Selling our SFR with Owner Financing - Want to close now and get down payment later

[Penny Myers]

Selling a long time SFR rental with owner financing. For tax reasons, we need to push either the closing or the receipt of cash from closing into Jan 2024. The SFR is ready to sell now, but if we close and take the down payment money in 2023, we take a huge tax hit. To avoid this, we've come up with a few scenarios and need help ripping these ideas apart and pulling something better together.

1) Put it UC, buyer gets possession before closing (as a tenant) and closes Jan 2. (This makes me cringe for lots of reasons. The house was just renovated. Sick of being landlords. I see risk, risk, risk despite being scrupulous at vetting the buyer). Not thinking Lease to Own is the way to go either. 

2) Since we're financing the purchase, do kind of an 80/20 mortgage. Close now with first mortgage loan amount that is 80% of the purchase price, and a “piggyback” second mortgage for 20% of the purchase. The second mortgage would be the down payment we want, and would be due in January 2024. Still concerned that this would trigger the tax event even though the $ from the second is not received until 2024.

3) Hold out on marketing the house until late Nov and set closing for Jan 2. Seems insane and we don't like vacant houses. Unless it's someone elses ; )

Any Ideas, any experience with this? No idea too crazy coz look what we've come up with so far.