You own the lot. Free and clear. No loan on it, no lien, just your name on the deed.
So why does every construction lender still want a big check from you before they will fund the build?
Most of them treat your land like it does not count. They look at the total project cost, take a percentage, and ask you to bring the rest in cash. You already tied up money buying the dirt. Now they want more of it sitting in their file before a single footing is poured.
That is backward. The land you already paid for is real money. It should do the work, not sit on the sidelines.
Your land is the down payment
Here is how Kenwood looks at it. When you own the land free and clear, that land is your skin in the game. We can fund up to 100% of the hard construction cost. You do not write a separate down-payment check to start the build.
The lot you already bought is the down payment. That is the whole point.
So your cash stays where it belongs: in your pocket, or in the next deal. It is not parked in a lender’s file. You already made the down payment when you bought the land. You should not have to make it twice.
What it looks like on a real build
Take a recent New River ground-up. The builder owned the lot free and clear, so he brought no down-payment check to start construction.
The loan funded $485,000 of hard cost. His land stood as his equity going in. Closing costs came out of loan proceeds, so his cash to start the build was essentially zero. He kept his capital free for materials, labor, and the next project, instead of handing it over before the first inspection.
And the draws funded ahead of the work, not after. He never floated the early labor and materials out of his own pocket waiting on a reimbursement check.
Who this is for
This works when three things are true. You own the land free and clear. You have built before, or you bring a builder who has. And the finished numbers make sense on real comps for the neighborhood.
If that is you, the math is simple. You are not saving up a down payment. You already made it. You are ready to build now.
One lender across the whole project
The land is where it starts. It is rarely where it ends.
Maybe you own the lot but are not ready to break ground yet. We lend on the land while you get your plans and permits in order. When you are ready, we fund the build. And when the home is finished and you are deciding whether to sell or hold, we can bridge you to the exit.
One relationship, from dirt to finish. You stop re-explaining your project to a new lender at every stage. You are not getting handed off, re-qualified, or squeezed into a different lender’s mold each time the project moves forward.
That is what we mean by private capital built around your deal. We are not a bank and not a fund. We have funded Arizona builders for 30 years, and we shape the loan around your project: your land, your timeline, your exit. You do not fit a form.
If you own land and you are ready to build
Reply to this article, or call a principal directly at (480) 783-8800. Tell us about the lot and what you want to put on it. We will tell you straight whether it is a fit.
Kenwood Mortgage Investments Inc.
7950 East Redfield Road #110, Scottsdale, AZ
MB 13866 | NMLS 1702
