To those of you who have done seller financing (as a buyer):

1. Where do you find the owners/properties?

2.. How do you reach out to the owners? Letter, phone call?

3. If you write a letter, how do you word it?

Any help is appreciated!

@Brian Ellis

1.  I look in a very specific location where the people and target people the before and after property taxes are do. The location is a 101 units in a condo association. 

2. I reach out by letter. and I focus on listing with early tax trouble.

3. Very generic letter. with our contact info is enough. I think its all about timing. Your letter should show up around the same time they get there tax bill in the mail. That alone is alot of motivation to cut a deal. 

@Darius Kellar thank you for the response. How many letters before you usually get a bite?

@Brian Ellis

I only send 1 letter and its during tax time. But if I see violations on the door. Then I will send a second. In my county we have a thing called the super Index. I am confident you have something similar. So basically the Super Index is a platform that allows me to look up each property one by one to get the current tax info as well as building code violations, name of the property owner and more. I have a specific property and location I am looking in so it easier for me to do this and to build my own mini database. Hopefully this helps you. 

MLS listings sometimes indicate if the seller is open to seller financing. Who ever provides your MLS emails may be able to filter just on those RE.

For sale by owner sometimes are receptive to owner financing.  This is how I found my one occurrence of using seller financing. 

Seller financing can be a win/win especially if the seller is downsizing.  They can get a better return than in a bank, backed by an asset that they are very familiar with (the home they are selling).

Good luck.

Thank you @Dan Heuschele

I haven't seen any listings on the MLS that are open to seller financing. My area is very limited with inventory. I have a few properties in mind.

I guess my question is: How do I word the letter to offer them a seller financed deal? First, I don't want to insult anyone, and second I want to make sure they understand completely.

@Brian Ellis

Craigslist . Call the seller . Arrange to inspect the property . If you are interested in buying then ask them if they’d be open to selling you the property on terms with a reasonable Down payment . Go from there to hammer out the details

A realtor isn't going to help you or a wholesaler and you might as well forget about finding seller financing on the mls . 9 times out of 10 It's going to be a burnt out landlord looking to defer his taxes and his management duties . Keep the down payment preferably under 15% of the cost and don't agree to balloons or high interest rates

Originally posted by @Dennis M. :

A realtor isn't going to help you or a wholesaler and you might as well forget about finding seller financing on the mls . 9 times out of 10 It's going to be a burnt out landlord looking to defer his taxes and his management duties . Keep the down payment preferably under 15% of the cost and don't agree to balloons or high interest rates

 Thank you Dennis

Brian If you find a willing seller feel free to message me and I’ll look over your details and terms of the deal if I can help 

@Brian Ellis ,

Are you wanting to buy and hold these deals? I have put together a pretty decent rental portfolio with mainly subject-to financing.

I started out knocking doors of pre-foreclosures and sending letters to the same list. I love these because often times I can take over the seller's 4% interest note that was originated 8 years ago (with only 22 years left), while at the same time only putting between 1%-10% down (to catch up payments, etc), and the best part: inheriting a good chunk of equity.

Feel free to PM me if I can help you navigate the next move.

Originally posted by @Justin Hammond :

@Brian Ellis,

Are you wanting to buy and hold these deals? I have put together a pretty decent rental portfolio with mainly subject-to financing.

I started out knocking doors of pre-foreclosures and sending letters to the same list. I love these because often times I can take over the seller's 4% interest note that was originated 8 years ago (with only 22 years left), while at the same time only putting between 1%-10% down (to catch up payments, etc), and the best part: inheriting a good chunk of equity.

Feel free to PM me if I can help you navigate the next move.

Thank you Justin, yes id like to find myself a buy and hold, preferably one I can fix up. My market is too tough to find any deals on the MLS. There is also a good amount of properties within Flood zones, making it tough for sellers to find a willing buyer.

If you don’t mind, I may pick your brain on how to structure a deal? Low down payment is what I’m striving for, as my refinance didn’t work out with my last project. 

@Brian Ellis

I’d be happy to discuss it, send me a direct message and we can talk 👍🏼