Short answer
To sell your house with owner financing: confirm you can finance it, set your price and terms (down payment, interest, monthly payment, term, balloon), market it to owner-financing buyers, vet the buyer like a bank, have an attorney draft the promissory note and recorded mortgage, and close through a title company. You then collect monthly payments — becoming the bank — with your property as security.
What "selling with owner financing" actually means
Owner financing (also called seller financing) means you act as the bank. Instead of the buyer getting a mortgage from a lender, they buy your home and pay you directly in monthly installments, based on terms you both agree to, until the loan is paid off. You hold a lien on the property — just like a bank — so if the buyer stops paying, you can foreclose and recover the home.
Sellers choose this because it works: you can sell faster, reach buyers banks reject, sell the home as-is, earn interest income, and spread your capital-gains tax over years instead of taking one big hit. The tradeoff is that the protections a bank normally provides are now your responsibility — which is exactly what the steps below (and the safeguards throughout) are designed to handle.
How to sell your house with owner financing: 6 steps
Confirm you can offer owner financing
The simplest case is owning your home free and clear — no mortgage. If you still have a mortgage, most loans have a due-on-sale clause that lets your lender demand full payoff when you transfer the property, which complicates things (some sellers use a wraparound, but that needs legal guidance). Confirm your situation and your state's rules with a real estate attorney before you start.
Set your price and terms
Decide your sale price, down payment, interest rate, monthly payment, loan term, and whether there's a balloon. A common structure: 10–20% down, an interest rate above current bank rates (your return for carrying the risk), amortized over 15–30 years but with a balloon in 5–10 years so you're not waiting decades. These numbers are yours to set — and they're where you protect or expose yourself.
List and market your property
Owner-financing buyers are actively searching — but often can't find listings, because these homes rarely appear on traditional portals. List where those buyers look, including free owner-financing marketplaces. You can list your home free on this site using the form below — reaching buyers who specifically want owner-financed homes, with no agent and no commission.
Vet the buyer like a bank
This is the step that makes or breaks the deal. Collect a full application, verify income and identity, review credit, contact references, and require a real, documented down payment. A buyer with 10–20% of their own money in the deal has too much to lose to walk away. A buyer who resists sharing information, or wants little-to-no money down, is your biggest red flag.
Draft the documents with an attorney
Never use a generic online template. Have a real estate attorney prepare the promissory note (the buyer's promise to pay) and the mortgage or deed of trust (which secures the note against the property and lets you foreclose if they default). Include clear default terms, late fees, and who pays taxes and insurance. This paperwork is your protection.
Close through a title company and record your lien
Close through a licensed title company that verifies title and handles escrow, then record your lien so your interest is public and enforceable. Set up a loan servicer to collect payments and track taxes and insurance. Confirm your installment-sale tax treatment with a CPA. Then you start collecting monthly income — safely.
The mistake that burns sellers
Almost every seller who gets burned skipped the same things: they trusted a friendly buyer, took little or no down payment, used loose paperwork, and never recorded their lien. Trust is not a strategy — structure is. Every safeguard above exists because a seller somewhere learned it the hard way.