Hard money land loans in Florida: what they cost and when they beat a bank

Are there hard money land loans in Florida?

Yes, and they are a different product from the land loans that fill the first page of a search. Most of what comes up for a Florida land loan is a credit union, a Farm Credit association, a bank or a federal program, and most of those are written for a buyer who will one day live on the lot. One Florida bank says its lot loans are designed primarily to buy land for a primary or secondary residence. A credit union that lends in Florida limits its land loan to personal use. The federal site loan program lends only to nonprofits.

A hard money land loan, also called a private land loan, comes from a lender that funds from its own or its investors’ capital and underwrites the parcel and the plan more than the borrower’s paycheck. Florida private lenders that publish land programs describe the same shape: a short, interest-only loan against the land’s current value, made to an investor, often through an entity, and repaid when the lot is built on, refinanced or sold.

One Florida land program pitches itself to investors who want a construction loan but do not yet have approved plans and permits, and sizes the loan on the land’s as-is value instead. That is the gap these loans fill.

When a private land loan beats a bank or credit union lot loan

On price alone, the bank wins. A Florida credit union’s fixed lot loan on October 1, 2026 was 8 percent with 20 percent down, against roughly 11 to 13 percent on private land. The private loan wins on who qualifies, what the lot can be and how fast the money arrives.

Read the eligibility lines on a bank or credit union lot loan before the rate. The Florida pages checked for this article ask for credit union membership, a minimum score of 680 and a debt to income ratio typically below 43 percent; they cap the lot at 5, 10 or 20 acres; and they frame the loan around a home the borrower will build. An LLC buying an infill lot to build and sell can fail every one of those tests with nothing wrong with the deal.

When none of the cases below applies, take the cheaper money. A buyer who will live on the lot, qualifies on income and credit, and has a contract that can wait for a bank’s process should start with a bank or credit union.

• The buyer is an entity. Florida private lenders lend to LLCs, partnerships, corporations and trusts, and ask for the entity documents at application.
• The lot is an investment, not a future home. Private land loans are business purpose loans, and one Florida lender says its land loans can only be used for investment.
• The closing date is close. Published Florida private terms quote closings in roughly 5 to 21 days once title work and the appraisal are ready.
• There are no plans or permits yet. The loan is sized on the land as it stands, not on a house that has not been drawn.
• The credit file is thin or bruised. Several Florida private lenders say a low score or a short credit history will not by itself rule a file out, though some still pull a report.

Florida lot loan options, side by side

Five kinds of lender finance a Florida lot, and each publishes a different slice of its terms. The table sets out what each says about its own product, checked October 14, 2026; where none published a figure, the cell says it varies.

For an investor the real choice is usually between the first row and the last. Farm Credit lending is built for rural borrowers, and federal rules limit its rural home lending to open country and towns of 2,500 people or fewer. The federal site loan program lends to nonprofits developing sites for low and moderate income families. Seller financing depends on finding a seller who will carry the note.

What does a hard money land loan cost in Florida?

Florida private lenders that publish land terms sit in the upper half of the national band. Published 2026 guides put private land loans at roughly 8 to 15 percent. One Florida land program starts at 11.5 percent, and another Florida lender put private land loans at 11 to 13 percent in late 2025. Florida lenders’ published rates on hard money in general start around 9 percent, and land prices above that because it earns nothing and sells slowly.

Points come on top. A point is 1 percent of the loan, paid at closing. Published terms and guides commonly put private land loans at 1 to 3 points; one Florida land program lists a 1 to 2 percent origination fee, and a Florida broker serving credit-challenged borrowers quotes 4 to 5. Expect separate charges for underwriting, legal work, the appraisal and title, which one Florida land program itemizes rather than folding into the rate.

The structure is nearly the same everywhere: interest-only monthly payments and the whole balance due at maturity. Several Florida private lenders state no prepayment penalty, but national guides note that some private loans carry one or a minimum interest period, so ask what a payoff in month three would cost.

