Owner Financing Tips in Chicago Market

There are many options to sell your house. You could work with a real estate agent to market your house. You could list your house by yourself in the market and see what sellers will pay. You could work with a  local real estate buying company and get a fair cash offer or you can consider owner financing and be the bank to sell your house to a buyer and collect payments over time.

If your thinking and exploring your options on how to sell your house in Chicago, Owner financing is a valuable but under-used strategy to sell your house. It's where you offer terms to the buyer to pay you payments. If your option is owner financing, here are some tips for owner financing for sellers in Chicago.

Don't Focus Only on the Price
Price is just one factor. Better price the house that is fair both of you but there are other consideration as well.

Timeline
Consider about the timeline you want to be paid. Lenders such as banks might offer 5-25 year mortgages. Do you want to accept payments over the period of time? Your buyer will want to find a timeline that works for them too. They might not want to be paying 25 years down the road.

Terms
The terms of the deal are one the most important yet the most overlooked factor of the deal. The terms might include things like how much is the down payment for repayment penalty, late payment penalty. Don't forget the most important thing in the terms- how much interest you charge.

Protect Yourself
Even if you enter an agreement with someone who is completely trustworthy, things could still go wrong. So make sure you protect yourself. Make sure you have insurance and the other person does well for the various scenarios that could happen. Consider including a clause that retains the ownership of the house in your name until the property is fully paid.

Create Contingency Plans
Most of your agreement in owner financing will be built around of an "ideal plan" of what would happen if everything goes perfectly. Sometimes things happen beyond of our control but building contingencies allows you to make better decisions if the unexpected happens. You can decide ahead if the buyer no longer wants the house or can longer pay, or wants to pay early, or wants to use the house in a different way. Agree to the contingencies with your buyer ahead of time and the arrangement will be so much smoother.

Get An Attorney
No matter how you structure your owner financing deal, make sure you work closely with an attorney who specializes in real estate. A poorly worded agreement could end up hurting you.