Seller Financing

[Parth Patel]

How do you find homeowners who own the home outright without having an existing mortgage?  I am hoping to get a list so I can target them for seller financing.  I do not want to deal with the "due on sale" clause.

[Matt Robinson]

The quickest (and FREE-ist) way to do it, is just go on your county clerk's office website (google: name of your county "clerk of the court").  If you are unlucky enough to live in a technologically backwards area that still doesn't have public records online, you will unfortunately have to actually drive down to the courthouse to do this.  However, if it is online like in most counties, go to your public records search and select a date range, and use "SATISFACTION OF MORTGAGE" as your document set.  You'll have to dig a little bit to see if it's just a 2nd mortgage being satisfied or a refinance that satisfied the old mortgage, but it's a good place to start.  

Of course, the easiest way is to just buy a list, but I know that sometimes newbies are on a limited budget and would rather spend time doing the research themselves, so this is a good option.  It will also help you get familiar with your county clerk's website, which can be an absolute treasure trove of motivated seller leads, as most counties allow you to research probate, evictions, divorces, etc.  Good luck to you!!!