Question on potential land contract in Mason, MI.
Hello all,
I’m currently analyzing a deal in Mason MI just south of lansing. The area is semi rural but the town has a nice downtown and suburbs that are desirable to commuters who don’t want to live in East Lansing “MSU” or pay the taxes. This property popped up on Craigslist 2 days ago with no phone numbers just the email. Drive out to look at the property from the road. 4 plex with lots of deferred maintenance. Seller bought in 2004 for 139,900 according to county tax accessor. He wants 150,000 and is offering seller finance. I’m interested so I give the guy a call and leave a message. He calls back and seems interested enough his son is living in one of the unit and he has rented out the other three. During the conversation I asked if the home had good bones and received a hesitant answer. The owner is a electrician so I assume the home has good electrical however I’m not leaving anything to chance and will be having proper inspections done if I do a deal. The part I’m tripping up on is finding out how to finance the property. I originally wanted to house hack a FHA loan and do the rehab as the house is slightly out of my price range and I only have 10k to do this deal with. The seller doesn’t want to directly sell to me with a FHA I think he wants to avoid the inspections and length of the process. Additionally he doesn’t want to pay realtor fees if I bring my agent in. I get the feeling that he’s old fashioned (doesn’t post the rental online) and cheap (doesn’t want to pay fees and is avoiding inspection) He’s willing to seller finance a 5 year ballon. I think the property could easily be worth 180-190k after rehab based on other homes selling in close vicinity. What would be the best way to acquire the property and safely refinance and perform the rehab. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!