Benefits of selling your home in Austin with Owner Financing

Benefits for the Seller with with Owner Financing in Austin, TX

As the real estate market begins to dip, sellers will need to find more creative ways to sell their home. One of the major problems in today’s real estate market is the lack of financing vehicles available to buyers. Buyers with good to average credit find it harder and harder to get approved for the amount of money they would like at an interest rate that they feel comfortable with. Seller financing provides an easy bridge to close a buyer’s financing gap. In many cases, the seller can have most of his needs satisfied by an Owner FInance sale rather than a traditional cash sale. Let’s look at these needs one by one.

1. Highest Price. There is no doubt that a seller can insist on and receive the highest price when offering flexible Owner Financing terms. In many cases, the seller can receive more than the fair market value of the property by offering these “soft” terms. People are always willing to pay a premium for non-qualifying financing.

2. Cash. Nearly ever seller says he wants all cash, but few need it. What the typical seller wants is the most net cash from the deal. Often, the seller has to pay closing costs, title insurance, broker fees and the balance of the existing financing. In addition, there may be capital gains tax due to Uncle Sam. In many cases, the sale of a property by an installment sale (particularly a “wraparound”) will net the seller more future yield than any source from which the cash proceeds were reinvested.

3. Fast Closing. Nothing holds up a sale more than new lender financing. In some areas of the country, it can take months for a buyer to qualify and close a new loan to purchase your property. Since most standard real estate contracts contain a financing contingency, you may end up back at square one if your buyer does not qualify. Furthermore, if your house is not particularly nice or unique, it may take you some time to even find an interested buyer. Since you are competing with all of the other houses for sale, you may need to spend thousands of dollars in paint, new carpet and landscaping just getting the house ready for the market.

In down markets sellers need to use every tool available to sell their home quickly. Quicker sales tend to be more profitable and provide less headaches then chasing a down markets. Owner financing can give sellers the advantage they need to overcome a key purchasing hurdle, opening their property up to more potential buyers.