Purchasing with no money down when the seller has 100% equity

[Daniel Karbownik]

So I'm looking for some advice on how to negotiate this deal.  I have come across a seller who has no mortgage on their investment property, lives over 2 hours away from the property, and is fed up with renting, and just wants to sell and move on.  They have no mortgage on the property, and would entertain seller-financing.  

For me - I would like to buy and rent it to somebody for the cash flow.  I do not have a lot of cash reserves, and can not afford to carry a mortgage on the property.  I would like to try and negotiate a sale contingent on me getting a renter in their before purchasing.  I like very close to the property and would have no problem showing it to tenants and screening tenants.  I am trying to hedge my risk as much as possible.  

[Josh C.]

Daniel Karbownik

Boy, everything is negotiable, but you'd be hard pressed to get someone to agree to that. If you can't cover the mortgage you'd be worse than a tenant not paying rent because they would have to foreclose. I might suggest you grab a buddy and scrap together 5 grand as a small down payment and safety net, because if you don't have the reserves for 1 mortgage payment you are asking for troubles. Such as furnaces, mold, and tenants not paying rent. My thoughts anyway.