There's an education component to selling on installment sale that are free and clearPublication 537 from the IRS talks about installment salesUsing a private mortgage and turning your house into a cash flow stream like an annuity should be the focus of the conversationIf you rent out the house you have to deal with insurance and getting sued in case the tenant find some kind of reason to bring you to courtOwning  a private mortgage on the other hand reduces the risk of being suedMy advice to you is also compare it with a reverse mortgage which they get a lump sum but they have to surrender the house upon deathReally study reverse mortgages and understand the negatives of reverse mortgages, mostly the fees that are involvedThe eldercare population is a big market, so take a look at AARP's website and understand the basics of annuitiesThe conversation I have with free and clear houses is this"Mr. seller you've got a few optionsOne you could sell with an agent and pay the cost to sell which include real estate commission, closing costs, sellers concessions, and vacancy holding costs.  

@Brian Gibbons I've heard that some listing agreement have a clause which states that, even after the listing agreement has expired, and the house is sold by some other means, the realtor is entitled to the commission. 

It may not be lawful to practice without a license if you use the term "commission" or something.  

i'd get my re salesperson license, hang it with a broker, and start helping people buy homes at least as a buyers agent. as a buyer's agent u still make around 1/2 to 1/4 of the total commission (assuming a 50/50 split or 50/50 two-fold) and that could quickly rack up to ur first downpayment in a couple years (and time flies).as for hard money and private money loans, those are for short term situations cuz of the steep interest and/or loanshark terms.

Personally I see the benefit as I am primarily a TK provider, I can also make a commission when I buy homes for our company, I am currently helping a young professional buy his first primary residence, I have also made commission when I purchased my last two primary homes.  

I got my license to work with other investors in my area as well as get commissions on my own deals.

I paid zero out-of-pocket to purchase and rehab this property, and made $2K at the end of the day (80K refi - 75K LOC - 3K closing costs = $2K)Option 2 - flip:Instead of refinancing the property, we put the property back on the marketThe property sells for $100KWe pay back our LOC ($75K) and a 6% real estate commission ($6K)This nets us $19K ($100K sales price - $75K payback LOC - $6K real estate fees = 19K) My question is more about option 1 - I'd love to get into buy-and-hold, but I'm not sure if a bank will refi for ARV quickly enough to make the higher interest rate on the LOC worth it.Additionally, I'm unsure what it takes to qualify for an unsecured LOC or other type of financing like that.

My 2 cents-Only pay a commission for properties you successfully close on (several hundred dollars is a good amount).Suitable candidates include:Soccer Moms- always chauffeuring kids around the neighborhood, strong social network with other Moms.Drug Dealers- they know where all the vacant properties are (I don't need to explain why) and cover a lot of distance in their various errands.Students- Usually on low incomes and are keen to take on part time jobs.Treat all these people special.

They will take a size able commission, but that's the sacrifice for a painless way to get credit tenancy in your property. 

I got mine when I started rehabbing houses to save on the commissions plus access to the MLS for comps etc.