Land Contract vs Cash Purchase

[Micah Parsons]

I am in negotiations to purchase a rental, it was originally advertised as a land contract. The land contract was $500 down $375 a month for 10 yrs for a total of $45,500 which is close to the current ARV. This property is actually in very good condition but will require about $15,000 to rehab, the biggest expense being a new roof.

I asked about a possible cash purchase, the price was $20,000. After analyzing I put in an offer of $14,000 which is apparently to low because it wasn't accepted. The response to the offer was 

Now I may be reading in to this to much but I don't feel any other offers are out there because of the time on the market and conversation we have had previous to this.  My question finally, should I do a land contract? I know owner financing is a good thing but I am not sure the best way to structure it.   Any thoughts would be great? 

[Jacqueline Coombs]

It sounds like by pushing for the land contract, the seller still wants to keep their cash flow without doing any more work to the place. You also would not receive title to the property until the end of the contract. I'm not sure I would be entirely comfortable with that  unless it was my only option to buy. Is this place a great deal even with the roof needing replacement? Do your numbers make sense at the LC price or even at the cash price? For me, it would come down to the numbers working for me and whether or not I felt comfortable with the terms. I have heard it said that to make a "deal" I get to pick either price or terms. If not then it's not a real "deal" for me. Hope this helps!