What is a Land Contract?
It is a contract used when selling a property on payments, also called a “contract for deed,” and other names in different areas of the country. This is basic seller financing. The buyer wants an easy way to buy, you want the interest, so you take payments on the property. However, a land contract is not quite the same as a mortgage loan. You sign a contract, and the buyer takes possession of you land or home, but you do not deliver the deed until every last payment is made. That may sound safer than handing over the deed and taking back a mortgage, but it isn’t necessarily. In fact, it can be more dangerous. Which is it in your case? You’ll have to ask a good real estate attorney. The laws are different in different areas. In either case you have a clear legal path to take back the property if the buyer defaults on the payments. However, the process may not be the same. Years ago, where I lived in Michigan, the time it took to foreclose and get the property back was about the same for
