Installment Land Contracts: Remedies in Nebraska

The recent return to a tight money market has caused a resurgence in the use of installment land sales contracts to finance the purchase of real property. In attempting to define the state of the law applicable to installment land contracts, it is important to distinguish those financing devices from both marketing contracts for the sale of land and mortgages. This article summarizes the differences between these three devices and then analyzes the advantages and disadvantages of installment land contracts. Next it discusses the concept of forfeiture and liquidated damages as applied to installment land contracts. It then sets out the remedies available to the vendor under Nebraska law. Finally, the theories available to protect the interests of the defaulting vendee are discussed