Seller financing - nuts and bolts please

[Jamie Montpellier]

Hi,

I would like to know how a seller-financing deal  works.  I will for the sake of the matter indicate what I understand by using a fictious scenario.

Property A : Purchase price : $75 000

Can I offer the seller the down payment and the Stream of payments (promissory note) for say 15 years and have that all setup with a real estate lawyer etc? Would this allow me to bypass the banks or conventional lenders?

What happens if the seller still has a mortgage on the property?

In other words, is seller financing only feasible if the seller has a clear title on the home?

Any help with this matter would be greatly appreciated.

Jamie