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What does ’seller financing’ mean?

Posted on Sunday, December 2nd, 2007 at 2:58 pm.

A client asks:

The notes on a listing say say "owner w/c holding 2nd trust".  Does this mean that the owner would make a 2nd loan on the property, perhaps for the 15% (if the buyer can come up with 80% in a mortgage and 5% in cash)?

Our Answer:  Yes that's exactly what it means.  The owner is willing to finance the 2nd trust.  Often this allows buyers who can't qualify for higher financing through traditional means (like a bank) to afford the purchase.

We generally do not recommend you use seller financing (either as a buyer, or offer it as a seller) because things can get complicated very quickly.   What if the buyer doesn't make payments on time?  What if the seller tries to force the buyer to pay the balance due because s/he needs the money immediately?  These types of issues are exactly why banks exist, and we suggest you let the banks do what they do best:  loan money.  Seller financing should only be used in extreme cases.


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