Due to the current economic environment, many private mortgage note or trust deed holders are asking themselves this question. And who can blame them with all the bad news we see every day. Ironically, many owner-financed mortgages have been created because of the need for owner financing in order to sell a home in this crazy real estate market. Fortunately, for most home sellers who offered owner financing the offer of owner financing 1) Sold the home much faster, 2) Probably sold the home for a higher amount, 3) May have been able to sell the home without real estate commissions, and 4) Created a marketable asset (the mortgage note) they can sell at a future date when they need the additional cash.

So if you are holding a private mortgage note created in order to sell a property, you need to consider the pros and cons or selling your note now. While not meant to be all-inclusive, here are some things to consider. First, the positives.

1. You can sell a note to provide a nice lump of cash to weather the current financial storm.

2. If we have a big up tick in inflation due to all the government spending with no way to pay for it in site except printing money, your future income stream will be worth a lot less. Selling your asset now allows you to take the lump sum of cash and put it into non-dollar denominated assets or precious metals to hedge your bet.

3. With real estate prices predicted my many experts to continue to drop, converting your mortgage note into cash could eliminate the risk of the homeowner walking from the property should the value of the home drop below the mortgage balance. This is what has been termed jingle mail, where the homeowner leaves the keys in the mailbox and vacates the home.

4. Selling the mortgage eliminates all the administrative tasks such as a) Monitoring the homeowners property insurance to be sure it is paid and provides adequate coverage of your asset (the note), b) Checking with the tax office for liens and to be sure the homeowner has paid their taxes so you don’t get a surprise notice of a tax sale, and c) Monitoring the home’s appearance (tell tale disrepair) for the possibility that the homeowner has left and has rented it out to a friend or relative.

Now, the negatives.

1. Those monthly checks cease to arrive in the mail.

2. If you deferred a gain on the sale of the home for taxes, you may have to report the gains, net of the discount on the sale of the mortgage.

3. And as touched on in number 2 above, you will have to take a discount on the mortgage balance you sell due to the time value of money and the inherent risk, even if you only sell part of the future income stream. The good news for this is due to interest rates being so low, the discount will be the lowest so the price you get is the highest in years.

As every note holder has differing financial circumstances, this decision may be very easy or not so easy. However, whether you decide to sell or not, knowing the facts should make your decision much easier. Good luck.