If you aren’t looking to buy farmland with a mortgage, but you don’t want to “throw away” your money in your rent check every month, you may want to consider a third option: land sale contract. A land sale contract, also known as just a “land contract” or “contract for deed” is the “rent-to-own” of the real estate world. In a land sale contract, you basically pay rent every month in the same way you would if you were just leasing land, but your rent payments go towards building equity, the way they would if you purchased the land. However, take caution. Legal issues abound, and much of the risk falls to the buyer if we aren’t careful.

Learn about and manage the risks of a land contract with our Land Contract Toolbox (51pgs.). It provides the legal background and tools you need to create an effective agreement that reduces the buyer’s risk, including a checklist and annotated model land contract. A narrative story illustrates how this relationship can work, while helping readers envision their own story.