Seller Financing Tips

Top 3 Owner Financing Myths

Owner financing has once again gained popularity as mortgage approvals prove hard to obtain. The installment sale is being pulled out of the toolbox as an alternative financing method to conventional loans.

As the owner financing method becomes a frequent topic among real estate agents, investors, and discussion boards there are inevitably some misconceptions being perpetuated. These three myths seem to continually reoccur:

MYTH #1 – The Seller Must Own Property Free and Clear to Offer Owner Financing

FACT: While zero existing debt on a property can be an advantage in seller financing it is NOT a requirement. In fact, the majority of owner-financed transactions have a prior debt incurred by the seller from when they bought the property. When the seller offers financing and this mortgage remains it is commonly known as a “Wraparound Mortgage” or “All Inclusive Trust Deed (AITD)”.

As the buyer makes payments to the seller on the new owner financing the seller must in turn continue to keep payments current with their lender. This type of arrangement comes with risk, including a senior mortgage holder calling their note all due and payable for violation of the due on sale clause. While many lenders are happy to receive timely payments it is important to consult with an attorney understand or minimize risk.

MYTH #2 – Seller Financing Just Involves FSBO Deals

FACT: – A portion of seller financed notes are created from For Sale By Owner (FSBO) transactions but there are equally as many sellers using the services of a Real Estate Agent. Experienced agents will often encourage sellers in slow markets to include “Owner Will Finance” in the MLS property listings.

These agents are still paid their commission at closing from proceeds, generally from the down payment funds. In the rare cases there are not sufficient proceeds to cover the commission at closing some agents have elected to take back a note themselves for a portion of their fee.

MYTH #3 – There Are Only Second Liens With Seller Carry Back Financing

FACT: The majority of seller financed notes sold to investors for cash on the secondary market are NOT second liens. If the seller wrapped an existing mortgage and still owes money the note investor will pay off the seller’s debt at closing from the note purchase proceeds. This puts the seller-financed note in first position.

There are also many second liens created from some version of the 80-10-10 transaction. This is where the buyer puts 10% down, obtains an 80% bank loan the seller carries back the 10% remaining balance as a second lien. The buyer’s new bank loan is in first position and the seller is in second position.

These small second position notes are highly risky transactions, especially in a falling real estate market. Many note investors decline to purchase a small second due to the high risk of default on a low equity high LTV subordinate lien.

Recognizing these common misconceptions and their myth busters will help sellers, investors, brokers, and buyers put seller financing to good use during the sub prime mortgage meltdown.

If you would like a free note analysis we invite you to contact us!

5 Reasons Owners Offer Seller Financing

Why would a seller allow a buyer to make payments over time for the purchase of property?

Wouldn’t the seller rather get paid now and require the buyer to obtain a bank loan?

Here are 5 reasons property owners offer seller financing:

1. Reduced Marketing Times

What is the first thing a real estate agent does when property is not moving and has been on the market for 60 to 90 days? They reduce the price and add the tagline “price reduced” to all advertising and signs. Rather than reduce the price, it might be beneficial for the seller to offer financing. Buyers provided with financing can certainly pay full price in exchange for the many benefits they receive with owner financing, including the money they save by not paying expensive loan fees, origination fees, and points.

2. Increased Inventory of Prospective Purchasers

By offering owner financing, the seller increases marketability with a wider group of available purchasers. Statistics show that almost 40 percent of the American population is unable to qualify for traditional bank financing. While not all of the “unqualified” group would be an acceptable risk for owner financing, it still widens the market of prospective buyers considerably. Anyone who has added the words “Owner Will Finance” or “Easy Terms” to a For Sale ad or Multiple Listing Service (MLS) listing knows the phone will ring off the hook with interested prospects.

3. Reduced Closing Times

Another advantage of offering owner financing is substantially lower closing times. A closing involving a third-party conventional lender can take six to eight weeks while closing a seller-financed transaction through a reputable title company can take as little as two to three weeks. This is due to the reduced paperwork and less restrictive due diligence process.

4. Investment Strategy for Hard to Finance Properties

There are many properties that encounter financing difficulties including mixed use property, land, mobile and land, non-conforming, low value, and others. Investors realize excellent returns by paying a reduced cash or wholesale price on a hard-to-finance property and then reselling at a higher retail price with easy financing terms.

