Today’s real estate market is flooded with homes for sale.  The local board of realtors MlS systems is full, and there are many “for sale by owners” available.  With all of this inventory on the market, one must consider what they can do to have the edge over everyone else.  If you are trying to sell your home, have you considered owner financing?
It is definitely a way for buyers to get into a property without the hassle of traditional bank financing.

 Owner financing may not be for every seller.  Your property must be free of any other mortgages, now I know this has just limited the playing field.  But for those who have properties that are paid for, this is one consideration you will want to investigate.

There are many good buyers looking at the market today.  Remember the one problem they are encountering is the availability of money.  Banks are really tight on loans today; many good buyers don’t have the availability to borrow and thus can’t complete the sale.  
One of my branch office managers told me a few weeks ago we had lost four sales due to the fact the buyers could not get a loan.  Buyers who had good credit scores, buyers who have been on the same job for a long time, but for whatever reasons caused by our financial difficulties today,  the banks choose not to lend, thus no sales.

One of these properties offered owner financing and it now looks as though they may have a buyer ready willing and able to complete the transaction.  So exactly what do we want to consider when offering owner financing.  First consider the buyer; you may want to do a credit check on them, just to make sure they are indeed everything they claim to be.  Next the down payment, I have always suggested a nice down payment, twenty to thirty percent at least, now the buyers have a stake in the transaction and it shows their desire to be good homeowners.  Now for the terms, what interest rate and how long should be considered.  

When you offer owner financing you must remember everything is negotiable from the onset of the offer.  Many times I have set the ground rules as to what we would accept as a down payment, interest rates and terms, only to have it completely different when the contract was finalized.  Why, because buyers are all different and situations change in the negotiations of the terms.  I always try to get a good down payment and an interest rate that is approximately thirty percent more then I could get if I made a bank deposit.  I may accept a thirty year mortgage with a five year balloon.  There are those sellers who would rather have full thirty years worth of payments; it becomes a source of income for them.

Once you sell the property it is sold.  You no longer have taxes or insurance to worry about.  You are named on the insurance policy as the mortgagee, should the buyer not pay their insurance premium you will be notified and you could call the entire note due.  If they do not pay the taxes that are owned annually, you have recourse.  You will want to use a real estate attorney to ensure you have protected yourself in every aspect of the transaction.  Your mortgage should be written with all the safeguards the banks use to protect their interest, you should be no different.

Owner financing is something that I have had great luck with.  I have sold properties that otherwise would have been difficult to sell especially in this market.  If you have a property that you really need to sell, consider owner financing.

For additional information concerning real estate visit;   www.galionpropertiessxm.com

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