We want to buy the farm - and keep our payments low!

[Jay Rugs]

We have been offered the opportunity to purchase a large farm that was once in my family and has significant sentimental and historical value.  While we intend to occasionally live on the property, our primary goal is to use it for educational and charitable purposes.

We can manage a substantial - 30-40% down payment, but if we finance the balance through conventional financing, the payments will be higher than we wish to pay. The payments can be partially offset by rental and farming income, but we'd still like to reduce them further. Also, the seller may be willing to finance.

We've seen a lot of discussion about purchasing property with little or no money down but the down payment is not a problem for us.  Instead, we are hoping to minimize our monthly payments on the balance.

Can anyone suggest strategies for keeping our monthly payments low?

Thank you.