From Baltimore rowhouses to Eastern Shore farmland, Maryland owners carry financing when banks will not lend. We take your note to competing buyers and show the worksheet behind each price.
Gaps that lower the price of a Maryland note before bidding starts.
The same worksheet comes with every offer.
| Remaining balance | $129,400 |
|---|---|
| Payments left | 168 |
| Buyer’s target yield | 8.0% |
| Purchase price | $115,000 |
| Discount from balance | 11.1% |
| Our fee | shown on every offer |
| Sell the whole note | Sell 60 payments | Keep it | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cash today | $115,000 | $56,200 | $0 |
| Payments still coming to you | None | 108 payments of $1,140 | 168 payments of $1,140 |
| Total you receive | $115,000 | $179,320 | $191,520 |
| What you give up | Every future payment | The next five years | A lump sum now |
Illustrative example. Totals add up the payments as scheduled; they assume the payer keeps paying and are not adjusted for the value of money over time.
The promissory noteThe mortgage or deed of trustA payment historyThe closing statement from the saleIn Baltimore, small investors sell rowhouses with owner financing to buyers who cannot qualify at a bank. In Montgomery and Prince George’s counties, next to Washington, the note is more likely to be on a single-family house or a condo, with a larger balance to match the prices there. On the Eastern Shore the property is farmland, waterfront or a house in a small town, and in Garrett County and the western mountains it is a cabin or wooded acreage.
The holders vary as much as the property does: retired owners who carried the financing on a home, landlords selling off rentals one at a time, families settling an estate.
A private note is secured by a second document recorded against the property. In Maryland that document is commonly a deed of trust, though mortgages are used as well. A deed of trust adds a third party, the trustee, who holds a limited interest in the property until the loan is paid. When you sell a deed of trust note, the note is endorsed to the buyer and the deed of trust is assigned along with it.
Maryland foreclosure sits between the two usual models. A trustee commonly carries it out under a power of sale, a clause that permits a sale on default, yet the case is filed with a court and the court reviews the sale. The steps are changed from time to time, and a Maryland attorney is the right person to say how they apply to your document. If the property is over the line in Virginia, Delaware or Pennsylvania, that state’s practice applies instead, and you will find its outline among our state pages.
Buyers price a note by the return they want on their money and by how sure they are of collecting it, and the price that gives them that return sits below your balance. Beyond the payment record, a Maryland note raises questions of its own.
| What they check | Why it moves the price |
|---|---|
| Ground rent | Some Baltimore-area houses sit on land that carries a ground rent. A buyer wants to know whether one exists and whether it is paid up. |
| Taxes and city charges | Unpaid property taxes can lead to a tax sale, which puts the lien at risk. Current taxes support the price. |
| Block-level value | Rowhouse values can change from one street to the next, so buyers rely on a local opinion of value in place of a citywide average. |
| Lien position | Lien position is your place in line if the property is sold. A first lien is priced better than a second. |
Each offer we bring back shows the return the buyer priced for and the adjustments they made, so you can see which of these items cost you money. None of them can be judged from a balance alone, so when you ask us to price your Maryland note, give the property address and say what you know about ground rent and taxes.
A title company can tell you whether a ground rent is recorded against the property, and the county or Baltimore City tax office can confirm whether the tax account is current. Keep those answers with the note, the recorded deed of trust or mortgage, the settlement statement from your sale and your payment history.
If you need only part of the money, say that at the start. On a note with plenty of payments left and a steady payer, a buyer may be willing to take a set number of payments and leave the later ones with you, which is a partial purchase.
Both appear, and deeds of trust are common. Either one secures the note against the property, and either can be sold along with the note. Check your own recorded document to see which you hold.
Yes. Buyers will look closely at the condition of the house, the value on that block, and whether property taxes and any ground rent are current. Lower balances draw fewer bidders, so it helps to have the note shown to several buyers.
Generally not. It is one more item a buyer checks. They will want to know whether a ground rent exists on the property and whether it has been paid, because unpaid ground rent can create problems for the lien. A title company can confirm the position.
It is commonly handled by a trustee under a power of sale, with a court filing and court review of the sale. The exact steps depend on the property and the documents. Ask a Maryland attorney how it applies to your note.