5. Interest Income

Why let the banks earn all the interest? Sellers can keep the property-earning income even after they sell by offering owner financing. For example, a $100,000 mortgage at 9 percent with monthly payments of $804.62 will pay back $289,663.20 over 30 years. That additional $189,663.20 (over the $100,000 mortgage) is power of interest income!

Work with Owner Financing Specialists

If considering seller financing, be sure to consult with a qualified professional to properly document the transaction.

It also helps to speak with note investors to gain insight on appealing terms and structuring techniques. This assures top-dollar pricing should you ever want to convert the payments to cash by assigning your note, mortgage, deed of trust, or contract to an investor.

Avoid Three Seller Financing Mistakes

Would you rather have $97,000 to sell your $100,000 note or only $80,000? The difference in usually comes down to the big three. Here’s the three biggest mistakes note sellers make and how to avoid flushing money down the drain.

Mistake #1 – Failing to Check Credit

The payer’s credit report lets you know how timely they have paid bills in the past. This is a good indicator of how they will pay on a seller-financed note. It also has a huge impact on how much an investor is willing to offer, should the seller ever decide to sell the note payments. Sadly, many sellers never check credit when offering owner financing.

The seller financing solution?

Have the buyer fill our a simple one page application that grants permission to pull their credit upfront or ask the buyer to pull their own credit and provide the report. Whenever possible, avoid accepting owner financing from any buyer with a credit score below 650 (above 700 is ideal).

Mistake #2 – Charging a Low Interest Rate

Money today is worth more than money tomorrow. A simple look at escalating food and gas costs will show a dollar today won’t buy as much next year or the year after! This concept, known as the time value of money, plays a large role in investor note pricing.

All factors being equal, an investor will pay more for a higher interest rate note. We’ve seen sellers charge 5% or less on notes. Imagine the discount when an investor wants a 10% yield!

The seller financing solution?

Charge at least two to four percent above the standard bank loan rate for a similar loan transaction. Be sure to take into consideration the credit, property type, and down payment, which may justify further increases in the interest rate.

Mistake #3 – Low or No Down Payment

The down payment determines how much equity the buyer has in the transaction. The greater the equity, the less likely a buyer will default. There is a reason banks require mortgage insurance whenever a buyer puts down less than 20%!

In desperation, some sellers will even accept a zero down payment. Unfortunately, these buyers have even less at stake than a renter. A renter at least has a security deposit along with the first and last months rent!

The seller financing solution?

Require a down payment of at least 10% to 20% at closing.

So these are the BIG three when it comes to valuing a seller financed note. Sure other things come into play (including property type, seasoning, terms, etc) but these are the three that impact pricing the most.

While a seller might not be able to find a buyer that meets the ideal in each category, they can attempt to compensate for any deficiencies. For example, a lower credit score might result in a higher down payment and interest rate. A great credit score might result in a more favorable interest rate.

Just remember that when the buyer receives a break, it’s coming out of your pocket as the seller!

Seller Financing – How Much Can The Buyer Afford?

Many sellers accept owner financing without any idea of how much the buyer can actually afford to pay.

The last thing a seller wants is to stress over receiving monthly payments or worse, getting the property back through foreclosure.

3 Ways to Calculate Payment Affordability Before Accepting Seller Financing

The amount a buyer can afford to spend on a house depends on their income, overall debt, cash they can put down, credit rating, and the mortgage terms.

There are three different calculations that are traditionally used by mortgage companies to determine how much house a buyer can afford. These are known as the Income Rule, the Debt Rule, and the Cash Rule. While owner financing does not require the strict use of these rules, it makes sense to utilize the standard as a guideline. (Better safe than really sorry, right?)

1. Income Rule

If you ask a real estate agent or lender for an estimate of how much house a buyer can afford, they’ll typically use a version of the Income rule. The Income Rule says that the monthly housing expense — which is the sum of the mortgage payment, property taxes, and homeowner insurance premium — cannot exceed a percentage of income.

This is often referred to as the front-end ratio and ranges from 27 percent to 30 percent for most lenders.

If the maximum percentage is 28 percent, for example, and the monthly income is $4,000, the monthly housing expense can’t exceed $1,120 (4,000 x .28 = 1,120). If taxes and insurance on the home are $200 per month, the maximum monthly mortgage payment is $920. At 7 percent interest for a 30-year loan, that payment will support a loan of $138,282. Assuming a 5 percent down payment, the maximum price of the home this buyer can afford would then be $145,561.

