Creative Solutions for selling your real estate in a down market

Another potential deal killer is the dreaded "down payment". In today's lending environment it is not only more difficult to qualify for financing, but to come up with the larger down payment minimums. If you are a real estate investor you are already looking to purchase homes below market value, either buying at a fraction of replacement costs or building them yourself. When you are able to make a good purchase you are also expanding your options as to what sort of investment will this real estate asset will become. Always try to create as many options as possible. You can rent it out, simple...as long as it cash flows. You can lease option the property, allowing the leasee the option of buying at the end of the lease term. You can try to "flip" the property and put it back on the market immediately. Or, you can combine multiple strategies and come up with very creative solutions for yourself and potential home buyers. A strategy I am using currently is to market a recently acquired property with "100%" financing. If the buyer has decent credit and with interest rates at historic lows, your only remaining obstacle may be the down payment. Well if you're into the property right, you as the seller can hold the down payment in the form of a promissory note with the buyer, which would have a second position lien interest. The bank obviously will have the primary or first lien. This removes the hurdle of the buyer coming up with a large down payment. It will also free up some debt load on your end, while creating a cash stream in the form of the note. I like these types of situations, because it works out handsomely for all parties involved.