subject: How To Buy Golf Courses Using Owner Financing [print this page] How To Buy Golf Courses Using Owner Financing
With the today's economic downturn, many smart entrepreneurs are turning to commercial real estate to make a profit. For golf enthusiasts, purchasing a golf course is a good way to enjoy a sport they love and earn some green on the greens. Finding the right property can be a really good investment as interest in the sport has increased in recent years. Once you've found the perfect club house, you may be wondering about how to buy golf courses using owner financing and the advantages this type of lending can provide.
Also called "seller financing", owner financing is when the proprietor of the course allows the buyer to pay part of the purchase price by way of a promissory note. For the bank, financing a golf course involves specific elements not ordinarily found in the typical business loan, and as a result a financial institution may be more reluctant to cover the full amount of the loan. With seller financing, the buyer pays a down payment and finances the remainder of the sale price directly with the owner.
With this type of creative financing solution, you can often put down as little as 20 - 30% down, and the owner will finance the remainder of the loan. Each undertaking is unique, which is another advantage unto itself as there is room for bargaining.
Because the contract is between owner and seller without a financial institution operating in the middle, terms of the loan are negotiated directly by the two parties involved. That means everything from payment amount, payment schedule, interest rate and the term of the loan and any other special conditions can be discussed and agreed to by both parties so the contract is mutually beneficial.
A few more advantages to consider with owner financing are that each party saves on the broker fees that standard loans incur, and no underwriter is necessary for the buyer to qualify. And since you're in a hurry to get on the links you don't have to wait months for a bank committee to approve you as you would with a typical business loan. With seller financing you can buy a golf course and be profiting from your investment in no time.
