How to make seller financing work

[KC Hunt]

Hi, I am working on finding my first rental property. My my family is currently in a situation where we also need to find a new home. I would like to buy a property that we can live in for a little while, and then turn into a rental.

Currently I am unable to qualify for a traditional mortgage because I just started a job. So I found a nice seller financing deal for a house that would work for us to live in and would also make a great rental after.

The seller is asking for 7.25% interest and is willing to finance for 30 years. I am still waiting to hear back what he is hoping for in a down payment, but I am sure it is in a typical range. That is, from my understanding, a pretty typical interest rate for seller financing. And I love that he would finance it for so long.

However, that takes the payment amount outside the budget that I can afford for a monthly payment. 

What value could I offer to the seller to get the payment amount into a range I could afford each month and still make it a great deal for the seller to provide the financing? My idea was to pay more upfront in the down payment to "buy down" the interest rate. What are your thoughts?