[InvalidID]

Has anyone in here heard of such a thing? I've been messing around lately with the idea of a land purchase, again... So I can build a decent off grid house.

It accured to me that there are quite a few nice places built and for sale here in Maine, off grid and with land... But how do you finance such a thing? Is there a mortgage company out there working with these?

 

[edcopp]

You do not need a "company" to get a mortgage. Any person who has cash put away can loan it to you if they want to.

I once borrowed enough money from a cab driver, to buy a house. The whole thing. No credit check. No nothin', not even an apprasil.

Here is how it went. I had a title company do the work. They prepared a deed from the seller to me, and they prepared the note and mortgage. The funds borrowed from the cab driver were secured by the note and mortgage (signed by me). I then owed the cab driver. He also put up the funds for the title work and the title insurance.

Then the title company told the cab driver (the lender) how much money they needed from him. He gave them a check. They dispersed the funds to the seller, for their fees, and the recording of the documents.

Done deal, I owned the house, the cab driver held a note for the amount due from me, and the seller got his money, on the spot.

The cab driver and I setteled on a payment amount and an interest rate for the payments that were due to him. That info was clearly spelled out in the note.

The interest was more than he could get in any kind of CD commonly available at the time and less that the going rate for mortgage loans. Good for everybody involved (the "Company" was not involved).

There are lots of people who have money put away that is not making a very good return (even cabbies) Find them, and do business with them. They do not know that you have a good deal until you tell them.

 

[bjgarlich]

We did this with our daughter and my husband's brother - it's important to have a legal mortgage and to file it with the county as a lien/mortgage on the property.

 

[hotzcatz]

We just did the same thing several weeks ago. Couldn't find a mortgage company that would loan on the "non-standard" property we wanted. While I was chatting with a friend about the difficulties, they offered to fund it for us. (I had no idea they had that kind of money, either!) The mortgage and note are filed in the Bureau of Conveyances just as if it was with a bank and all the mortgage interest goes to a friend instead of a bank. Works great for all of us! Well, except the bank, I guess.

 

[stanb999]

Has anyone in here heard of such a thing? I've been messing around lately with the idea of a land purchase, again... So I can build a decent off grid house.

It accured to me that there are quite a few nice places built and for sale here in Maine, off grid and with land... But how do you finance such a thing? Is there a mortgage company out there working with these?

A mortgage is given on a mathematical calculation...

If the property is worth more than your paying after your down payment you will get the note.

It won't be conventional.... AKA 3% down, 4% interest, for 30 years.
But with decent credit and a moderate down payment finance should be easy. Say 15-20% down and 20 year note... doable.

Homesteading is a costly adventure.

 

[Wolf mom]

Go to a mortgage BROKER - not a bank. Ask for a "Non-conventional Loan". Brokers have access to multiple lenders and private parties. Banks usually have to lend under federal guidelines as most times they bundle and sell their loans. Unless you have a mtg. fairy like those in posts above.

 

[ET1 SS]

I would suggest a mortgage broker.

We bought land in Maine and built a house, but we were able to pay cash for the land. We bought two parcels of forest land, one at $350/acre and a second one with river frontage at $900/acre.

Another thing that Maine has are the Apprenticeship / Journeyman programs through MOFGA.

If you are focused on sustainable farming. Over 100 farms each year offer apprenticeships. You don't earn much, you live on the farm, with most of them you will be in charge of one Farmer's Market [as a vendor] each week. Each different apprentice handles one market each week. After a year, then you become a journeyman, and apply to be assigned as a Farm Manager somewhere. After that, there are many programs to help you to finance your own farm.

I know a guy [Tom] who started a farm, and invited in 4 apprentices. It took him a few years but eventually he got four apprentices who like working together. He convinced them to form a partnership and to buy the farm they were on. Then Tom started a second farm, and he did it all again. . . . Today Tom is on his fourth farm, training apprentices and hoping they will buy that farm, so he can do it again.

Good luck

 

[bjgarlich]

LOL I am going to start calling myself a "mortgage fairy":rock: I have been called much worse

 

[sisterpine]

I also would look for an independent broker. That said we got our off grid mortgage from northwest farm credit services.

 

[MO_cows]

If the place is a good enough deal, might be able to get a loan based on the land value alone.

Surely the seller is aware of the difficulties in getting a loan to buy a "nontraditional" home. So maybe they would owner finance. I would think the bigger the down payment, the sweeter that deal would look to them.

Unless you have a good relationship with a bank or mortgage co. already, a good independent broker seems like a good way to go.

 

[InvalidID]

I have a decent relationship with a private/commercial lender and I could get in with little down if I wanted. That said, I was hoping for something not 12%...lol

I've looked around and you can find SOME lenders it seems. But you're going to pay for it... Might be better of just buying land and building.

 

[Wolf mom]

Yuppers - non-conforming loans carry a "greater risk".


[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlSpc87Jfr0[/ame]

 

[texican]

You may be able to borrow money on the land.... doubtful on building a house. If you're going off grid, why not build it all yourself? No rocket science involved, lots of books (tons more than when I built mine 20 something years ago)... just do it... get extra cash, build a little more, or better yet, scrounge for building materials, and get it for free...

 

[sidepasser]

I financed my farm for 7% interest and 15% down and the people who got it were very nice. They pay in advance every month and at the end of five years, they will refinance with a bank as I included a balloon payment at the end. (they want to build another house so I do not care to finance that for them and the banks won't finance the house without the land...)

You can find lenders who won't charge 12%..just have to look a little bit. Most I have seen are in the 7-8% range for a shorter term mortgage with a balloon note of 5 to 10 years. I did a LOT of research before offering a mortgage on my property and had a lot of people look and a few weirdo folks, then the nicest family with children looked, liked, and bought. They have never missed a payment and as of now are paid six months ahead

 

[InvalidID]

You may be able to borrow money on the land.... doubtful on building a house. If you're going off grid, why not build it all yourself? No rocket science involved, lots of books (tons more than when I built mine 20 something years ago)... just do it... get extra cash, build a little more, or better yet, scrounge for building materials, and get it for free...

Yeah, this is the way I decided to go. Camper trailer, water, septic, and in spring I'll go back up and build a house. Until then I'm gonna road trip around a bit.

 

[simi-steading]

Farm Credit lends on strictly land.. The place you are looking at must be sold as land and not a residence for them to want to be involved.. It's how we financed out place..