Posted by Paul Ness, MAI on April 23, 2002 at 14:38:27:
A land contract is the term used in some regions to refer to an installment sales agreement (ISA). Land used to be sold quite often with an ISA, hence the name, but ISA’s can be used to purchase/sell any type of property. An installment sales agreement is essentially owner financing, where you put down xx% and pay the seller $xx per month for a specific period of time. It is not recorded as a deed transfer of ownership along with a mortgage document, but rather the ISA is recorded (or should be) and ownership is technically divided into “equitable” ownership (buyer) and “legal” ownership (seller). When the payments are completed, a deed is then recorded and legal ownership is transferred to the buyer.