The Buy Box

Note Buying Criteria: Check Your Note in 60 Seconds

Every requirement for a land note we can purchase, in one list. If your note fits, you get a written offer within 24 hours. If it does not, this page saves us both the phone call. Not sure how yours measures up? Grade your note in 60 seconds.

See What Your Note Is Worth → Get a Free Quote

The Note

✓Promissory note with recorded deed of trust or mortgage — deed transferred to the buyer at closing

✓$50,000 minimum property value

✓$25,000 minimum remaining balance

✓$10,000 minimum buyer down payment — 20%+ standard; under 20% requires a seller buyback guarantee

✓Maximum 65% investment to value

✓Performing and non-performing — non-performing priced case by case at 50 to 65%

✓No seasoning required — we buy at closing or years into the payment stream

✓First lien position only

✓Original ink-signed note in your possession — for closed loans

✓43 states — everywhere except CA, HI, LA, MD, NJ, NY, PA

The Property

✓Vacant land — rural and residential acreage

✓2 acre minimum property size

✓$50,000 minimum property value

✓Legal and physical access

✓Saleable, buildable land — normal topography and shape

✓PERC test for parcels under 10 acres — where no public sewer

What We Do Not Buy

✗Land contracts or contracts for deed

✗Notes in California, Hawaii, Louisiana, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, or Pennsylvania

✗Properties without legal or physical access

✗Substantial wetlands or flood zone

✗Failed PERC or land that cannot be developed

✗Steep slopes, unusual topography, irregular shapes

✗Infill lots — unless zoned for mobile homes

✗Desert, industrial, or commercial property

✗Double closing transactions

✗Properties adjacent to undesirable sites — landfills, junkyards, heavy industrial

✗Notes priced off inflated sale prices — we run our own valuation on every deal

From the Free Course

Watch: Which Vacant Land Qualifies

Not every parcel supports seller financing, and not every note finds a buyer. This module covers the property side of the equation: legal and physical access, usable acreage, minimum values, and the property problems, wetlands, flood zones, steep slopes, landlocked parcels, that make a note hard to sell no matter how well it is written. It pairs directly with the buying criteria on this page: the properties that qualify for seller financing in the course are the same properties behind the notes we buy. Ten minutes here saves a bad land purchase later, and if you already own the parcel, it tells you honestly whether the note you create on it will have a market when you want your cash out.

Watch all 14 modules in the free course →

Next Steps

Note Fits? Here Is the Path.

Run your numbers through the note value calculator for an instant estimated range, then request your written offer, delivered within 24 hours. When you accept, the document checklist shows exactly what to send, and how a note sale closes walks you through the roughly 7 days from bid to wire. Selling a property with owner financing right now? Our seller financing program buys the note the day you close.

FAQ

Criteria Questions

What is the minimum land note you will buy?

$25,000 remaining balance, on a property worth at least $50,000, with at least $10,000 buyer down payment. Below any of those three, the note does not fit our program.

Do you buy land contracts or contracts for deed?

No. We purchase promissory notes secured by a recorded deed of trust or mortgage, where the deed transferred to the buyer at closing. If your buyer does not hold the deed, it is a land contract and we cannot purchase it.

What states do you not buy notes in?

California, Hawaii, Louisiana, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. We buy in the other 43 states.

Do you buy notes with small down payments?

Our standard minimum is 20% buyer down payment. Notes with less down can still be purchased when the seller provides a buyback guarantee, and are otherwise priced case by case.

Do you buy non-performing notes?

Yes. Notes with missed payments typically price at 50 to 65% of balance depending on the property and how far behind the payer is.

How much seasoning do you require?

None. We buy notes at closing through our seller financing program, and we buy notes that have been paying for years. Payment history helps pricing but is not required to exist.