Need some advice on owner financing

[Brandon Bellino]

I am hoping to begin investing in a few months, I have money saved up for some down payments however I am 21 and still in college so I am unable to qualify for conventional financing through banks. I have done a lot of research on owner financing, and I believe it would work really well for me to get myself started out. I have watched my local real estate market closely the past few years, I am on sites like craigslist, zillow, and loopnet numerous times a week seeing what's on the market, what typical rents are, what different types of properties typically sell for.

Over those few years I have seen numerous different properties advertised online in my area for owner financing, so I know there are plenty of property owners/investors that are open to it. However, I do not want to have to rely solely on hoping I find one of these deals online, I'd like to be much more proactive then that, so I'd really like some advice on things like direct mailing.

For direct mailing, how exactly do you find out who owns homes in your county? Is there somewhere online you can generally go, or do you just go to city hall or something? Also, once you find a list of property owners in your county, how do you screen them to see who owns the properties free and clear?

Also, if anyone has experience in owner financing and has any other tips and suggestions on good ways to find owner financing opportunities I'd really appreciate it.