I live in a "retirement" state. There are plenty of neighborhoods within 15-30 minutes of me that are 30-60 years old. Many residents own their homes free and clear.

My bread and butter comes down to educating and hand holding. Most of the Sellers I speak to are looking to downsize or travel or both. Many of them have a bit of a nest egg. They don't require 100k or 150k for their home. What they are missing is monthly income.

Developing the ability to sit down and create a solution of owner financing with integrity creates as win/win.

I can give them a 10% or less down on their home so they get a chunk of money. I structure the payments to give them what they are looking for...whether that be an extra $500 or $800 or whatever a month...as long as the deal can handle it and still provide a profit for me.

That is about as simple as I can make the process. Every scenario is different. If someone would like to travel for ten years and then get their balance? Ten year balloon no problem. I can also structure the arrangement in such a way that they don't leave a big lump sum to their heirs (if they don't want to) but instead can avoid probate and have the monthly payments split among the heirs.

All of this is possible because of the flexibility of deal with a real person and not a bank.

Every Seller is different but in the long run:

1) Typically Sellers don't require ALL of the cash from the house they are selling. Most of the time they just require enough for a DP on another house or to pay some bills. Assist them in understanding this.

2) Ask them if you give them all cash, how much are they going to make in the bank with it? 1%? Offer them 4% or 6% on their money and explain over 30yrs this will double the price paid. Why shouldn't they play the bank.

Get people thinking. Educate them so at least they can make an informed decision.