Loan-to-Cost Ratio Calculator

About this calculator

The loan-to-cost (LTC) ratio — loan amount ÷ total project cost × 100 — measures how much of a construction or development project's full cost (land, hard costs, soft costs, contingency) a lender is willing to finance, as opposed to loan-to-value (LTV), which compares the loan to the property's finished appraised value.

Construction lenders use LTC to cap risk during the build phase, when there's no finished, income-producing asset to appraise yet — typical ceilings run around 75-80%, with the developer covering the rest as equity. Real estate developers, construction lenders, and investors evaluating a ground-up deal check LTC alongside LTV and loan-to-ARV (after-repair value) to size financing and gauge how much skin the developer has in the game.