Advice to close this Seller Finance deal

[John Dunbar]

We seem very close finalizing a Seller Finance deal, but cannot get the seller to realize that he will no longer have financial or legal responsibilities of the property. It seems like the perfect situation. 65 y/o man looking to retire and travel, plenty of money, is not utilizing the money to invest elsewhere, wants to reduce tax bill with sale, and wants to be "completely done with property". We have offered well over asking price with monthly payment close the the cashflow he is currently getting, but he is still not budging because he wants "no ties to the property". Property is a mobile home park listed at 1.5 mill

Any advice to get this deal done?

Any legal documents we can provide to show that he will be "done" with the property?

Any different strategy we can utilize?

[Mitch Messer]

Hey @John Dunbar, congratulations on finding your seller finance deal!

I believe you need to dig deeper to understand exactly what "completely done" means to your seller.

At closing, ownership of the property will transfer to you, so the seller's ownership ends there...

Unless...

Since seller will be financing, there IS a chance they'll have to get involved again if you default on payments.

If that's their concern, you'll need to address this directly. If you're in a fast-foreclose state, like Georgia or Texas, this should be less of a worry, but it could be a MAJOR pain if the deal is in, say, California or New York.

Whatever the seller's concerns, there are ways to address them: You just need to have a frank and blunt conversation with them, ASAP!

Good luck!

[John Dunbar]

Thanks Mitch! Yes I believe those are his main concerns. Our biggest obstacle is demonstrating that the ownership does in fact end there at closing. And that we will be consistent with payments. We will continue to address these issues up front. Thanks again!

[Dwayne Poster]

'Seller financing' and 'no ties to the property' is a contradiction. What security are you offering to be 'done with the property'. The simplest legal document would be a registration on title, of the payment schedule and agreement. But that brings the seller back to the property title to launch litigation, if required, which he is indicating he doesn't want to do.   You are going to have to produce security to his satisfaction. What will that be?