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🏘️ Tier B — Cheap SFH Stale

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① TL;DR

Cheap SFH (<$100K) in markets like Flint MI, Detroit, parts of OH/AL that have sat 90+ days. Lower scale than Tier A but easier negotiations — sellers are tired.

② When to use

  • Price: <$100K (max $150K)
  • DOM: 90+ days (ideally 150+)
  • Property type: SFH
  • QUALIFICATION GATE: bank-rate CF ≤ 0 AND Creative CF ≥ $100/mo (same dual-gate as Tier A)
  • Creative structure: asking + 20%, 12% down, 0% rate, 30yr amort, 7yr balloon
  • Target markets (Seller Finance Course primary-source): Flint MI ('really cheap single family properties like in Flint, Michigan. I see seller finance deals all the time. They'll have a $70,000 house in Flint, Michigan sitting for four or five months', line 124), Cleveland OH (cheap, 'Cleveland is cheap, cheap, cheap, cheap', line 918), Detroit MI, Birmingham AL, broader Midwest/South sub-$150K markets

📺 Course Video

Seller Finance Course — Cheap SFH portion
Seller Finance Course — Cheap SFH portion
Intermediate · ~1h (jump to ~7:00) · Watch on YouTube ↗

Same Seller Finance Course as Tier A, but pay attention to the cheap-SFH section. Richard's example: a $70K house in Flint, Michigan sitting four-five months — exactly the kind of stale cheap listing where the seller will accept asking + 20% with $15K down on terms because the conventional market has given up on it. Lower assignment-fee ceiling than Tier A but much easier negotiations: the seller is tired, the agent has lost commission optionality, and there's no DSCR conversation needed. Standard offer structure: asking + 20%, 12% down, 0%, 30yr, 7yr balloon.

Key timestamps
  • ~7:00 — Flint MI $70K cheap SFH example
  • ~7:45 — "$80K with $15K down on terms" math
  • ~14:00 — Section 8 cross-over angle for Tier B
  • ~25:00 — Cleveland cheap rentals — 'cheap, cheap, cheap'

③ How to run this play (step-by-step)

  1. Confirm Tier B qualifies
    Price under $100K, DOM ≥ 90, SFH (not MFH). If MFH, route to Tier A instead.
  2. Quick comp check on Zillow
    Open the Zillow listing. Confirm rent estimate. If Zillow rent is null/zero, run a Rentometer check before calling.
  3. Verify numbers — BBC's in-listing calculator first
    Tap 'Search BBC ↗' on the briefing card → open the listing in BBC → use the built-in calculator. BBC auto-prefills price/taxes/insurance/rent. Enter your offer: Price = asking + 20%, Down = 12-14%, 0% interest, 7yr balloon. Confirm CF > $200.
  4. Cross-check in Offer Oven if structure is non-standard
    If you're considering subject-to or hybrid, Offer Oven lets you model that. For pure 0%-with-premium Tier B, BBC's calculator is enough.
    Open Offer Oven (optional) ↗
  5. Section 8 angle? (decide before dialing)
    If property is in a Section-8-friendly area, use the alt script (S8 angle). Section 8 rents are typically above market and add to your pitch.
  6. Dial once — leave the One-Liner voicemail (below)
    Keep it under 2 minutes. The key phrase: 'I negotiate backwards here — but there's a good reason for it.'
  7. Wait 24-48 hours; follow up if no callback
    Cheap markets have slower agents. Two follow-up dials over 5 days is reasonable.
  8. On callback — confirm condition
    Ask about roof, foundation, HVAC. Tier B has more rehab risk. If anything looks bad, price down before committing.
  9. On verbal yes → contract
    Confirm inspection period (10 biz days) and EMD ($1K AFTER inspection).
    Trigger: contract parameters → paste into Claude Code (Mac)
    Replace with your address.
  10. Submit
    Same as Tier A: BBC Marketplace + Grand In Taylor Creative Form.

④ The voicemail

"Hi there, I'm calling for an agent on the [agent team name] regarding [address]. I'm real interested in this one — I just had a couple questions about it. However, I'll let you know a little bit of what we're looking to do over the phone here. Instead of the [asking], I actually wanted to offer [asking + 20%]. I know that's kind of crazy — I negotiate backwards here, but there's a good reason for it. Interest rates are higher than they've been in 25 years. We can't cash flow, so I'm calling sellers and I'm offering way over list price to incentivize them taking a set of payments here. I'd give them payments that are as if they decided to rent this out themselves — so maybe they've considered renting it. Maybe not. After [DOM] days on market, that may have been a thought they had. I want to see if we could go ahead and offer [over-asking], give them payments in the range of what they'd make as a rental, and triple my down payment compared to what I'd have to put down on other loans elsewhere. Anyways, not sure if I'd be a good option for your seller, but I just wanted to reach out and give you a call to see if that made any sense in presenting. Thanks so much for your time."
🎧 Hear Richard say it (1:57)

Source: Voicemail - Seller Finance One Liner

④ Section-8 angle (when property is in S8-friendly area)

"Hi [agent], calling about your listing on [address]. Had a couple questions — mainly just about the roof, saw some stuff growing on it, wanted to know if there are any leaks in place. Anyways, I'm actually going to offer [asking + 20%] on this. I know that's kind of crazy — $[X] above your client's asking. The reason is I want to make them payments, because I know [asking] in cash up front is definitely what they're looking for. I'm looking for a Section 8 rental, and at today's interest rates there's just no cash flow on it for me. Rates have been the highest in 20 years. So I'm offering homeowners above asking to see if I can deal with them instead of the bank. Here's what I'm thinking: instead of [asking], we do [asking + 20%]. I triple the down payment I'd put down elsewhere — quite literally triple. I pay your commission up front, cover closing costs, and then pay them the majority of what this property makes as a rental. If it sounds too good to be true, I'm happy to send over the portfolio of other deals we've done this on."
🎧 2:22

Source: Voicemail - Seller Finance One Liners 2

⑦ Top objections for this play

"Seller wants cash only"
"I totally understand — and that's exactly what a lot of sellers say when they haven't been walked through the math yet. The question is: what's more important to them — how they get paid, or what they get paid? Because with this structure, they get [asking + 10%] plus a multi-five or multi-six-figure down payment up front to use toward their next property. That's more than any cash buyer is going to offer right now. Would it be worth a 10-minute conversation so they can hear the full picture and make an informed decision?"
"Can you get a lower rate?"
"I wish — rates are what they are. The math just doesn't work at 7.25% for this property at this price, even with a rate buydown. That's why the structure has to change, not the rate."

⑧ Counter-offer rules

Seller wants more down → up to 14% OK on Tier B (cheap property exception).
Seller wants interest → drop premium, offer asking at 4-6.5%.
If condition flags appear (roof, foundation), price down BEFORE submitting.

⑨ Sources (go deeper)