One loan. One closing. Your land counts.
A construction-to-permanent loan pays for the build in draws, then turns into your regular mortgage when the home is done. You close once, the land you already own can count toward the down payment, and we hand your lender the package underwriters ask for.
Placeholder until a lender partner signs
Pre-qualify before design, always
Lender package built into the Home & Land Plan
Land you own can count toward the down payment
Appraisal-shortfall addendum before you sign
How a construction-to-permanent loan works
One loan covers the build and the mortgage after it. Here is the order things happen in, and where the Home & Land Plan fits.
Pre-qualify first
Before any design work, you get a pre-qualification from a lender that writes construction-to-permanent loans. It sets the number the plan has to fit.
Home & Land Plan, $4,500
Credited at contract. It produces the lender package: plans on your lot, a line-item budget, the spec book at your tier, and the draw schedule.
Appraisal
The lender orders an appraisal of the finished home on your land. Our comp package for acreage homes goes in with the submission.
One closing
You close once. During the build you pay interest only on money drawn, in 5 to 7 draws, each released after an inspection.
Converts to a mortgage
At completion the loan converts to a regular mortgage. No second closing, no second application, no second round of paperwork.
Plan on 60 to 120 days from the Home & Land Plan to loan closing, with permits running in parallel, then 9 to 12 months of construction.
The numbers, as of September 2026
Two rates, one down payment, and where your land fits. Planning ranges, so you can budget before you sit down with a lender.
How to read them: the construction rate applies only to money drawn, so the first months cost little. The permanent rate is what your monthly payment is built on for the life of the mortgage. Land equity reduces the cash you bring to closing.
Construction-to-permanent, planning ranges
| Construction-phase rate | 7.25 to 8.75 percent |
| Permanent rate after conversion | Mid 6s |
| Down payment, typical | 10 to 25 percent |
| Land you already own | Can count toward it |
Rates move. These are planning ranges as of September 2026, not a quote: ask your lender for current terms. Alumni Homes is a builder, not a lender.
Lenders who write construction-to-permanent loans on Upstate land
Three slots, filled as agreements sign. In the meantime, any lender that writes construction-to-permanent loans in South Carolina can underwrite from the Home & Land Plan package.
Lender partners are being finalized. Names are listed here as agreements sign.
The appraisal gap, handled
Semi-custom homes on acreage often get appraised against production-home comps from subdivisions, and the number can come in under the contract. Here is our policy for that case, decided before it happens.
A comp package with every submission
Every lender submission carries a comparables package built for acreage homes: recent sales of homes on land in your county, not lot-and-block subdivision houses. It goes in with the loan submission, so the supporting sales are on file before the appraisal is ordered.
An appraisal-shortfall addendum, before you sign
Before you sign, we attach an addendum that pre-agrees what happens if the appraisal comes in under the contract price. The options are written down before anyone is upset: you bring more down, we change the plan or selections to close the gap, or we review the price line by line.
We track it
Our policy is that every appraisal on an Alumni contract gets logged: the comps the appraiser used, the gap if any, and the option chosen. Each one sharpens the comp package that goes out with the next submission.
The honest part
Barndominium financing
Barndominium financing is harder than financing a stick-built house. Some banks will not lend on metal-frame homes, and appraisers can struggle to find comps. Barndo construction loans generally come from local banks, credit unions, and ag lenders, so that is where we send you, with an engineered plan set and a budget built for acreage. Pre-qualify before design work starts, so nobody spends months on a home a bank will not fund.
See the barndominium plansWhat your lender will ask for
Gather your half before pre-qualification and the loan moves faster. The other half comes out of the Home & Land Plan, and we supply it.
- Two years of income documents: W-2s or tax returns, recent pay stubs, and bank statementsYou
- Credit: the lender pulls your report and score, so know where you stand before you applyYou
- The deed to your land, or the purchase contract if you are buying itYou
- Our fixed-price contract, with the site-work quote and the rock and soils rider attachedWe supply
- Plans and specifications: the stamped plan set and the spec book at your tierWe supply
- The line-item budget and the draw schedule from your Home & Land PlanWe supply
- Builder information: license, insurance certificate, and company detailsWe supply
- Builder's risk insurance for the build, carried under our contract and listed in your budgetWe supply
- Insurance: a homeowner's quote for the conversion to your permanent mortgageYou
No obligation, no salesman
The loan starts with the land.
Book the free site walk. Within 48 hours you get a written site-work figure, the first hard number your lender will want, and it is yours whether you build with us or not.
(864) 555-0148Yes, walk my land.
Financing questions, answered plainly
Do I need to own the land outright?
No. You can own it free and clear, still be paying on it, or be under contract to buy it. If there is a loan on the land, the construction loan generally pays it off at closing and rolls it into one note. If you are under contract, the land purchase can close as part of the same loan. Tell the lender which case you are in at pre-qualification, because it changes the paperwork.
Can land equity be my down payment?
Often, yes. Lenders generally count the appraised value of land you own, less any balance owed on it, toward the down payment. On a paid-off tract that can cover most or all of the typical 10 to 25 percent. Land bought within the last year may be counted at its purchase price instead of appraised value, so ask your lender how they treat it before you plan around it.
What if the appraisal comes in low?
The addendum we attach before you sign settles that ahead of time. If the appraisal comes in under the contract price, you choose from options already written down: bring more cash to closing, change the plan or selections to close the gap, or sit down with us for a line-by-line price review. Our comp package goes to the lender with every submission to make a low number less likely in the first place.
Can I lock a rate before the build?
Ask your lender, because it varies. Some construction-to-permanent lenders lock the permanent rate at closing, before the build starts. Others set it at conversion, sometimes with a float-down if rates fall. Which you want depends on where you think rates are headed over the 9 to 12 months of construction. Our contract carries a written schedule with start and completion windows, which is what the lender needs to price a lock.
How do draws work?
Your lender releases the loan in 5 to 7 draws tied to construction milestones, usually some mix of foundation, framing, dry-in, mechanical rough-in, drywall, finish, and final. Before each draw an inspector confirms the work is in place. You pay interest only on what has been drawn, so payments start small and grow through the build, then the loan converts and your regular mortgage payment begins.
Can you finance a barndominium?
Yes, with the right lender, and it is harder than a stick-built house. Some banks will not lend on metal-frame homes and appraisers can struggle to find comps. Barndo construction loans generally come from local banks, credit unions, and ag lenders, so that is where we send you, with an engineered plan set, a line-item budget, and comps built for acreage. Pre-qualify before design starts so nobody spends months on a home a bank will not fund.
Get the package your lender wants.
Walk the land, pre-qualify, then let the Home & Land Plan turn it into plans, a budget, and a draw schedule an underwriter can read.