Thanks Marilyn. Do you know who handles any repairs that may come up?

In a land contract you keep the title untill the buyer pays off the note.....you become the bank. In doing a land contract I usually ask for a minimum of 25% of the selling price in cash. The one thing that you have to be caution about is how solid the buyer is and the procedure for evicting should they default. Another issue to consider is IF they default, what condition will the home be in to put it back on the market and how long will the court proceedures take to take back possession?

If we do this, who keeps the title to the house? What happens if the people move in and do things that make the value of the house either go up or down? If they were to add on a room for example, then what would happen if they default? Or what if they destroyed the house? How long are most contracts for? I heard there is a down payment involved, monthly payments, then a large balloon payment 5 or so years down the road? Does this sound right? Who handles home repairs like a furnace breaking or leaking roof? How does this work with taxes? We may go to an attorney, but want to know if it's even worth considering before we go that far.

I am well versed on this topic, but only in OH, where I am a licensed as a Realtor & as an Attorney. You need to ask your Realtor what commission he or she would receive for a land contract. And, you need to retain an attorney, licensed in Wisconsin, who is well versed in residential real estate, to find out how a land contacts work & whether or not you would want to do a land contract.

You're welcome, Susan.

Sorry I couldn't be of more help, but I do not give advice on issues unless I have personal experience and expertise. Wrong advice is worse than no advice in my opinion.

Hang in there though. I just happened to have some time today. Many agents are out busy with clients right now, but I am sure that someone will answer you in the next few hours.

Be sure to check back periodically.

Good luck to you.

Linda

Thanks Linda! I really thought lots of people would be giving advice on this. We could really use some expertise from professionals on this. We aren't too familiar with this.

If you do not need the profit from the sale of your home, then it might be worthwhile to consider.

The very simplified answer is, you require a certain percentage down payment, write up a land contract, buyers take possession of the home and if they default on the payment, in most cases they will lose their down payment in addition to the monthly payments made.

I am not well-versed on the subject, is there another agent who has more experience that is able to answer Susan's question?
Linda

Linda