Seller-Carried Financing – What Realtors® And Their Clients Need To Know (Part One)

Mortgage PressureAn unintended consequence of the federal government’s effort to control every aspect of finance following Wall Street’s excesses, circa 2005 – 2007, has been that the occasional note and trust deed (or mortgage) that folks took back when selling their own residential property, has fallen victim to regulatory oversight.

In essence, the rules used to protect consumers from the Big Banks, are now being applied to every Mom and Pop sale of their own rental property, second home or vacation home. Not only have the feds gotten into the act, but the State of Oregon has also passed a series of laws and regulations, thus creating two levels of bureaucratic scrutiny.

And the irony is that this tiny segment of commerce that had nothing to do with the Big Bank shenanigans of yesteryear, has been caught in the cross-hairs of state and federal regulators, thus assuring their continued intrusion into the daily lives of ordinary Americans.

For Realtors®, this creates an added level of risk management, since it will fall upon their shoulders to at least be aware that in certain seller carry-back transactions,  there are laws, rules and regulations their seller-clients should be aware of.  This is not to say that Realtors® will be expected to know the intricacies of the new regulations, but when confronted with a seller carry-back transaction, they should know enough to recommend that their clients seek qualified legal counsel.  For more on this issue, go to the following Q-Law link, here.