You should never pay for land under terms you haven’t seen. This page walks through, in plain English, exactly what is in the purchase package, and you can read the full sample contract (PDF) yourself before you pay a dollar. After your down payment, we send your personalized copy — filled in with your name, your parcel, and your price — for electronic signature via OpenSign, and nothing is binding until you have read and signed it. And if you sign and change your mind, you are protected: the 90-Day Satisfaction Guarantee on owner-financed purchases, and a pre-recording cancellation window on cash purchases — both from the day of your payment.
The package: three documents
Every owner-financed purchase uses the same three documents, filled in with your parcel’s numbers:
- Agreement for the Sale and Purchase of Real Estate — who is buying, who is selling, which parcel (identified by its APN and legal description), and at what price.
- Land Sale Contract — the owner-financing engine: your payment schedule, who holds title while you pay, taxes, and what happens if a payment is missed.
- Promissory Note — your written promise to pay: the amount financed, the 0% interest rate, the monthly amount, and the late-payment rules.
The money terms, with a real example
Using our 0.35-acre lot near Crown Lake as the example (every parcel page shows its own numbers):
- Cash: $2,499, and the deed is recorded in your name shortly after the 5-business-day cancellation window.
- Owner-financed: $49 down + $100 one-time document fee, charged at checkout, then $105 a month ($95 principal + $10 note servicing fee) for 48 months — $5,189 total (about $5,285 including the 1.9% payment processing fee on monthly payments; the $149 at signing carries no fee). The difference versus cash is the cost of financing without a bank or a credit check, and it is printed in the documents, not hidden.
- 0% interest, no prepayment penalty: the Note is written at 0% per annum, and you may pay off the balance early, in whole or in part, at any time. Your monthly payment is processed by card and includes a 1.9% payment processing fee and a flat $10 monthly note servicing fee, both stated in your contract. Card payments — monthly and cash purchases alike — carry a 1.9% payment processing fee. The down payment carries no payment processing fee.
Who owns the land while you pay
On a cash purchase, the deed to your parcel (the same type of deed by which we hold title — shown on the lot page) is prepared, recorded with Izard County, and delivered to you — you are the owner of record from the start. We submit the deed for recording no earlier than 5 business days after payment (unless you ask us in writing to record sooner). You can cancel any time before recording; after recording, the sale is final. On an owner-financed purchase, YAI LLC holds the title while you make payments (this is a standard land installment contract). When your final payment clears, we deliver the deed to your parcel (the same type of deed by which we hold title — shown on the lot page) and record the transfer with the county within the window stated in the contract (30 days). During the term, YAI remains the owner of record and handles the county tax bill — no portion of your monthly payment is allocated to property taxes. Your monthly payment includes a flat note servicing fee, stated in your contract.
If a payment is missed — the exact ladder
The contract spells out every step, in this order:
- Days 1–5 after the due date: a grace period. No fee, no consequence.
- After 5 days: a flat $50 late fee is added.
- 35 days past due: you receive written notice of default by email, and a 30-day window to bring payments current.
- Only if the default is not cured: the contract permits YAI to terminate and retake the property, with amounts paid retained. Interest terms are set in your signed contract, section 2; the current sample template does not specify a separate default rate beyond the base rate.
In practice, we pick up the phone first. If you are having trouble paying, contact us before the deadline — we would rather work out a solution than terminate.
The guarantee, in the documents
The 90-Day Satisfaction Guarantee is part of every owner-financed deal: if you are not satisfied for any reason within 90 days of your down payment, you may request an exchange for another parcel or a refund — returned less the $100 document fee and payment processing fees (third-party closing costs are deductible too, but our sales close directly between the parties with no closing cost to you, so normally there are none). Visiting the property is recommended but is not a condition of the guarantee. On a cash purchase, the deed is recorded in your name shortly after payment, so it works differently: you may cancel for a refund at any time before the deed is recorded (we wait at least 5 business days before submitting it for recording), and once the deed has been recorded, the sale is final. Full terms: Refund Policy.
When you may build on it
Build after payoff. Permanent improvements (foundation, well, septic, utilities, and any dwelling, cabin, barn, shed or garage) placed on the parcel before the final payment need our written OK first — that is section 11 of the contract, and it exists for the same reason we hold the title until payoff: while we still own the land, what gets built on it is our exposure too. Two further limits apply during the payment term: tree clearing may be limited to the area a permitted structure needs, and no environmental dumping. On a cash purchase you can build as soon as the deed is recorded, because section 11 binds a buyer only before the price is paid in full. If your plan is to build during the term, tell us before you buy and we will answer in writing.
Sold AS-IS — do your checks first
The property is sold as-is, and the documents state that you have done your own due diligence. That is exactly why every parcel page publishes the APN, a map link, the county tax bill, and the recorded build minimum — and why our due-diligence checklist shows you how to verify everything yourself, for free, before you pay.
This page is a plain-English summary for your convenience. The signed documents are the entire agreement — if anything here differs from your signed contract, the signed contract controls. See also our Terms and Disclosures.