Need advise on buying seller financed wholesale deal

[Yohannes Kifle]

Hey BP,

I am considering a deal on an 8 unit property in the Seattle area brought to me by a wholesaler. This is my first deal and it seems a bit complicated to me.

The seller wants to do seller financing with the first 7 years interest only payments and one balloon payment in year 5. The wholesaler wants a 3% percent finders fee.

Is 3% an average finders fee for the Seattle area?

Is a seller financed deal complicated enough for me to need to get help from a broker or can I handle this myself?

Are there any gotcha's I should look out for when dealing with seller financed deals?

Thanks for the help!

[Steve Vaughan]

On larger dollar transactions I engineer, by finder's fee is closer to 1.5%.  3% sounds high to me.  It also sounds like a commission!

Be hard to do the last 2 years of your 7 year interest only with a 5-yr balloon.  The balloons are fairly common I have found, just not the payments extending past it.  

Here in WA, you'll want a Note and Deed of Trust as the buyer.  A Real Estate Contract will be easier for the seller to get you off if you default.  Those are the 2 main mediums of seller financing here.

What would make you want a property way up in WA @Yohannes Kifle?  King county has some crazy landlord-tenant laws you should familiarize yourself with.  Good luck!