Akiptan Land Mortgage and Down Payment Assistance

Akiptan is a Native American Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) that provides loans and technical assistance to agriculture producers across Indian country.

To address land ownership issues, such as highly fractionated land, Akiptan has developed a product that fits those needs. Akiptan's Land Mortgage and Down Payment Assistance Products is great for producers who need to purchase land or need financing for the down payment portion.

• Anyone over the age of 18 years can apply for up to $500,000 of the land loan funds.

• Any individual or entity engaged in agriculture and food systems, including but not limited to: growing, processing, distributing, or selling food or food products with a goal of improving the Indian use of Indian resources within the service area.

• All applicants must be actively involved in the day to day labor and management decisions of the operation unless they are temporarily uninvolved due to pursuing further education or other extenuating circumstances to be determined by the Loan Committee.

Anyone over the age of 18 years can apply for up to $500,000 of the land loan funds. Down payment assistance has up to a 15 year repayment period, and the full Land Mortgage Product has up to a 30 year repayment period.

Interested in applying for a loan? Begin by completing Akiptan's online intake survey. When completed a Loan Administrator will reach out to you with next steps.

The loan process begins with discovery and intake to get to know the client. Then you move into technical assistance and application completion, review and closing, then aftercare.

There is a digital copy of the application to the right which can be filled out and mailed to Akiptan's office at PO Box 858 Eagle Butte, SD 57625. Supplemental documents may be required before final loan review.

Please know that the timeline is currently a few months out from application submission to the Loan Committee for review. It is best to put in an application as soon as possible, but having a couple of months time is preferable. If your loan is approved, Akiptan can hold the money until you are ready to use it, which helps save on interest as well.

Loan products overview

Application materials

Akiptan Loan Process (PDF)

Frequently asked questions

Interest Only Option explained (blog)