Loans for Land That Works for a Living
Farms, ranches, and rural acreage do not fit in a suburban loan box. We speak farm and ranch fluently, and we will tell you straight which route your place fits.
Farm and ranch loans: purchase and refinance on working land, ag acreage, and rural property. Land up to 50% LTV easily, up to 70% on the right deal, and USDA options across the full spectrum.
The short answer
Yes, we do farm and ag loans. Lawton Building and Loan finances working farms and ranches, agricultural land, and rural properties, for purchase or refinance, across Texas and on the right deal in our other service areas. Some of these loans run through long-term farm credit channels built for agricultural real estate. Some fit USDA programs. Some are land loans, where our working numbers are up to 50% LTV easily and up to 70% on the right deal. And some are one-of-one situations that get structured case by case. What they all have in common: the first step is a real conversation about the land, the operation, and the plan, not a form letter decline from a lender who has never seen dirt.
What we fund
- Farm and ranch purchase: working operations, family farms, ranch land with or without a home on it.
- Farm and ranch refinance: restructure existing ag debt on land and operations.
- Agricultural land: row crop, pasture, orchard, and mixed-use acreage, improved or raw.
- Rural properties: homes on acreage and rural residential properties that fall outside the standard suburban box.
- Land loans: ag and rural land bought to hold, work later, or build on, up to 50% LTV easily and up to 70% on the right deal.
- USDA routes: USDA lending across its full spectrum, from rural home loans to farm and rural business programs, matched to the property and the borrower.
Who this fits
- Families buying a farm or ranch, including a first operation.
- Operators refinancing land they already work.
- Buyers picking up acreage next door or down the road to expand.
- Rural buyers whose property is too much land, too many outbuildings, or too agricultural for a regular home loan.
- Land buyers with a plan and real money to put down.
The honest part
Ag lending is case-by-case lending. There is no single rate sheet that covers a cotton farm, a cattle ranch, and a house on twenty acres, and anyone who quotes you one number for all three is guessing. What carries an ag deal is the land itself, what it produces or can produce, the borrower’s experience and equity in the deal, and the down payment. Long-term farm credit programs can mean real money back over the life of the loan, because some farm lenders are cooperatives that return earnings to their borrower-members. Private and portfolio routes move faster and flex more, with more money down. Our job is knowing which of those worlds your place belongs in, and telling you plainly when a deal needs more equity or a different structure instead of shopping it until it dies.
How it works
- Call or text (817) 862-6922, or start at the Get Prequalified link below. Tell us where the land is, how much of it there is, what is on it, and what you do or plan to do with it.
- We sort the routes: farm credit, USDA, land loan, or a case-by-case structure, and give you the real numbers and the real down payment for each one that fits.
- Close and get to work. Ag deals have their own paperwork and timelines; we will lay them out up front so the closing does not surprise you.
FAQ
How much do I need down on a farm or ranch? More than on a house. Land loans run up to 50% LTV easily and up to 70% on the right deal, which means 30 to 50% down in most cases. Traditional farm credit land programs commonly land in that same range. Strong operations, strong borrowers, and income-producing land can push toward the better end.
Can you finance raw ag land with nothing on it? Yes, that is a standard conversation here. Raw and unrestricted land is harder than improved land, so the down payment and the plan carry the deal. See our land loans page for more on how we look at dirt.
My property got turned down as “too rural” or “too much land” for a home loan. Can you help? That is one of the most common reasons people call us. A house on significant acreage, barns and outbuildings, or land that is partly farmed often falls out of the regular home loan box and into ours.
Do you do USDA farm loans? We work USDA lending across its full spectrum. Which USDA program fits depends on whether the deal is a home, a farm operation, or rural business property, and that sorting is part of the first conversation.
Do you finance operations, equipment, or livestock, or just real estate? Our wheelhouse is the real estate, the land and the property. Operating and equipment needs sometimes fit alongside a real estate deal through business funding routes; ask and we will tell you honestly what we can and cannot place.
Do you lend outside Texas? Our core ag work is Texas. We lend in Florida, California, and Arizona as well, and on investment and commercial deals in most states. Farm deals outside Texas are case by case, so call and describe the place.
Start here
Call or text (817) 862-6922, or get started online.
Educational information only, not a commitment to lend. All loans are subject to credit approval, and programs change.
Joel Lawton, Lawton Building and Loan, NMLS #380245
Ready to see if you qualify?
or call (817) 862-6922, for a free consultation today.