Seller financing
Seller financing,
start to finish.
You carry the note and the buyer pays you over time. NotaFi keeps every term, document and step in one record for both sides and for title.
Why sellers choose seller financing
For sellers
- Spread the gain over time. Instead of one lump sum, you receive the price as payments over the years you choose. Under the IRS installment method, the gain is generally reported as payments come in rather than all in the year of sale.
- Be the bank. The interest on the note is income to you, on top of the price.
- A bigger pool of buyers. Many good buyers don't fit a bank's box: self-employed, new to credit, buying land or a property a lender won't finance.
- Close faster. No lender underwriting, appraisal conditions or loan committee; the parties and title set the timeline.
- You own a performing note. A note with a payment history is an asset in its own right. It can be sold to note buyers, borrowed against if you need cash, and it sits on your balance sheet as a financial asset rather than as real estate.
For buyers
- Qualify for more properties. Land, rural property and unique homes are hard to finance conventionally; seller financing opens them up.
- Terms you negotiate. Down payment, rate and length are agreed between you and the seller, not set by a lender's program.
- Fewer hoops. No loan application through a bank; you show the seller you can pay, in the way you choose.
- A clear record. Every term, payment schedule and document lives in one place that you, the seller, title and the servicer all see.
NotaFi makes seller financing simple to understand and to do — for both sides.
The NotaFi note
The standard for a properly closed seller-financed sale.
A NotaFi note is a seller-financed loan closed through NotaFi: attorney-prepared documents, a recorded lien, plain-language terms, a licensed servicer collecting the payments, and a complete record from the first day. It's what a note buyer or lender expects to see.
Every NotaFi note includes
- Attorney-prepared documents for its state
- A recorded deed of trust
- Plain-language terms with the payment schedule
- A licensed servicer and payment history
- The full closing record and document index
Sellers keep it, sell it, or borrow against it.
How it works on NotaFi
- 1
You set the terms: price, down payment, rate, length, due day, late fee and prepayment, with your state's rules built in.
- 2
You invite your buyer. They read the terms and complete their part online.
- 3
The buyer shows you they can pay, in the way they choose. You review each item and decide.
- 4
Approving locks the terms. You upload the signed purchase agreement and finish your closing details.
- 5
NotaFi sends title a finished package with the intake sheet and payment schedule. Title prepares and records the note and deed.
- 6
After closing, you board the note with a licensed servicer, who collects the payments.
An example
Example numbers — change them
- Monthly payment to the seller
- $1,744.42
- Total interest over the term
- $193,662.25
- Total received (price + interest)
- $443,662.25
Illustration of the math only; NotaFi doesn't recommend terms.
What the seller keeps control of
- Who you approve as the buyer
- The terms of the note
- Which licensed servicer collects the payments
What title and the servicer handle
- Title prepares the closing documents, records the note and deed, and handles the funds at closing
- The servicer collects payments, keeps the official record and sends statements