Last week we discussed a situation in which an investor partners with the seller on the project, which is one way to have the seller help “finance” the deal. In this blog, I’m going to explain what I call “Traditional” seller-financing because it’s the more common way to structure seller-financing deals.

 Traditional seller-financing is any situation where the investor actually buys the house and takes ownership through a closing. Then, in some way, the seller is helping to finance that purchase. I break traditional seller-financing into 3 sub-categories. Note: These descriptions are how I speak about them. Other investors may use different terminology. I separate them because, structurally, they are different.

The important point to distinguish traditional seller-financing from the others is that the buyer will actually own the property! And, anytime a mortgage is staying in place, there will be due on sale clause risks.

• True Seller-Financing: This is a deal in which the seller owns the property outright with no mortgage. In this situation, the seller simply becomes a bank and “carries” a note and deed (mortgage) by exchanging his equity for the promissory note. The money doesn’t change hands as it’s all on paper. The seller earns some extra money on the interest. The investor gets a better rate than other lenders. All you need is a good contract and then a good note and trust deed. Since there is no underlying mortgage, there is no due on sale clause issues.
• Subject-to Seller-Financing: In this deal, there is an underlying mortgage that the investor is simply taking over. Think a loan assumption but without the bank’s involvement. The seller either has no equity or is cashed-out of her equity at closing. So, there is nothing left owing to her. The investor can obligate himself through the contract to make the monthly payments or through an all-inclusive note and deed (“AITD”) that mirrors the terms of the underlying mortgage. This AITD, while optional, is a cleaner way to structure this deal and provides the seller extra security that you’ll make the mortgage payment. The seller could foreclose on the AITD to take the property before the mortgage bank even finds out.
• All-Inclusive or “Wrap” Seller-Financing: In this deal, the seller is financing an amount that is greater than the balance on the underlying mortgage. So, she’s helping finance some of her equity in the house. Because she is owed money after the closing, this deal always requires an all-inclusive note and deed or AITD. An AITD is a mortgage that “wraps” around the underlying one. So, let’s say the seller is financing $150,000 with an underlying mortgage balance of $135,000. The investor makes payment on the $150K note to the seller; and the seller makes the payment on the underlying mortgage payment, keeping the spread. At payoff of the AITD, the underlying mortgage must be paid off first (that’s the “wrap” part) and anything left over goes to the seller’s balance on the AITD.

Jeffrey S. Breglio, Esq.
Breglio Law Office and REI Mastery U
www.reimasteryu.com
jeff@bregliolaw.com
(801) 560-2180