Owner-financed homes — buy direct, no bank required.
Owner financing lets you buy a home directly from the seller, with the seller acting as the bank. No mortgage approval, no PMI, and flexible terms negotiated 1-on-1. Browse active listings, run the numbers, and read the playbook below.
- Live owner-financed listings
- Updated daily
- States covered
- 50
- Typical down payment
- 10–20%
- Avg. close timeline
- 14–30 days
Calculators
Run the numbers before you sign anything.
Owner-Finance Payment Calculator
Monthly payment, interest, balloon, and total paid over the loan term.
Open calculatorCash Offer Estimator
See an estimated cash range for any address before you negotiate terms.
Open calculatorCash vs. Realtor Calculator
Net-proceeds comparison after commissions, repairs, and carrying costs.
Open calculatorSeller Scenario Planner
Model cash, owner-financing, and listing side-by-side.
Open calculatorGuides
Read the playbook.
How Owner Financing Works
The full mechanics — promissory note, deed of trust, and who holds title.
Owner Financing vs. Rent-to-Own
Which path actually transfers ownership, and when each makes sense.
Owner-Finance Down Payment Norms
What sellers actually accept today — and why 20% isn't always required.
Balloon Payments Explained
How balloon terms work, common refi paths, and red flags to avoid.
Seller-Financing Tax Treatment
Installment sale rules and the 1099 paperwork sellers send to the IRS.
Negotiating Terms with a Seller
Practical scripts for interest rate, term length, and prepayment clauses.
By city
Top markets for owner finance.
Dallas, TX
Owner Finance
Houston, TX
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San Antonio, TX
Owner Finance
Miami, FL
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Tampa, FL
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Jacksonville, FL
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Atlanta, GA
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Charlotte, NC
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Nashville, TN
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Phoenix, AZ
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Cleveland, OH
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Kansas City, MO
Owner Finance
Market data
What the numbers say right now.
National snapshot
- U.S. homes sold with seller financing (est.)
- ~3.4% of resales
- Median owner-finance interest rate
- 7.5–9.0%
- Typical loan term
- 5/30 balloon
Strongest states
- Texas
Wraparound and contract-for-deed are common; many rural counties skew owner-financed.
- Florida
Strong investor inventory and snowbird sellers willing to carry paper.
- Arizona
Carry-back sales widespread in Phoenix metro and rural Mohave/Yavapai.
- Tennessee
Nashville-area landlord exits frequently structured as owner-finance.
- North Carolina
Investor-to-investor owner-finance deals are common in Charlotte and Raleigh.
With conventional mortgage rates above 7%, owner-financed listing volume on our marketplace has trended up roughly 35% YoY as buyers price out of bank loans and sellers chase higher overall yields.
FAQ
Owner Finance questions, answered.
- Do I need a credit check for owner financing?
- Sellers can ask for whatever they want, but most owner-financing deals lean more on down payment size and demonstrated income than on FICO. Many buyers close with mid-500s credit when they put 15–20% down.
- Who holds the deed in an owner-financed sale?
- In a standard owner-finance, title transfers to the buyer at closing and the seller records a deed of trust or mortgage as security. In a contract-for-deed, the seller keeps title until the loan is paid off — riskier for buyers, common in Texas/Iowa.
- Can I refinance an owner-financed loan?
- Yes — and most buyers do, especially when there's a balloon. Once you've built 6–12 months of payment history and 15–20% equity, conventional lenders generally treat it like any other refi.
- What's a typical interest rate?
- Most owner-finance notes today are written between 7.5% and 9.5%, modestly above prevailing conventional rates. The seller is taking lender risk, so they price for it.
- Are owner-financed homes legal in every state?
- Yes, with state-specific paperwork. Some states regulate contract-for-deed heavily (Texas, Minnesota, Maryland) — work with a local title attorney to make sure the structure is compliant.
Ready to make a move?
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