A land flip only works if you can close before the deal walks. That is why flippers look for a hard money lender for land flips, and it is what we do. We fund the purchase in 7 days with no appraisal, you resell at a profit, and the sale pays us off.
A vacant land flip is simple. An investor finds a parcel a motivated seller will let go below market, buys it, and resells it at market price. The profit is made on the buy. The problem is the buy has a clock on it. The seller who takes 60 cents on the dollar wants to close in a week or two, and if you cannot, the next mailer in his mailbox will. Banks do not lend on raw land to a flipper in 7 days. Most will not lend on raw land at all. Damen Capital does, and that is what land flip financing from us is: a purchase loan sized to the deal, closed in as little as 7 days, paid off when you sell.
We lend on the same land you are already buying. Rural acreage, recreational parcels, infill lots, timber, pasture, desert, mountain. 2 acre minimum, legal access, no parcel that is mostly wetlands or flood zone. The land does not need income or a plan beyond resale. It needs defensible comparable sales, because that is how we set the value with no appraisal.
You send the parcel, the contract price, and your resale number. Within 24 hours you have a written quote. We value the land from recent comparable sales in the county, not from an appraiser who will take 6 weeks and then miss the discount you negotiated. Our loan is up to 65% of that value. Bring 20% down, or pledge another property you own free and clear and finance 100% of the price. Title is ordered on day two and we can fund as soon as day seven (our average on the last 20 loans was 9 days) at a title company or closing attorney you choose.
The loan is interest only for 24 months, but flips do not run that long. You list the parcel, sell it, and the closing agent pays us off from the proceeds. No prepayment penalty beyond the 5 month minimum interest. Most land flips we fund are paid off inside a year.
A borrower found a 5 acre Florida parcel at $72,000, under comparable sales, from a seller who needed cash in 10 days. We approved $57,600 at 16% with 20% down and closed in 7 days. The borrower resold to a retail buyer six months later. Interest for the hold came to $4,608, plus $600 closing, a $1,152 exit fee, and $150 servicing ($25 x 6 months), $6,510 total for the money. The full breakdown is on the Florida land flip case study. Rate is what people argue about. Cost of capital against the profit on the flip is what matters, and it was a small number here. Every loan on our case studies page was a flip like this one, in 17 states, with hold periods from 6 to 14 months.
Most land flippers sell for cash to a retail buyer. That is the clean exit and it pays the loan off in one closing. The second exit is where we are different from any other lender. Sell the parcel on terms instead. Owner financing brings more buyers and a higher price on vacant land, since retail land buyers rarely have bank financing available. Then sell us the note at closing. We pay 80 to 90% of the note balance, the flip loan is paid from the proceeds, and you walk away with cash on the same day instead of collecting payments for 10 years. One lender funds the buy and buys the paper on the sell. That is the whole cycle under one roof.
The third exit: keep the notes. We allow wraps. Sell on owner financing, keep our loan in place, and we modify it into a long term loan at the same rate. Your buyers pay you, you pay us, and the spread is yours. See wrap financing.
We let you wrap our loan. Most land lenders do not. If you sell on owner financing, a typical land lender calls the loan or makes you pay a release on every lot, even when your buyer only put 5% down. We keep our loan in place and turn it into a long term loan, so your buyers pay you and you pay us.
| Most land lenders | Damen Capital | |
|---|---|---|
| You sell on owner financing | Due on sale clause: the loan can be called | Wraps allowed. Our loan stays in place |
| Each lot you sell on terms | You pay a release, often out of your own pocket | Nothing is due to us |
| After you sell on terms | Short term loan, expected to be paid off | Modified into a long term loan at the same rate |
| Your buyers' down payments | Go toward the release | Stay with you |
| A lot sells for cash | You pay the release | You pay the release, same as anyone |
Rule of thumb: if you sell for cash, pay releases. If you sell on terms, wrap. Run your own deal in the wrap vs release calculator.
Watch: Wrap Financing in 4 Minutes
In this video I explain wrap financing for land and why most land lenders refuse it. A wrap lets you sell on owner financing while your own loan stays in place: your buyer pays you, and you keep paying your lender. Most lenders block that with a due on sale clause and make you pay a release on every lot instead. On a 40 acre tract split into eight lots sold with 5% down, that means putting over $106,000 of your own cash into releases while your buyers pay you over 10 years. With our program, our loan stays in place and becomes a long term loan at the same rate. You keep every down payment, your buyers pay you about $6,500 a month, and you pay us about $1,517. Run your own numbers in the wrap vs release calculator.
Up to 65% of the land's value, capped at 80% of the price, so you put at least 20% down. The loan is the smaller of those two numbers, from $30,000 to $1,000,000. We set the value ourselves, with no appraisal. Here is a $150,000 parcel we value at $180,000:
| $150,000 price, $180,000 value | Math | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 65% of value | 65% × $180,000 | $117,000 |
| 80% of price (20% down) | 80% × $150,000 | $120,000 |
| Loan (the smaller) | $117,000 | |
| You bring | $150,000 − $117,000 | $33,000 plus title costs |
Now say the value comes in right at the $150,000 price. 65% of $150,000 is $97,500, so you bring $52,500 instead of $33,000. In my experience, the borrowers who are surprised by the down payment are the ones who paid full price. On the $117,000 loan at 14%, interest is $1,365 a month. Sell in month 6 and the loan costs about $11,130 all in: $8,190 interest, a $2,340 exit fee, and $600 closing.
