The crash of the housing market has left a number of Land Contract holders facing balloon payments on amounts that are equal to or greater than the current market value of the property. Mortgage companies will not lend money to borrowers for such an over-valued purchase, even if the buyer has made several years of payments against the Land Contract.
So what options are available to the buyer and seller who find themselves in such a situation in a Land Contract?
Typically, the Land Contract document itself states specifically what rights and recourse is available under that contract, so read it carefully. Usually, the seller’s recourse for an unfulfilled payment on contract is either to retake possession of the property and then find a new buyer/tenant, or to treat the existing contract as a rental agreement going forward and to consider all past payments made as rental payments.
Of course, a buyer or seller can always attempt to renegotiate the Land Contract, as it may be worthwhile in such a market for both parties to extend the existing contract until the market recovers. That gives both sides time.
But neither party is required to do so, especially on a Land Contract written to the benefit of the seller.
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