Price the extension too. If the loan runs past its term, guides quote a quarter point to a point per month, or one to two points per extension, plus continued interest.

How much down on a Florida hard money land loan?

Private land loans are sized against the lot’s current value, and Florida lenders keep that number low. Published Florida terms put the loan at about 50 to 60 percent of value: one land program caps it at 50 percent, a Florida network of private investors quotes 50 to 55, and a Florida broker says its land lenders usually go to 50 to 60. One Florida lender puts the matching down payment at 40 to 50 percent of the price.

Two things push the cash higher. If the appraisal comes in under the contract price, a loan sized on value shrinks and the buyer covers the difference. And raw acreage with no road, utilities or grading is harder to place at all: one Florida broker says its land lenders want some level of improvement and give infill lots the best chance of funding.

Banks and credit unions ask less down from buyers who qualify: about 20 to 30 percent in published Florida terms, with one credit union at 20 percent on a fixed lot loan and 35 on its adjustable one, and one Farm Credit association at 25.

What a Florida private land lender looks at

A private land lender reads the parcel, the plan and the paperwork, roughly in that order. A Florida private lender and a central Florida Farm Credit association publish nearly the same list for the parcel: an appraisal, a survey, the details of utilities and access, proof that water and septic will work if a house is planned, and the construction timeline and budget where there is one.

Credit is reviewed rather than ignored. Florida private lenders describe their underwriting as asset based, built on the property’s value more than on tax returns or credit history, and some still pull a report to look for major events.

• Value: an appraisal or other opinion of the as-is value, which sets the loan.
• Access: a recorded right to reach the lot from a road, not a track the neighbors have always used.
• Water and sewer: a sewer connection, or a lot that can legally carry a septic system and a well.
• Zoning: what the current zoning allows, since lenders prefer clear designations and the plan has to fit them.
• The exit: a clear plan to repay, such as a construction refinance or a sale, and on one Florida broker’s terms a plan to develop within one to two years.
• The borrower: a credit application, two recent bank statements, ID, the entity documents, the purchase contract and property insurance on one Florida land program’s list, plus reserves to carry the payments.
• Experience: one Florida lender asks about prior land acquisition or development.

What Florida adds to a land loan file

Florida law decides much of what a lot is worth, so a land underwriter checks the rules a permit office would apply later.

Florida also caps interest, which matters more on a short private loan than on a long bank loan. Under sections 687.02 and 687.03, Florida Statutes, interest above the equivalent of 18 percent a year simple interest is usurious on a loan of $500,000 or less; above $500,000 the line is the 25 percent in section 687.071. Section 687.03(3) spreads charges in the nature of interest, which can include points, over the stated term: 2 points on a 12 month loan add 2 to the rate, and on a 6 month loan they add 4. Which charges count on a given note is a question for a Florida attorney.

Then the state taxes the loan itself. Documentary stamp tax runs 35 cents per $100 on the note and mortgage under section 201.08, and a one-time intangible tax of 2 mills applies to debt secured by Florida real property under section 199.133. The deed carries its own tax of 70 cents per $100 under section 201.02, which standard Florida contract forms put on the seller. One Florida Farm Credit association advertises its land loans as exempt from the stamp and intangible taxes, an exemption federal law gives mortgages held by certain Farm Credit lenders; on a private loan, budget for both.

• Septic and lot size. A lot on a private well needs at least half an acre for a septic system, and a lot on public water can carry one at no more than four lots per acre, under section 381.0065.
• Wells. The water management districts, or the local offices they delegate to, permit a well before it is drilled, and the well and the septic system are sited together.
• Flood elevation. In a flood hazard area the Florida Building Code puts the lowest floor of a new house at or above the base flood elevation plus one foot, and the fill or foundation to get there is a cost of the lot.
• Wetlands. The state environmental agency warns that even lots in recorded subdivisions can contain regulated wetlands, and filling one for a pad or a driveway can need a state permit.
• Access. A landlocked lot may have a claim to a way of necessity under section 704.01, but if the neighbor objects, a circuit court decides where it runs and what it costs.
• Agricultural assessment. A rural parcel taxed as agricultural land loses the classification once it is put to another use, so the next tax bill can be much larger than the last.

