Call Playbook — Hybrid (Mortgage Takeover + SF Carry-back)

Trigger / When to use this script

Hybrid is the play when the property has BOTH a favorable existing mortgage AND significant seller equity. Neither pure MT nor pure SF fits:

• Pure MT fails → Seller has too much equity to just take $5-10K cash and walk
• Pure SF fails → Why finance the whole price when there's already a 3% loan on it?

Hybrid = assume the existing loan + carry back the equity gap on SF terms.

Triage criteria (auto-classified to HY tier)

• BBC tagged as mortgageTakeover (so loan data is available)
• Existing rate ≤ 5.5% (favorable enough to assume)
• Existing balance ≥ $20K (loan is meaningful)
• Seller equity (price − balance) ≥ $20K (worth doing hybrid vs pure MT)
• DOM ≥ 60 days, Creative CF ≥ $100/mo

Live recordings

• Hybrid Pitch 1 - 1.85m Dollar AirBNB (20:01)
• Hybrid Pitch 2 (24:38)
• Hybrid — Restructuring Seller Finance to Hybrid (8:27)

Typical timeline: First call → verbal yes 5-14 days · End-to-end 45-60 days (longest — title needs to handle assume + carry-back) · See pipeline-timeline.html.

Pre-call checklist (60 seconds)

• ☐ Briefing card open: Note the 4 key numbers from the Hybrid banner — existing balance, existing rate, equity gap (carry-back amount), target carry-back monthly.
• ☐ Verify on Zillow: Confirm price, photos, agent name. PropStream optional for verifying existing loan if you have it.
• ☐ Mental check: "This seller can't take pure cash (they'd lose to the realtor 6%) and pure MT (they want money). Hybrid splits the difference."
• ☐ Down payment range: Plan $5-10K cash to seller at close (matches MT). Carry-back covers the rest of equity.
• ☐ Rent estimate: Hybrid's payment math = 40% of rent MINUS existing PITI. You need the rent number to compute the carry-back monthly.

The opener — VOICEMAIL

Length target: ~30 sec. Don't lead with "hybrid" — lead with creative.

"Hi [agent], my name's [you]. I'm calling about [address]. I work with 
investors looking at creative deal structures — specifically I think 
this one might be a great fit. I noticed your seller has an existing 
loan they're probably paying down — I have a way to take this off their 
plate, take over their loan, and pay them out the equity over time so 
they're not eating realtor fees or capital-gains hits. I'd love to hop 
on a quick call. Talk soon."

Key elements: - "Take over their loan" (MT side) - "Pay them out the equity over time" (SF carry-back side) - "Not eating realtor fees" (motivation hook for seller with equity)

The opener — LIVE call

First 20 seconds:

You:    "Hi [agent], my name's [you]. I'm calling about [address]. I work 
         with investors on creative deal structures. Looking at this one, 
         I noticed your seller probably has an existing loan they're 
         paying down — what can you tell me about their situation? 
         Are they sitting on a low rate they got a few years back?"

If agent confirms favorable existing loan → you're in. Move to qualifying.

Qualifying questions (in order)

1. "Roughly what's the balance on their existing loan, and what rate are they paying?" — Confirms BBC's data. If rate > 5.5% hybrid is less attractive; consider pivoting.
2. "What's the seller's situation — what's driving the sale?" — Listen for: relocation, DTI concerns, tired-landlord. These are hybrid-friendly motivators.
3. "Has the property been rented? What's the rent?" — Critical for the 40%-rule carry-back math.
4. "How much do they need to walk away with at close?" — Anchors the cash-to-seller portion. Aim for $5-10K.
5. "Is the seller open to a structured deal where they receive monthly payments after closing?" — Surfaces the carry-back concept softly.

The pitch (the math)

After qualifying, present the structure:

"Here's what I'd propose. You guys are asking $[price]. Seller has about 
$[balance] left on their loan at [rate]% — that's a great rate, way better 
than anything I could get at the bank today. 

So here's the deal: [cash_to_seller] cash to your seller at closing. 
I assume the existing loan and keep making the payments — they're 
completely off the mortgage. The remaining equity, about $[carry_back_amount], 
I carry back to them on seller-finance terms: 
[carry_back_monthly]/mo for 7 years, balloon at year 7.

