Seller finance deal in the making

Seller finance deal in the making

Rental Property Investor · Rochester, NY · Member since 2015 · 33 posts · 9 votes

Hey team,

My push to take action for my third deal has landed on quite the gold mine in the past few weeks. I was screening tenants for my duplex and found a prospect. During her application process, I obviously called her current landlord for a reference and to verify information. Our conversation quickly went another direction since the landlord was intrigued to know I was properly screening my applicants and taking the time to do things right. He bluntly stated he was tired of landlording, wanted out, and wanted to enjoy the rest of his life...then followed up by saying "wanna buy mine?" It is a portfolio of 16 units which consists of 10 SFR's, 2 duplex's, and 2 storage units. I told him my intentions are to grow my portfolio, and would love to sit down and talk about it, and possibly come to terms on a deal. He agreed, and we met a week later over coffee, which was today.

After getting to know each other and discussing my intentions with real estate in the future, he agreed to some preliminary seller finance terms.  

$10,000 down or less (not yet negotiated)

-3 year term then balloon (on a 30 year amortization schedule)

or

-5 year term then balloon (on a 20 year amortization schedule)

-7-12% interest (not yet negotiated)

-I can buy all, or cherry pick the properties I want

The properties are all owned free and clear, most are in great shape, and one unit of the 15 is vacant.

This was the first time I was able to sit down, and let an investor hear me out and formulate a deal.  It was motivating and exhilarating, and I most definitely want to capitalize on this opportunity. So to all of the investors out there who have seller finance experience, or great advice, please, flood me with info!

He has asked me to send him 3-4 offers, and we'll volley back and forth from there.  We discussed property conditions, and rent amount for each unit, so I just need to call my county to find out taxes and find comps to come up with a price for each property.  

-What are the best ways to find comps? (reliable ones)  I have a realtor, but don't want to waste too much of his time pulling comps for 10+ properties.

-What should be my sequence of operations here? So that I am doing my due diligence, but keeping this ball rolling so this investor doesn't drop me off the radar?

I currently own 3 units. A duplex and a single family, and have been a landlord for 3 years. Thanks to reading, and much of @Brandon Turner's content, they are running like a well oiled machine. Which gives me the confidence to start growing, and jump on this deal.

Thanks in advance for all of your input an advice!

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  • Developer · Portland, OR · Member since 2014 · 732 posts · 490 votes
    8y

    @Dustin Figenscher I'd start by identifying the ones you are interested in, running individual comps, and then putting together an LOI. You'll have to play with the terms to see what works for you. Those are short term notes, which is funny he wants to get paid back so quickly. Nothing better than interest income while slowly paying back capital gains in bite sized chunks each year. Make sure you can get out of them by refinancing or selling when the time comes. I'd really start negotiating by offering fair prices but with lower interest rates and longer terms. As the seller negotiates worse terms then lower your purchase price accordingly.

  • Rental Property Investor · Rochester, NY · Member since 2015 · 33 posts · 9 votes
    8y

    @Neal Collins Thanks!

    He initially wasnt even interested in seller financing until I poked a bit more. Hes moving from NY to florida and doesnt want business lingering up here too long, so that was his reasoning for not holding the mortgage for too long.  Do you think it seems too risky for the refinance with such a short term?

    --My intentions are to refinance and keep holding them. I'm reaching out to my banker tomorrow to have him forward me info on how to prepare myself in 3-5 years to refinance such a large amount. (3-400k).

    Do you have a suggestion on the best/most efficient way to get reliable comps?

  • Developer · Portland, OR · Member since 2014 · 732 posts · 490 votes
    8y

    @Dustin Figenscher There’s not much work involved in getting direct deposits of cash every month into your bank account yielding 400% more interest than what the bank would give you for putting your cash in their bank. 

    He may reconsider in the future once he gets comfortable receiving the income and you can try to negotiate an extension.

    Refinancing them can be done. Shop for some lenders.

    If you don’t have mls access then I’d start with Zillow, Redfin, loopnet, and realtor.com to search sold comps. Lots of info there to go off of.

  • Rental Property Investor · Rochester, NY · Member since 2015 · 33 posts · 9 votes
    8y
    Push
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