anyone ever owner-financed (in Off-topic)

any property they were selling? this isn't my main home but some secondary property zoned for business or residential.

anyone have any experience at all with this?

I wouldn't recommend it. Even with a good lawyer and a solid contract, you could still be left holding the bag if some one decides they are not paying anymore. There are a few loop hole laws that saved us in Canada (being able to evict some one if you can prove a relative needs shelter), but it was still a massive headache.

I'd say stick with renting if possible.

If you're selling the property to a business, make sure their D&B is excellent. There's an inherently large risk of failure, so demand enough up front to cover back-taxes and legal expenses if it goes south.

it is a bit of a strange property that started as a southwestern bell switch tower station.

it is on the texas gulf coast which is why i bought it. we used it for vacations but did ever finish converting it into a residence as most of our money went into things like taking down the 78 foot galvanized steel tower and converting the doorways into standard size as well as closing off some ventilation holes with glass blocks.

since it isn't actually a residence yet, it will be hard for anyone else to get financing for it especially these days. we have gotten a cash offer but the owner financed offer is about twice as much.

i am not too worried about someone walking on us, i will put enough aside for legal fees involved in foreclosure and build some hefty fines in for payments into the contract. i am also not too worried about someone walking away from it as i would just relist the property and try it all again.

taxes are fairly inexpensive on it and i would also put enough aside to cover several years worth of taxes. i guess i can check the local county records yearly to make sure he is up to date on the taxes and that is definitely something i hadn't thought of so thanks for that and it is that kind of info i am really seeking here!

Don't worry about stacking late fees, you can leave those quite nominal. But if this is actually going to be for a large sum of money, you can make it an interest-only balloon note without a prepayment penalty. That should curb the fear off loss. Give the guy 5-7 years to toss you interest, and he can refi it down the road with a conventional loan or work with you if he still can't land financing.

However I have a feeling that this is a smaller sum, probably in the <$30k range, since there's not a qualifying property on the land. If that's the case, just strap him in with a simple note.

42k is the amount that he has offered. he wants a balloon payment after five years with a ten year owner financing plan. we have had a 22k cash offer, which is what it is accessed on the tax books.