Total monthly cost to me ends up around 40% of what the property rents 
for, so it cash flows for me — and your seller walks with cash now, 
monthly income, and the full balloon payoff in 7 years. They get the 
full asking price, just spread over time. No realtor commission gap, 
no capital gains hit at once."

Why the numbers work

Rent (e.g. $1,500/mo)
─ Existing PITI to bank:     $X    (set by their loan — favorable rate keeps this low)
─ Carry-back monthly to seller: $Y    (40% of rent − X — what's left of the "40% allocation")
─ Reserves:                  20% of rent
─ End-buyer CF:              remaining

Total "to seller side" = X + Y = 40% of rent (Richard's standard split)

The end-buyer pays the same total monthly payment as pure SF (40% of rent), but it's split between bank and seller. Seller benefits because they get cash at close AND monthly carry-back AND a balloon payoff.

Top 5 objections + verbatim rebuttals

1. "Due-on-sale clause — won't the bank call the loan?"

• This is the classic MT objection. In practice the bank rarely calls performing loans (they got their rate locked).
• Rebuttal: "Due-on-sale is a right the bank has, not an obligation. As long as the loan keeps performing — and I'll be paying it on time, that's the whole basis of my offer — they have no incentive to call it. I've never seen one called on a performing loan in my deals."
• Optional escalation: structure the closing through a land trust to avoid even triggering the lender's awareness.

2. "Why not just take cash?"

• Rebuttal: "Sure — let's compare. At [asking $X], your seller nets [asking − 6% realtor − closing − loan payoff] which is roughly [X − 0.06X − $balance]. That's [equity − 6%]. With my hybrid offer, they get [cash_to_seller] now, [monthly] every month for 7 years, and the [balloon] balloon at the end. Total over 7 years works out to the full asking, without the realtor cut. Plus they pay capital gains in installments instead of all at once."

3. "What if you stop paying the existing mortgage?"

• Same as the MT version. Frame the equity-protection clause:
• "If I miss payments for two months at any point, whether year one or year ten, the property reverts to your seller — they sign a document saying that's okay. They keep all my carry-back payments plus the property. I have zero incentive to default."

4. "My seller wants more cash at close."

• This is where hybrid is FLEXIBLE. Negotiate the cash-to-seller portion higher, offset by reducing the carry-back balloon:
• "What if I bump the cash at close to [higher amount] and trim the balloon to [lower amount]? Same total over the term."

5. "This is complicated. My seller won't understand it."

• Rebuttal: "It really comes down to three numbers: cash now, monthly income, balloon at year 7. Just like a rental — except they don't have to manage it, and the property is off their books. I can put it all in writing and send a summary they can show their attorney."
• Then offer: "If you want, I'll send a one-page summary right now so you can walk them through it."

The close — verbal yes

What counts as a verbal yes that progresses to contract:

• Agent says some version of: "Let me run this by my seller, but the structure makes sense."
• Or seller (if you get them on the line): "That actually sounds workable — send me the numbers."

Then immediately: "Yeah is it cool if I text you the proposal right now? I'll send the breakdown — you can review with your seller tonight and call me back tomorrow." → Send the text within 60 seconds of ending the call.

Success metric

A "good call" for Hybrid: - Confirmed the existing loan terms verbally (rate + balance match what BBC said) - Confirmed seller has some equity motivation (not just walking away with $0) - Got permission to send the structured offer in writing - Scheduled a callback within 24-48 hours

Time to verbal yes is typically longer than pure MT — seller takes a day to process the structure with their attorney. That's normal.

Common mistakes to avoid

1. Calling it "subject-to" or "hybrid" out loud — Use "take over the loan + carry back the equity." Plain language beats jargon.
2. Pitching before qualifying the existing rate — If the loan is at 7%+, hybrid loses its edge. Always confirm rate first.
3. Quoting the carry-back balloon as a single big number — It feels scary. Break it down: "monthly income + final payoff."
4. Forgetting reserves — End-buyer's PITI + reserves + carry-back must equal 80% of rent max. If the math doesn't leave 20% CF, the deal won't sell to your end-buyer.
5. Ignoring partner/co-decisionmaker — Same as Tier B/SF: ask early. "Anyone else need to weigh in?"

Sources

• Live recordings (linked above)
• Validation report: Hybrid mentioned as partial coverage in MT validation
• Tier classification logic: triage.py tier() function — HY tier (added 2026-05-16)
• Related: 40%-rent-rule explanation, Pure MT playbook, Pure SF Tier A