In real estate, owner financing, also known as seller financing, is when the seller is willing to finance the buyer, just as a bank would.

It operates in the same way as bank financing, except that the buyer makes a down payment and monthly payments to the seller over an agreed-upon period with a specified interest rate and terms. Balloon payments can be negotiated, too.

This can simplify the process of buying and selling a home by eliminating the need for all of the normal lender requirements (like underwriting, an appraisal, and an inspection).

We’re going to dive more into the ins-and-outs. But here’s a quick note before you read the rest of this guide.

These deals can be very hard to find because it’s hard to convince a seller to essentially act as the bank and take on the risk of financing you.

Here at Real Estate Helpers, we take pride in offering owner-financing on all of the homes we have for sale.

And many buyers are thankful for it because they can become homeowners with such ease, convenience, and flexibility (the exact opposite of working with a bank).

We always hear praises from past clients about how we really helped them when they were boxed in a corner, so we’re glad that we can make a difference because sometimes people who do everything right end up in a tricky situation.

Whether it’s having to build credit back up...or having to jump through hoops because you're self-employed.

But it doesn’t mean they don’t deserve to own a home.

I hope you’re starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel here. You can become a homeowner despite the circumstances you have faced.

The rest of this guide will show you the step-by-step process of how we structure our owner-financed deals.

We structure our owner-financed deals using what’s called a contract for beneficial interest.

The properties are held in a land trust. A contract for beneficial interest is an agreement in which the buyer agrees to pay the seller monthly payments, and the beneficial interest is turned over to the buyer when all payments have been made or the loan has been refinanced.

We do it this way to protect ourselves as the lender. The contract can only be nullified if you stop paying.

When you go the contract for beneficial interest route, it can be much cheaper because you won’t have to pay any origination fees or other inflated charges that are usually involved with taking out a mortgage.

With us, you only pay $499 at closing to cover the preparation of the closing documents, notarization, and shipping charges.

Our main goal is to put together a deal that is a win-win for the both of us so let us know your needs in terms of the monthly payment or other terms and we will do our best to make it work as long as you’re being reasonable.

The minimum down payment we will accept is 10% of the purchase price, and then we use the industry standard formula to calculate your monthly payments (This is known as amortization schedule… It’s how you pay off debt overtime in equal installments).

Please keep in mind that we typically get multiple buyers wanting the property so we may ask you what the max down payment you have available is. Please be up-front and honest with us if we ask you. If you’re not honest, you could miss out on the property.

The monthly payment will include principal, interest, property taxes, and insurance (and HOA fees, if applicable) and are all relative to how much you put down. Meaning the more you put down, the less the monthly payments will be.

Our annual interest rate is from 6.99 to 7.99%, which is a great deal when compared to the majority of owner-financed deals, which are usually 10-11%.

It is typical to see interest rates higher than standard mortgage interests because all of the risk is on the seller. They’re putting up their money so someone can be the homeowner, and if that person defaults, then they don’t have the financial backing of a bank to allow some breathing room.

To a bank, if someone defaults, they’re just a drop in the bucket and that bank is not going to lose any sleep that night. To someone who’s financing the loan themselves, that’s losing a source of income (and may have an existing mortgage payment to pay on the property themselves). It’s the universal rule in life: High-risk, high-reward.

This program is not meant as a long-term solution anyways. After buying the property from us, the buyer’s goal should be to take the next 6-12 months to work on whatever is preventing them from qualifying for traditional financing and refinance out at a lower interest rate.

If any of these terms are a problem for you, you're welcome to try to persuade a traditional bank, but if you're reading this right now, there must be an issue that is preventing you from qualifying for a traditional loan.

And that’s okay. We’re here to help you.

With our owner-financed deals, you can refinance at any time without penalty.
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Property Price: $399,000
Down Payment: $39,900
Balance to Finance: $359,070
Interest Rate: 6.99%
Loan Years: 30
Taxes (Yearly): $4,263
Insurance (Yearly): $1,783
TOTAL MONTHLY PAYMENT: $2,890.32 (after $39,900 down payment)
All of our payments include principal, interest, property taxes, insurance and HOA dues (if applicable).
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1. First we have a call. On the call, we can chat about your finances and show you properties that might be a good fit for you. It’s important to be honest with us about your current situation and not tell us what we want to hear.

2. View the property. If we show you a property that sounds like it might be a good fit, then we can set a day and time for you to take a look at the property.

Because our company conducts business all over the country and cannot be in one place at any given time, we allow potential buyers to view the property whenever it is convenient for them on their own.

We just ask you to email us a government issued ID and a proof of funds. This ensures that you’re serious about buying. As soon as we receive those items, we will give you the lockbox code to access the property.

Here’s the email address for that: help@GoRealEstateHelpers.com

3. Sign an Agreement & Make a Deposit. If you like the property and want to purchase it, we will need a non-refundable earnest money deposit to take the home off of the market. The earnest money deposit is equal to 25% of your total down payment amount. So if the down payment you said you could put down was $30,000, we would need an earnest money deposit for $8,000 (25% of $30,000). Minimum earnest money deposit is $5,000.

The earnest money deposit is applied to your down payment. So in the above example, if you made a $8,000 earnest money deposit, the balance of your $30,000 down payment would be due at closing which would be $22,000.

We’ll also need you to digitally sign our simple 1.5 page purchase agreement to lock in your purchase. We’ll also send over a Buyer Application & Information document that will have request standard loan and financial information from you. (this is required by the government)

4. Closing. Closing will usually be within the next 14 days. (we can't hold properties longer than that). Our goal is to make everything simple.
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​2 days before closing, we will either send a mobile notary to your location to sign the closing paperwork or set you an appointment with an online notary. Either way, it takes about 15 minutes.

The notary process is a simple process. You just need to provide a government-issued photos ID and sign. If you're using an online notary, you just need to use a device with a camera to meet with them.

1 day before closing, wire the balance of the down payment.

On closing day... Congratulations! You’re now a homeowner! We'll arrange to get you the keys and you can officially move in!

That’s it!
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