Land acquisition financing.
Lots, development land, and assemblies — carried from purchase through entitlement to shovel-ready. BC and Alberta.
Land is the asset banks respect least and developers need first. It earns nothing, costs money to hold, and its value lives mostly in paperwork that doesn't exist yet — the rezoning, the subdivision, the permits. Land financing prices exactly that gap, which is why every approval you win is worth real leverage, and why the smartest land loan is structured around its own funeral: the construction facility that pays it out at shovel-ready.
From a single lot to an assembly.
A serviced lot for the future home — held until the build plan and permits catch up.
Raw or entitled acreage carried through rezoning, subdivision, and servicing.
Adjacent parcels acquired and held together for a redevelopment play.
The hardest land to finance — placed with the few lenders who'll touch it.
The rezoning and permit years funded so the project survives to shovel-ready.
Equity pulled from owned land to fund soft costs, servicing, or the next parcel.
The land phase — and its exit.
The defining feature of land lending is what it lacks: income. The lender's whole security is the dirt and your plan for it — which is why entitlement progress moves your leverage more than any negotiation.
One facility over several titles keeps the assembly financeable as it grows — and releases parcels cleanly if strategy changes.
We start building the construction file while the land loan is still young: the most expensive land loan is the one that renews twice waiting for a financing plan that should have existed at purchase.
Ranges are typical and for illustration — last reviewed July 2026; land pricing varies more than any built asset class and is confirmed lender-by-lender for your parcel.
Files like yours.
Common land questions.
How much can I borrow against land?+
Typically 50–65% of value — raw, unserviced land at the low end, entitled or serviced parcels at the high end. The gap between those numbers is the market pricing entitlement risk: every approval you win literally increases what lenders will advance.
Why won't my bank finance a lot purchase?+
Land produces no income, can take years to resell, and burns cash while it waits — everything institutional credit dislikes. Most land lending in BC and Alberta is private or alternative capital by design, with the bank arriving later, at the construction phase.
What does land financing cost?+
More than built-property money — pricing sits above standard private mortgage rates and moves with entitlement status, location, and liquidity. The honest comparison isn't land loan vs mortgage; it's carry cost vs losing the parcel or the assembly window.
How does financing work for a land assembly?+
Usually one blanket (inter-alia) facility registered across the assembled titles, growing as parcels are added. It keeps the position fundable as a single project and lets individual titles release cleanly if plans change — the structure matters as much as the rate.
When should the construction financing conversation start?+
At land purchase — genuinely. The land loan's exit is the construction facility, and on rental projects the CMHC MLI Select runway alone is 9–12 months. Files that sequence land, entitlement, and construction as one plan borrow cheaper at every stage.
Can I pull equity out of land I already own?+
Yes — a land refinance funds soft costs, servicing, or the next acquisition against parcels you hold, within the same 50–65% leverage discipline. It's the standard way an assembly funds its own completion.
Buying dirt? Have these ready.
- Legal description, acreage, and current zoning
- Purchase contract, or title and payout details for a refinance
- The plan — intended use, entitlement path, and realistic timeline
- Servicing status — water, sewer, power, and access
- Any rezoning, subdivision, or permit applications in flight
- Environmental knowns — past uses, tanks, or fill
- Net-worth statement and how the carry costs get paid
- Appraisal if you have one — we can order land-competent valuation
Found the parcel? Plan the whole stack.
Send the parcel and the plan — we'll price the land phase and sketch the construction exit in the same conversation, so the carry never outlives the strategy.