All Forum Posts by: Kevin Cassaro

ok thanks! ill look into the grants and appreciate the insight on the rates, i suppose it was an assumption that they'd be lower than traditional loans but i guess it also depends on the seller. All good info thanks again.

@Andrew Postell thanks for the quick reply.  to answer your question im mainly looking for a lower down payment due to lack of immediate capital, and a lower interest rate than what would be offered  going through a traditional loan with the current mortgage rates. 

Newb here, so if occupying the house and simultaneously renting one of the rooms, which i understand to be "house-hacking",  gets me a lower rate on a traditional loan than i was unaware, but that still leaves the lack of capital for a down payment. in which ive heard of seller financing deals where that was rolled into the monthly payments for the first year or two.

theres a FSBO in my area with an asking price $359,800.

Updated 4 Bedroom Cape Cod style house. owner spent over 60k on updating home. 
New exterior, Roof, Kitchen, Bath, Hardwood Flooring, Granite, Deck, A/C & Heat, and Hot Water Heater.

im 33 yrs old and I have a w2 income and net $50k a year. i also just started my own small business (metal fabrication shop), but it is not profitable yet.  i have good credit and only debt is 20k in student loans which im current on.  i have minimal capital at the moment but can possibly get a private loan from a family member for a down payment. my expenses (my kid) dont allow me much flexibilty im a single father to a 4 yr old with 50/50 custody. ive also  minimized my expenses as low as i possibly can. As of now I'm renting for $1350/mo (its a house but i know the landlord and got lucky with the rent when i moved in a month before covid). id like to keep monthly payments around 1350-1500 for now, if possible, but this time next year ill be able to afford a bit  more due to my kid starting kindergarten which means no more $400/mo pre school expense (phew!). id like to move into this house long term as a live-in  investment as its turnkey and a beautiful home in a hot market, or perhaps rent it out (assuming i can find good tenants) and stay where im at for now if owner wont accept payments in the neighborhood of my current rent. FYI median rent in my area is ~$2500/mo. this particular house can rent for ~$2,700-$3k/mo from looking at comps in the surrounding  area.

With all that said, the owner is open to seller financing, but I've never done any real estate deals before, let alone seller financing, but with rates where they are im wondering if i can work out a deal thats viable for the both of us. 

questions: 

How do i structure/negotiate this deal?

how much of a down payment, and how do the rates differ usually for a seller financing contract compared to mortgage rates from an institution? also has anyone ever included the down payment in the monthly payments if no immediate capital is obtainable?

would disclosing a "house-hack" , possibly renting one of the bedrooms out to a friend, be good or bad to include when negotiating?  

Any other input/tips or "walk aways" is much appreciated.