2. Debt Rule

The Debt Rule says that the total debt expense – which is the sum of the total mortgage payment plus monthly payments on existing debt like cars, credit cards, etc. – cannot exceed a percentage of income.

This is often referred to as the back-end ratio and ranges from 36 percent to 43 percent.

If this maximum is 36 percent, for example, and the monthly income is $4,000, the monthly payment can’t exceed $1,440 ($4,000 x .36 = 1,440). If taxes and insurance are $200 a month, and existing debt service is $240, the maximum mortgage payment the buyer can afford is $1,000. At 7 percent interest and a 30-year loan, this payment will support a loan of $150,308. Assuming a 5 percent down payment, the maximum price of the home would then be $158,218. (You’ll notice that’s significantly higher than what we calculated using the Income rule.)

3. Cash Rule

The Cash Rule says that the buyer must have cash sufficient to meet the down payment requirement plus other settlement costs.

If the buyer has $12,000 and the sum of the down payment requirement and other settlement costs are 10 percent of the sale price, then the maximum sale price using the cash rule is $120,000 (12,000 divided by .10 = 120,000).

Since this is the lowest of the three maximums in this example, it would be the affordability estimate that is safest to use for this scenario.

Putting It All Together for Seller Financing

How much house a buyer can afford is easy to overestimate if you ignore one of the three rules. Don’t make the same mistake as many of the mortgage lenders that ignored these standards in past years.

Granting loans to buyers that could not afford the payment played a large role in the current sub prime toxic mortgage mess that is currently in the headlines. There is no federal bailout program for sellers accepting owner financing.

Play it safe and be sure the buyer can afford the house payment before accepting payments over time.

Seller Financed Notes and Interest Rates

The interest rate a seller agrees to accept when providing owner financing to the buyer has a large impact on the note’s value. Unfortunately, many sellers overlook this important decision.

Why Private Mortgage Note Interest Rates Matter

Inflation Fighter

Each year it seems the cost to buy the basics just keeps going up. It’s not your imagination; it’s inflation.

In fact in July 2008 that inflation rate was 5.6 percent higher than in July 2007 (based on the Consumer Price Index reported by the U.S. Department of Labor on August 14, 2008). Worse yet, some basic items like energy increased 29.3% over that same time frame.

So what does inflation have to do with seller-financed notes? Well a seller would need to at least charge an interest rate equivalent to the inflation rate just to break even!

Return on Investment

Rather than just breaking even, a seller desires a return on their investment. By accepting an IOU or payments from the buyer that money is tied up. Plus, once the property is sold the new owner will be the one to directly benefit from any increase in property value.

The seller is now acting as the bank and should expect a return at least equivalent to the interest rate a bank is charging for a similar loan. The seller does not have the protection of private mortgage insurance that many banks require adding another level of risk that should be rewarded by an increased rate.

Since the buyer is saving the costs a traditional bank might charge for a loan (points, underwriting fees, origination fees, etc.) it is reasonable to expect them to pay an interest rate above what a bank would charge. On average, it is recommended that a seller financed note carry an interest rate of 2-4% higher than bank rates to compensate for these matters.

Improves Resale Value to Note Buyers

If a note holder ever desires to sell their future note payments for a lump sum of cash, they will quickly realize how important the note interest rate is to investors.

While investors look to a variety of factors to determine their pricing, all things being equal, a higher interest rate results in a higher purchase price from a note investor.

For example, a seller holds a note with a balance of $100,000 with monthly payments of $1,110.21. If the note rate is 6% and the investor wants a 9% yield then the offer would be $87,641. Now if the note rate were 4% the offer would decrease to $81,623, but if the note rate were 8% the offer would increase to $95,274.

For simplicity of comparison, these examples assume the monthly payment amount remains the same and there are acceptable credit, equity, and documentation. But you get the idea, the higher the interest rate the more valuable the note.

There Are No Take-Backs!

The time to give serious consideration to the note interest rate is at the time of creation. There are no take-backs or do-overs. The rate you agree to accept at closing stays the interest rate for the life of the note. The only way to change it later is to get the buyer to agree and execute a formal note modification. It’s highly unlikely a buyer or note payer is going to agree to have their interest rate increased at a later date (unless there is some advantage to them).

Be sure to give the amount of interest charged on a seller financed note serious thought. It will affect the value of your note not only today, but also far into the future.