When it comes to buying acreages, down payments and cash flow requirements are very dependent on your particular needs. For example: If you want to build a home from scratch on your acreage, you will need a construction draw mortgage. If you want to buy bare land and build a home on it later, you’ll need a bare land mortgage for the time being. You’ll need to transfer to another type of mortgage when you are ready to live on it. There will be fees for the transfer. If you want to move a mobile or manufactured home on the bare land, whether permanently or temporarily, your financing options will be limited to the rules for this type of home. Since mobile and manufactured homes are often seen as depreciating assets, lenders will treat them differently. However, if they are permanently secured to a foundation, this can work in your favour. If there are no potable water and septic services on the land, this can make it harder to mortgage. If there are water and septic systems on the land, they will need to be inspected by an appraiser, to ensure they are safe for livability. A water potability certificate will need to go into the mortgage application. If the property is very isolated, or if road access is limited, this will also make it harder to mortgage (since it will be harder to resell). If you want to finance renovations on an existing home on the property, you’ll need a renovation mortgage. If this is to be your vacation or secondary home, you may want to follow some tactical and financial advice, as explained here. If you plan to rent out the home on the acreage, whether as a vacation rental or a long-term lease, your mortgage conditions can become stricter. Not to mention, city laws and insurance premiums can come into play. In general, when you are buying an acreage as your primary residence, you could pay as little as 5% down, though that is very rare. Now, this rate would also require mortgage default insurance (which is allowed in this scenario). But, the catch 22 is that default mortgage insurance can’t be used on homes over $1 million. And, most acreages in B.C. cost over $1 million. Whether or not you can get a low down payment rate on an acreage will depend on the factors above, and more. Most cases will need 35% - 50% as a down payment. In other aspects,The rules of typical residential mortgages would apply. The best way to find out what type of land mortgage you can get, and the down payment needed for your case, is to work with a B.C. mortgage broker. Please see more on our website.