Once again my husband and I are contemplating the purchase of property in North Carolina. We already own one home on the Outer Banks, but with prices at five year lows and interest rates in the 4-5% range it’s hard to pass by properties without at least considering a purchase.
At this point in time I’m not certain that a bank would approve financing. I placed a call to our current lender to get the skinny on the process of buying a vacant lot, (we’ve never done that before), and the requirements for acquiring a loan on a property without a house. Unfortunately, the loan officer didn’t call me back this afternoon, so I decided to Google instead.
Strangely enough I didn’t find a ton of information on the topic. I guess most people purchase homes, not vacant lots. I did discover that the loan term cannot be longer than 15 years and that a 30% down payment will be required.
Our banks pre-approval website didn’t support lot purchases, so I couldn’t find out whether or not we would even qualify for a loan. I plan to call our lender back tomorrow to see if they can run a query over the phone.
Of course if we can’t qualify for a loan than our quest stops here, but if we do qualify my husband and I will need to rake over the numbers to see if we really want to proceed.
Ever time we’ve purchased a property I’ve been both unbelievably excited and slightly terrified all at the same time. There is so much excitement in buying a piece of property, but so much trepidation in terms of making the monthly mortgage payments while still paying for all of life’s necessities.
We purchased a lot last year and were required to put 50% down (and we both have excellent credit ratings, so it's a bank policy not a punitive measure). To build on the land, we need 20% in cash/equity so the 50% down on the property puts us closer to the 20% on the total house value.
If you have any questions about buying a lot or home in the Outer Banks, I would be happy to answer them. I am a local Outer Banks Realtor and can also provide you the name with some local lenders who are familiar with the lot buying process.
I agreed that buying any property can be an exciting time of life and is a largest investment that one can make that's why buyers should make smart decision regarding this.