Supply financing for buyer or rent it till it sells

[soccerluvof4]

I have been on several thread where its been mentioned that I have a vacation property that I have been not able to sell. The place is beautiful (and that's not personal sentiment) Everything has been redone and designed to accommodate all the available natural resources the best as possible for vacations. From snowmobiling to fishing being its on a lake and 1/4 mile from main snowmobile trail . Also has guest cabin for people to use. The problem is the Market is just hammered and shows no signs of recovery and everything even in good times is always for sale. Pre-2008 this place we easily of fetched for 450k and I cant get anywhere near that despite all it amenities and ideal location. Its a an area where the population in the winter drops to 10k vs 200k in the summer. So i am looking for options. I really want to unload the place but dont have too as we still have a steady income. The problem is its 4 hours a way and with taxes and maintance etc..it costs about 8-10k a year to maintain. I let several friends use it and dont charge them because they always repair things as needed, chop firewood and keep it clean etc... We unfortuantely have been able to get up there only the 4 of July the last two years with our schedule so as much as its "Gods Country to me" I dont think i will regret letting it go. The monies alone in a fund would pay for many vacations.

I am not hip on renting it for the summer but could fetch at least 800$ a week but am looking for advice on that.

Another thought i was having was providing financing to sell the property and was wondering if anyone had experience/expertise in this area, suggestions , threads.

I plan on putting it on the market for the 3rd year in a Row March 15th reduced again to 369k. I know eventually price drops will sell it but maybe there is a shining light i am missing. Again it is totally furnished.


Here is the zillow on it and says 1100 a month rental...  http://www.zillow.com/homes/6441-pigeon-road-,-lake-tomahawk,Wi_rb/ 

one thing Zillow does not show is the guest cabin (sleeps 4 comfortably) and additional garages built.

[babysteps]

Spouse and I have done some of each of: seller financing, rent-to-own, traditional rentals.  We have not done vacation rentals.

fwiw, regulations on seller financing keep changing, so we haven't done any in the last 9 mos or so (it's not impossible, just a steeper regulatory burden & learning curve, and we chose to 'opt out' given our relatively low volume).  Instead we are mostly doing rent-to-own with terms similar to seller financing; technically we structure as a lease-with-option.  Local and state regulations vary...

Sounds like it's the hassle factor & lack of earnings on the asset that are bugging you - so outright sale or using a mgt company to do short-term rentals & maintenance might be best fits for you.  *Unless* you can find someone with good maintenance skills and cash flow but bad credit (prior healthcare issue or some such, not ongoing don't-take-bills-seriously items), then they might make good rent-to-own clients for you (and be worth the research/legal fees to create a structure that complies with your area's regulations and makes your accountant and the IRS happy). 

Completely outside the box, any charity you like that could use a residential/retreat facility?  You could structure as full or over time donation if you could use the tax deduction or as a sale.  Guessing this would make sense in 5% or less of situations, but just in case thought I'd mention it.  You could even start your own charity ;)

Break out a spread sheet and compare the different approaches, see if one of them turns out to be a lot more attractive to you than the others.  Include a category for 'hassle factor'.  Good luck!

[warning - I tend to check the forum once every week or two, if I ever don't respond right away it doesn't mean I'm ignoring you!]