Underwrite the opportunity
We review sponsorship, property performance, business plan, and priorities before approaching the market.
Land financing
Commercial Land Acquisition and Pre-Development Financing
Quick answer: Commercial land loans finance the acquisition of entitled, partially entitled, or raw land for future development. These short-term facilities cover land purchases, pre-development costs, and entitlement carrying costs while sponsors pursue permits, environmental clearances, and project approvals. Minimum loan size is $2 million. Lenders include private lenders, debt funds, and specialized land banks with appetite for predevelopment risk.
NationwideMarket coverage
1,000+Capital relationships
$2MM+CLS engagement floor
24 hoursInitial response
When it fits
When Land financing fits.
Land financing is the highest-risk category in commercial real estate lending because collateral value depends entirely on entitlement outcomes and future development feasibility. Conventional banks rarely lend on unentitled or partially entitled land, leaving the market to private lenders, debt funds, and family offices with appetite for development risk. Key underwriting factors include entitlement status, sponsor track record, comparable development sales, market absorption data, and the path to a bankable construction loan. Entitled land with approved plans and permits commands significantly better terms than raw land. Deals in supply-constrained markets with documented developer experience are the most competitive.
Structure before pricing: leverage, recourse, reserves, prepayment, and closing certainty can matter as much as the headline coupon. We test those trade-offs before recommending a path.
01
Entitled residential and commercial land acquisitions ready for construction start
02
Partially entitled land while entitlement process is completed
03
Lot acquisition for homebuilders with active absorption in the submarket
04
Industrial and logistics land in high-demand corridors near major distribution hubs
05
Infill land assemblage in urban markets for mixed-use development
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Agricultural and transitional land being repositioned for commercial development
Lender selection
How We Source Land Capital
We do not treat the lender list as a directory. We target the desks whose current appetite fits the asset, sponsorship, market, and business plan, then compare the full execution, not only the rate.
| Capital source | Where it may fit |
|---|---|
| Private Lenders | Flexible capital for transitional, complex, leveraged, or time-sensitive executions where conventional credit boxes may not fit. |
| Debt Funds | Flexible capital for transitional, complex, leveraged, or time-sensitive executions where conventional credit boxes may not fit. |
| Hard Money Lenders | Flexible capital for transitional, complex, leveraged, or time-sensitive executions where conventional credit boxes may not fit. |
| Family Offices | Program-specific capital evaluated for current appetite, proceeds, pricing, recourse, flexibility, and certainty of close. |
| Specialty Land Banks | Relationship-oriented capital that can offer local market knowledge and structural flexibility, with recourse often considered. |
How we work
One process. Multiple capital sources.
We position the transaction, identify the lenders most likely to compete, and compare proposals on economics and execution risk, not just headline rate.
A well-structured financing process should create real choices for the borrower, not simply deliver the first term sheet.
Target the right lender desks
The transaction is matched to lenders whose current appetite fits the property, market, and structure.
Create a comparable field
Proposals are evaluated across rate, proceeds, recourse, reserves, prepayment, and closing certainty.
Manage execution through closing
We coordinate lender diligence, third-party reports, and issue resolution until the loan funds.
National reach
Market knowledge where the deal requires it.
We arrange land financing nationwide while matching each transaction to capital sources active in that market and property type.
Atlanta, GABoston, MAChicago, ILDallas, TXDenver, COHouston, TXLos Angeles, CAMiami, FLNashville, TNNew York, NYPhoenix, AZSan Diego, CASan Francisco, CASeattle, WATampa, FL
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Questions
Land financing, clarified.
The final structure depends on the asset, sponsorship, and market. These are the starting parameters we discuss most often.
Working out equity? Our commercial property down payment guide covers typical requirements by loan type: 20% to 30% conventional, 10% for SBA owner occupied.
A commercial land loan is short-term financing, typically 12 to 36 months, for acquiring entitled, partially entitled, or raw land held for future development. Proceeds cover the purchase price and, in many cases, pre-development and entitlement carrying costs. The loan is interest-only and is repaid by a construction loan takeout or a sale of the entitled parcel.
Rates run 8.00% to 14.00% with leverage capped at 65% of land value, and most deals start at $2 million. Entitlement status drives the outcome: an approved, permit-ready parcel prices near the bottom of that range at full leverage, while raw land with no approvals typically clears well below the cap at the top of the range.
There is no income to underwrite and the collateral produces no cash flow to service debt. Value depends entirely on entitlement outcomes and development feasibility, so most banks stay out of the category. The market sits with private lenders, debt funds, and family offices that price development risk, and recourse is typical rather than optional.
Entitlement status and the remaining approval path, a sponsor development track record on comparable projects, land and finished-lot sale comparables, submarket absorption data, environmental and title work, and a credible route to a bankable construction loan. An interest reserve is usually sized into the loan since the parcel earns nothing. Closings commonly run 30 to 60 days.
Sizing the term to an optimistic entitlement schedule. Approvals slip, and a 12-month loan against a 24-month approval path ends in an extension fee or a refinance at worse pricing under time pressure. Match the term to the realistic entitlement calendar, and confirm the interest reserve carries the parcel through it.
Let's evaluate the right land structure.
Share the property and financing request. We will respond within 24 hours with an initial view.