Looking for first deal, steps, seller financing?

[Eddie Aviles]

I am a new investor and have been on the education track. Just found a potential duplex on Craig’s list. Says for sale by owner, no agents please, tenants in place. How should I go about to making a contract/deal? What kind of checklists should I go though especially since I have never done this? I for sure want to see if they would do owner financing.

[Marshall Easlick]

@Eddie Aviles, I don't have a ton of experience but I've been on my education track for a while now. First and foremost, I would suggest contacting the seller and meeting for coffee or a beer or something. Just meeting the person face-to-face is important. Find out why they are selling and that might give you a segue into talking about seller financing. If they are old and near retirement, talk about a steady income to supplement social security/pension plan/401k. Make sure to mention the tax advantages of seller financing: they will be able to stay in a lower tax bracket and just generally keep more of their money.

If they are on the fence about providing seller financing, offer to let them come up with terms if they will provide it to you. Obviously, you'll want to take the contract to a lawyer before signing it but this will take the burden of coming up with a contract off of you.

I hope this helps, or maybe even provides a starting point.