Strange structure for owner carry

[Colin Emerson]

a friend of mine is looking to purchase a property for 385k on an owner carry and the home.owner wants 200k down payment.  

60% seems a little ridiculous for this property.  Would it be better to offer 300k cash to purchase or try to work traditional financing ?

[JD Martin]

Impossible to answer. What kind of resources does your friend have? What is the interest rate being offered by the owner to carry the note? Is that the market price of the house? Is it for investment or live-in purposes? 

The only thing I can say based on your post is that if the property is worth it, and the choice is between paying $300k cash and $385k financed, the ideal route is obvious. But that is one hell of a spread, meaning either the asking price is pie in the sky or the offering price is pie in the sky.