Seller Financing While Working With Agents?

Question

Has anyone ever worked with agents on a seller financing deal before?  How would that work if it is even possible? I've only thought of off-market scenarios where seller financing is an option. Is it even plausible if agents are involved?

My first reaction is that an agent(s) would not like this idea at all, as commissions would not be paid out, but rather than searching for an answer, I figured the BP community would be able to offer up some advice/real world situations on this relatively quickly.

Nathan Gesner · Answer

It's actually easy and I've done them. You have to ensure the down-payment is large enough to pay the REALTOR fees at closing. Once the deal is sealed, the REALTOR gets paid and walks away. The remainder is between you and the seller.

Ashley Clements · Answer

The last seller financing deal I found was just by going to an open house and asking the agent if the seller would consider seller financing.  Like Nathan said they needed a down payment to cover the brokers fees. In addition to that, they had also done a good deal of work to the property and wanted to pay that off with the down payment as well. It came out to be just over 15% down.

Samuel Vogt · Answer

@Robert Myers take my advice with a grain of salt as I am a newbie, but it might take a little digging on the buyers end. I’m guessing to ask some questions as to why someone is selling would be a good start.

Samuel Vogt · Answer

@Lesley Resnick Agree! Thanks for the input everyone!

Robert Myers · Answer

Thank you for that info. What is the best method to locate theese seller financing deals?   It seems like many sellers are not familiar with seller financing and when I bring it up it spoils them. Please advise

Thank you,

Robert M

Lesley Resnick · Answer

The details of the deal of any deal are completely  subject to negotiations.  I have worked deals that I was paid a fixed amount from either the buyer or seller.  The financing is secondary.  The agent fees are generally not rolled in to the loan and are just considered part of the closing fees, like appraisal, title search, etc.

The key is, no one works for free!

Nathan Gesner · Answer

The commission will probably be the same as any other transaction.

Samuel Vogt · Answer

@Nathan G. thanks for the help! About how much are typical agent fees for a seller financing deal? Is it similar to a normal agent commission on a regular deal? I can’t imagine agents would want to take less...

Seller Financing While Working With Agents?

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