6 Tips For Owner Financing In Florida

If you’re thinking of selling your house using owner financing, make sure you read this blog post to learn the tips for owner financing in Florida…

There are many ways to sell your house. You could list it on the market and see what sellers will pay. You could work with a real estate buying company and get a fair all-cash offer, or you can consider owner financing and “be the bank” to sell your house to a buyer and collect payments over time. Be sure you consider these tips for owner financing in Florida.

Owner financing is a valuable but under-used strategy to sell your house. It’s where you offer terms to the buyer to pay you regular payments (just like a mortgage). Here are 6 tips for owner financing in Florida…

Owner Financing Tip #1: Don’t Focus Only On Price

Price is just one component. Of course, you’ll want to find a price that is fair for both of you but there are other considerations as well (which could benefit you more than the asking price) … like expediting the closing date, who pays closing costs, waive an appraisal and terms of your financing arrangement.

Owner Financing Tip #2: Timeline

Think about the timeline you want to be paid in. Banks might offer 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25-year mortgages. Do you want to accept payments over that period of time? Your buyer will want to find a timeline that works for them, too: they might not want to be paying you 25 years down the road! If you are considering that you might sell that mortgage note in the future, you may want to include a balloon payment in 10-15 years.

Owner Financing Tip #3: Terms

The terms of the deal are one of the most important yet most overlooked parts of the deal. The terms might include things like how much down payment you want if there’s an early repayment penalty or a late payment penalty, and most important – how much interest you charge. Be sure you that the buyers can easily afford the payment amount. If you think that you might sell that mortgage note in the future, it’s a good idea to set your interest rate close to the market rate.

Owner Financing Tip #4: Protect Yourself

Even if you enter into an agreement with someone who is completely trustworthy, things could still go wrong – so make sure you protect yourself. You do this by securing the real estate note with the property you are selling with a mortgage, deed of trust or land contract. And make sure that the mortgage or other security instrument requires that the buyer maintains hazard (fire) insurance and names you as an additional loss payee. And that you get a copy of the paid hazard insurance contract each year.

Owner Financing Tip #5: Build Contingencies

Most of your owner financing agreement will be built around the “ideal plan” – of what would happen if everything goes perfectly. But sometimes things happen outside of our control, so building contingencies allow you to make better decisions if the unexpected happens. For example, what if the buyer no longer wants the house, or can no longer pay, or wants to pay early, or wants to use the house in a different way than expected? Or what if your circumstances change and you no longer want to sell or you need to sell even faster? Agree to the contingencies with your buyer ahead of time and the arrangement will be so much smoother.

Owner Financing Tip #6: Get An Attorney

No matter how you ultimately structure your owner financing deal, make sure you work closely with an attorney who can help you. A poorly worded agreement could end up hurting you; an attorney can help. And if you are an attorney, remember Abraham Lincoln’s quote: The man who represents himself has a foll for a client.”

If you have already sold a property with owner financing and are interested in selling the owner financing, fill out the form below:

I'd like BEST PRICE for ALL or PART of My Note

or call us at 772-232-2383. You can be sure that we help you in any way that we can and give you a fair, fast offer.