650,000 development deal that could net you $1,000,000+. There's just one problem: Nobody will finance it. Your local bank laughed when you said "vacant land." Your private lender caps out at $150,000. Hard money lenders want 40% down and charge 18% interest. The deal of a lifetime sits there, and you can't move on

By Eric Scharaga | Updated November 2024 | 12 min read You sold a $100,000 land parcel with seller financing. Great move—it helped you sell faster and at a higher price. Now you're collecting $850/month for the next 10 years. But here's the question that keeps nagging you: Is this the best use of your capital? While that $850 checks lands in your account each month, you watch other land investors flip 3-4 properties per year, each netting $30,000-50,000 in profit. They're sca

By Eric Scharaga | Updated November 2024 | 13 min read Here's the problem every land investor faces: Cash buyers want discounts.  They know you need liquidity, so they lowball you. Seller financing attracts more buyers at higher prices.  But then your capital is tied up for 5-10 years collecting monthly payments. What if you could have both? Sell with seller financing BUT get paid in cash at closing? You can. It's called selling your land note at closing (also known as a simu

If you're buying or selling vacant land, you've probably heard about wraparound mortgages as a creative financing option. But do they actually work for raw land? What are the risks? And are there better alternatives? As someone who's structured hundreds of land financing deals, I'll explain exactly how wraparound mortgages work for vacant land, when they make sense, and the critical pitfalls to avoid. What is a Wraparound Mortgage? A wraparound mortgage (also called a "wrap"

If you've ever tried to get a bank loan for vacant land, you know how frustrating it is. Banks almost always say no to raw land purchases. That's where hard money loans come in - but what exactly are they, and are they the right choice for your land investment? In this comprehensive guide, I'll explain everything you need to know about hard money loans for land, including how they work, what they cost, when to use them, and what alternatives might work better for your situati

By Eric Scharaga | Updated November 2024 | 13 min read Tom bought 10 acres in rural Tennessee for $45,000. No title insurance—he wanted to save the $800. Six months later, he discovered the property was landlocked . No legal access. The previous "road" crossed a neighbor's land, and that neighbor just put up a gate and said "no more." Tom's $45,000 investment was now worth about $8,000 (the value of landlocked land). He sued the seller, who was judgment-proof. Tom lost everyt

By Eric Scharaga | Updated November 2024 | 14 min read You're about to sell your land with seller financing. Your attorney hands you a "land contract" (also called a contract for deed). Seems simple enough—the buyer pays you monthly, and when it's paid off, you transfer the deed. But you just made a $50,000 mistake. Land contracts create five serious problems that can cost you tens of thousands of dollars, expose you to lawsuits, make your note unsellable, and trap you in a f

Interview with Seth Williams, REtipster Podcast | May 2023 | 15 min read I recently had the opportunity to sit down with Seth Williams from the REtipster podcast to discuss land note investing, seller financing, and how land investors can offer terms to sell properties faster while still getting cash at closing. If you've ever wondered: How to offer seller financing without holding the note long-term What makes a land note sellable vs. problematic Why loan servicing matters m

By Eric Scharaga | Updated November 2024 | 13 min read Jennifer thought she'd done everything right. She'd offered seller financing on her Arizona land deal—10 acres outside Phoenix for $75,000. The buyer put down $15,000 (20%), and she was collecting $710/month at 10% interest on a 10-year note. Two years later, she needed capital for a bigger opportunity. She'd received $17,040 in payments, so the balance was about $57,960. She contacted three note buyers expecting offers a

Most land investors obsess over finding the perfect deal with the highest profit margin. But here's what experienced investors know: how fast you turn deals matters more than how much you make per deal. This concept is called "velocity of capital" - and understanding it can transform your land investing business from making $50,000 per year to $500,000 per year with the same amount of starting capital. In this guide, I'll show you exactly how velocity of capital works in land

By Eric Scharaga | Updated November 2025 | 12 min read You sold a piece of land with owner financing, and now you're receiving monthly payments. But what if you need cash now instead of waiting 8-10 years for those payments? That's where selling your land note comes in. In this comprehensive guide, I'll walk you through everything you need to know about selling a land note - from how the process works to what you can expect to receive, how long it takes, and how to find a rep