Seller-financed loans known as “land contracts” don’t involve a bank and lack the consumer protections available with traditional home loans.

With traditional mortgages for lower-priced homes hard to get, some home buyers are turning to riskier alternatives, like seller-financed loans known as “land contracts” that don’t involve a bank.

About 1.4 million Americans have active land contracts, a type of financing in which buyers don’t get full legal ownership of a home until they make their final payment, according to a new report from the Pew Charitable Trusts. Pew has estimated that 8 million people have used the contracts to pursue homeownership.

Some buyers prefer land contracts because they can be arranged quickly and often have lower upfront costs than mortgages. They also offer an alternative to buyers who can’t qualify for a traditional home loan because of poor credit.

But the arrangements lack consumer protections available with traditional home loans and can leave

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