Is owner financing dead?
Two
years ago, when I started on
Activerain, I was told by many that I
was the
guy to ask a question to when it came to owner financing or lease
options. But,
here today, I’m looking at a market where I haven’t taken an owner
financing
listing in over a year. (My choice.)
The 2nd thing I’ve noticed is others are
starting to follow my lead
once again. You see three years ago, in the Beaverton
area, we had 3
owner
financing properties and they were all listed by me. Then as others
realized
that I was having homes sell in less than 24 hours, close within a
week, all at
full price or more, they needed to become an owner financing expert as
well.
At one point we had over
400 homes on the market that offered owner
financing! Today
we have ZERO! Not a single owner financing home is on the market in the
Beaverton, Oregon, area. What does this say about our real estate
market? Do
people no longer have enough equity to offer owner financing? Are
people afraid
they are going to end up with a load of foreclosed properties like the
banks
have?
To
me, right now, owner
financing is too much of a risk. People are talking about
walking away
from properties
because of the reduction in value. I don’t want to be stuck with a
property
that is worth $50,000 less than I paid for it that has now been damaged
by
glorified renters.
But, here is what I found
interesting in my search. I found that
despite not
having a single owner financing home in the Beaverton area, there were
39 homes
that offered to carry a 2nd for the buyer. I
find this to be a much
higher risk than being in first position and I have to wonder what
their agents
are telling them about offering a 2nd. How many
times in the last 3
years have we seen the bank in 2nd position on a
home take $1,000
for release of a lien that is worth upwards of $60,000? (More than I
care to
count!)
Now, the reason I was
doing the search was because I had a buyer that
was
interested in doing owner financing. In their situation,
it made sense
and from
a sellers perspective, it would have actually made sense also, because
this
buyer was willing to put 50% down making it very unlikely they were
going to
walk away from the home and give it back. Even if they did, the odds of
the
seller losing more than 50% equity were not likely. It truly could have
been a
win-win if I could have just found them the home.
Now, I have to find a
home that fits their needs and is willing to
offer owner
financing. So, if you live in the Beaverton, Oregon, area and have a 4
bedroom
home that you would like to sell on owner financing, please don’t
hesitate to
contact me ASAP. I have a buyer waiting to hear from you.
Todd Clark - Broker / Sales Coach
Palazzo Realty Group
Phone: (503)524-9494
Fax: (503)622-8739
©2009
Todd Clark - Is owner financing dead?
;)
;)
Todd - rarely do we see owner financing here, but lately we have had several interested "buyers" inquiring about any rent-to-own or lease-option homes. ~Rita