A worked example: a $150,000 Florida infill lot

Take an LLC buying a $150,000 infill lot outside Miami-Dade to build one house, with the appraisal at the price. The terms are illustrative, inside the published Florida ranges above, and every sum is shown so it can be redone with a real quote, by hand or in the Florida land loan calculator.

Before the lender’s own fees, the appraisal and the closing agent’s charges, the buyer brings $60,000 down, $1,800 in points, $495 in loan taxes and, if the contract puts it on the buyer, the $825 premium: about $63,100. Holding the loan 12 months costs $1,800 + $10,800 + $495 = $13,095 in points, interest and loan taxes, and the full $90,000 is still owed at month 12.

Check the usury math the way Florida does. Two points spread over a 12 month term add 2 to the 12 percent rate, an effective 14 percent, under the 18 percent line. Cut the term to 6 months and the same 2 points add 4, for 16 percent. For comparison, a credit union fixed lot loan at 20 percent down would need $30,000 down on the same lot, if the buyer, the entity and the use all fit the product.

• Loan: 60 percent of $150,000 is $90,000. Down payment: $60,000.
• Points: 2 points on $90,000 is $1,800, due at closing.
• Interest: 12 percent, interest only, is $90,000 × 0.12 ÷ 12 = $900 a month, or $10,800 over a 12 month term.
• Documentary stamps on the note and mortgage: $90,000 ÷ 100 = 900 units × $0.35 = $315.
• Intangible tax: $90,000 × 0.002 = $180.
• Deed tax, usually the seller’s: $150,000 ÷ 100 = 1,500 units × $0.70 = $1,050.
• Owner’s title premium at the promulgated rate: $100,000 at $5.75 per $1,000 is $575, plus $50,000 at $5.00 per $1,000 is $250, so $825. A lender’s policy issued with it starts at a $25 minimum.

How a hard money land loan gets repaid

Land pays nothing while the loan is outstanding, so a private land loan is repaid by an event rather than by payments. The interest-only payments keep the loan current; the balloon at maturity is what the exit has to cover.

The test a lender applies is whether the exit fits inside the term. Florida permitting can stretch a schedule: one Florida private lender warns that municipalities are taking longer to approve zoning changes, permits and infrastructure, which can push a project well past 18 months. Build the permit calendar before choosing a 12 month term, and price the extension before it is needed.

This is why a construction refinance lined up before the land closes is worth more than one that is assumed. When the takeout lender has already said what it needs, the land loan’s term can be set to the permit calendar instead of a guess.

• A construction refinance. Once plans and permits are in place, a ground up construction loan pays off the land loan and funds the build in draws.
• A sale. The lot is sold, as it stands or after entitlement work, and the proceeds repay the loan.
• A longer loan. A bank or credit union lot loan replaces the private one, once the buyer and the lot qualify for it.

Before you ask for a Florida land loan quote

Five things get a faster and firmer answer from any lender, private or not. Have them ready before the offer, not after it is accepted.

Entrusted Capital is a direct lender that funds raw and infill lots in Florida for one to four units with its own capital, before plans, permits or builder’s risk insurance exist. Every loan is business purpose on non owner occupied property, a pre-approval for the ground up construction refinance is part of the land file, quotes start on a soft pull, and terms come from the person underwriting the file.

• The parcel: the address, the parcel number, the survey or plat, and anything standing on it that has to come off.
• The flood zone and base flood elevation, and whether the lot is on sewer or needs septic and a well.
• Recorded access, and how far power and water actually run.
• The entity, in good standing, with its documents and two recent bank statements ready.
• The exit, specific enough to test: the build, the builder, the refinance or the sale, and the months each one takes.