Seeking creative financing/hard money/private loan for $130k ASAP

[Katryna Wood]

Hi all!

A family member is offering to sell us a home at a discount ($120K+closing costs), but they aren’t in a position to finance it to us, so we need to figure out an alternative way to buy. Trulia and Zillow estimate this home to be worth over $200k so thats a steal of a deal! We don’t qualify for traditional lending right now because of Job history. My husband has been in a commission-based role for less than a year (he took some time off for education before that), and I took time away from work to care for a terminally ill family member. Unfortunately, we don’t have anyone who can cosign for us.

That said, we can afford the home—we’re currently paying almost $1,600/month on our mortgage and are desperate to sell our home(worth $235k) to move into this one. This would allow us to save money long-term, have more land, and be closer to family.

Once we sell our home, we would be able to put $7k down give or take, but we don't want to list our home until we know we can purchase this one. What we really need is more of a bridge loan—someone who can finance us for a year or two until we qualify for a traditional mortgage.

I know creative financing is an option, but I’m trying to figure out what structure would make the most sense in this situation. Would a lease-option, contract-for-deed, or another route be the best approach? I also know investors want security, so how can I make this appealing for both sides?

Any advice or insight is greatly appreciated! Or if anyone is interested in working with us to make something work we would be interested in discussing terms.