Rule of thumb: the better you buy, the less cash you need. Run 65% of a fair value before you sign the contract, not after. Short on the down payment? See cross collateral below, or get your number in the instant quote.
The fastest way to stall a land flipping business is to run out of cash for down payments. If you own a parcel free and clear, an earlier flip you kept or a note-free lot, pledge it as cross collateral and we finance 100% of the next purchase. One extra property per loan, not a stack. When the flip sells, both liens release. Your cash stays working on the next deal instead of sitting in a down payment.
Every loan carries 5 months of minimum interest. You pay interest monthly, starting 30 days after closing. If you flip in 60 days, you still pay 5 months, and the unpaid months are collected at payoff from the sale proceeds, not at closing. On a $57,600 loan at 16% that is $768 a month, $3,840 minimum, plus $600 closing and the 2% exit fee of $1,152. Call it $5,600 all in on a fast flip. Underwrite your deal with that number. If the spread on the flip cannot carry $5,600 in capital cost, the deal is too thin for borrowed money and we will tell you so on the first call.
On most land flips, yes, by thousands of dollars, because the loan costs a fixed amount and a funder takes a share of the profit.
Our loan costs interest, a $600 closing fee, a 2% exit fee, and $25 a month servicing. That number does not grow when the flip does well. A funder who takes half the profit gets paid more the better you do. On a flip with a real spread, the fixed cost is usually far smaller than half the profit.
| $60,000 purchase, $110,000 sale, 6 month hold | Damen loan ($39,000 at 16%) | Funder at 50% split |
|---|---|---|
| What it costs you | $4,650 ($3,120 interest, $780 exit fee, $600 closing, $150 servicing) | $25,000 (half of the $50,000 profit) |
| What you keep | $45,350 | $25,000 |
| Cash you put in | $21,000 down, plus title costs | Often little or none |
| Who controls the sale | You | Often the funder |
Rate is a percent. Profit is dollars. Compare the dollars. A funder does put up more of the cash, so if you have nothing for a down payment, a split may be the only way the deal gets done. If you have the down payment, the loan usually leaves you with far more of the profit.
Line 801 is our fee: $600 flat, on an $800,000 loan. No appraisal, no points at closing, no prepaid interest. Everything else goes to title, the closing attorney, the notary, and the county. Line 1304 is a county deferred (rollback) tax on land coming out of farm use, not a lender fee. Interest is paid monthly, and a 2% exit fee is due at payoff, so neither shows up here.
Business purpose loans to entity borrowers only. $30K to $1M. Vacant land, 2 acre minimum, with legal access. We fund the land purchase only, not entitlements, construction, site work, or soft costs, and no commercial property. We do not lend in California, Arizona, Nevada, New York, New Jersey, North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Hawaii, or Vermont. Subdividing a larger tract into lots is its own program: see subdivide financing.
Flips die on days, not on points. A broker shops your file, and at day 12 you learn the lender wants an appraisal after all. We lend our own money. One person reads the deal and the quote you get is the deal that closes. If a parcel will not work for us, no access, mostly wetlands, no comps, you hear it on the first call, before you have paid for title work or lost your earnest money.
Related programs: Subdivide Financing · Farmland Bridge Loans · All Land Loans
Most investors need two companies for one deal. We do both, and the note sale pays off our loan at the same closing.
No appraisal, 20% down, close in as little as 7 days.
Offering terms brings more buyers. Send us the buyer and the terms before closing.
We pay 80% to 90% of the balance. Our loan is paid off from it the same day.
Example built from our published terms, not a loan or note offer. See every dollar of this deal →
Yes. Land flip financing is a core part of what we do. We fund the purchase of vacant land that an investor buys at a discount and plans to resell for a profit. $30K to $1M, no appraisal, close in as little as 7 days, business purpose only.
As little as 7 days from accepted terms, and 9 days on average across our last 20 loans. You get a written quote within 24 hours. Speed is the whole point: discounted land goes to whoever can close, and a bank cannot close raw land in a week.
Up to 65% of the land's value, capped at 80% of the price, so at least 20% down. On a $150,000 parcel we value at $180,000, the loan is $117,000 and you bring $33,000 plus title costs.
Yes, with cross collateral. Pledge one other property you own free and clear and we finance 100% of the purchase price. Without cross collateral it is as little as 20% down and 65% max LTV.
You still owe 5 months of interest. That is the minimum on every loan. On a $57,600 loan at 16% that is $3,840 in interest, plus $600 closing and the 2% exit fee, about $5,600 all in. Price the flip with that number, not the monthly payment.
Yes. Sell on terms to reach more buyers and a higher price, then sell us the note at closing. We pay 80 to 90% of the note balance, you pay off the flip loan from the proceeds, and you walk away with cash instead of a 10 year payment stream.
On most land flips, yes. Our loan costs a fixed amount: interest, a $600 closing fee, a 2% exit fee, and $25 a month servicing. A funder takes a share of the profit. On a $60,000 flip sold for $110,000 in 6 months, our loan costs $4,650 and a 50% funder takes $25,000. The funder usually puts up more of the cash, so compare both.
14% for loans of $100K and up, 16% under $100K, interest only, 24 month term, 5 month minimum interest, as little as 20% down or 0% with cross collateral, 65% max LTV, $600 closing, 2% exit fee, $25 per month servicing, no appraisal.
Send the parcel, your contract price, and your resale number. Quote in 24 hours, close in as little as 7 days.
Private lender and direct land note buyer serving land investors nationwide. Featured on REtipster, Legends of Land, and Land Investing Online. LinkedIn →