subject: Owner Finance Austin - Due on Sale Vs. Sue Happy Renters [print this page] Owner Finance Austin - Due on Sale VsOwner Finance Austin - Due on Sale Vs. Sue Happy Renters
Oh here we go again. I heard from another realtor just this week; oh my seller cant sell a property and let someone take over the payments because the bank may use the Due on Sale Clause to ask for all their money. In the same conversation the realtor outlines the sellers best plan of action is to keep dropping the price (who cares that its the sellers $10,000 to $20,000 of equity just being thrown out the window) or rent it out.
Many realtors today without hesitation will suggest to their clients, if you cant sell, just lease it out yet the realtors dont sit down and list all of the ridiculous reasons landlords have been sued and LOST millions over. Renting has been around forever and the risks of being a landlord are just an acceptable risk verses the reward of not making vacant house payments or not letting the home go to foreclosure.
Yet at the same time, those same realtors because they are unfamiliar with owner financing as a selling option will say dont do owner financing its too risky. Oh really? Can the buyer living in the owner financed home sue the seller? Nope, not if you construct the transactions the way I do it. If the buyers dog bites the neighbor kid or the UPS guy, can the injured person sue the seller who provided the owner financing? Nope.If the buyer does something stupid, can he sue the seller who owner financed him the home? Nope. Yet if you substitute tenant and landlord instead of buyer and seller in the above questions. The answer becomes yes to everyone. In every one of those scenarios the landlord can be sued, has been sued and has lost.
So I decided I wanted to issue a challenge to all those Due on Sale Clause Nay Sayers out there. Find me lawsuits pertaining to violation of the due on sale clause. Youll find lots of articles from others saying, oh my gosh dont violate the due on sale clause. But find me some that actually have. I cant find any and Im on my third day of searching.
Id bet if youre someone who says to a seller (who cant sell) rent it out, you say that because renting has been around since the dawn of time. And the risks associated with renting are well known and people take that risk anyway.
I bet no one points out that a 10 year study finalized in 1998 showed that Landlords/Property Managers/Apartment Complexes were the MOST sued business in the United States. Granted only 50% of the landlords lost. But how much did it costs those landlords in time and legally fees to win the battle?
The Due on Sale Clause has been around since 1933. Can you please find me lawsuits where sellers have lost millions due to its enforcement. I cant find them can you???
