Mississippi sellers carry notes on houses, timberland, farm ground and manufactured homes with land. We ask several buyers to price yours and give you the worksheet for each offer, including what we earn.
What pulls a Mississippi note's price down before it is shopped.
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 saleOwner financing is common in Mississippi because a lot of buyers, and a lot of properties, fall outside what a bank will lend on. There are notes on modest houses around Jackson in Hinds, Rankin and Madison counties, along the Gulf Coast in Gulfport, Biloxi and Pascagoula, in DeSoto County just south of Memphis, and in Hattiesburg and Tupelo. A house on the Memphis side of that line is Tennessee property and follows Tennessee practice, which you can look up in our guides by state.
Outside the towns the property is pine timberland, hunting tracts, Delta farm ground, or a manufactured home sold together with its lot. The holder is the person who sold the property, or a son or daughter who inherited the payments, and the balance can be small enough that it shapes the whole sale.
In Mississippi the document that secures a note against real estate is commonly a deed of trust. It names a trustee, a third party who can act if the borrower defaults. When you sell a note secured by a deed of trust, the note is endorsed to the buyer, and the deed of trust is assigned to them and recorded in the chancery clerk’s office for the county.
Foreclosure here is commonly non-judicial. The deed of trust generally contains a power of sale, and on default the trustee can advertise and sell the property without a full court case. A court foreclosure is also possible, for instance where there is a problem with the paperwork.
The trustee sale route works in your favor at pricing time. A buyer who expects a cheaper path to the property can accept a lower return on their money, and that means a higher price for you. Have a Mississippi attorney or title company confirm how your own deed of trust reads, since the wording and the rules both vary.
A buyer’s legal and title costs stay about the same whatever the size of the note. Here is an example with round numbers, for illustration only: if those costs came to $3,000, they would be 10% of a $30,000 balance and 2% of a $150,000 balance. On the smaller note the buyer has to recover the same cost from a smaller purchase. That widens the gap between your balance and the price, measured as a share of the balance, and some buyers set a minimum and decline anything under it. Whether yours clears those minimums is quick to find out: tell us what your Mississippi note pays, what is still owed and what the property is.
Selling a mobile home note turns on whether the home is legally part of the land or still titled like a vehicle, because the answer changes what the lien covers.
Rural land that passed down through a family without probate can have unclear title. A buyer’s title search will find it, so raise it yourself at the start.
Near the Gulf, expect to be asked whether wind and flood coverage are in place and who pays for them.
On a small balance, ask each buyer for their minimum and for the costs they have allowed for. If a full sale gives up more than you want, ask whether the note has enough payments left for a buyer to take only some of them. Keeping the note is sometimes the stronger choice on a small balance, and the offers will show whether that holds for yours.
Deeds of trust are commonly used in Mississippi. The deed of trust secures the note against the property and names a trustee. When you sell, the note is endorsed and the deed of trust is assigned to the buyer.
Commonly, yes. A deed of trust generally contains a power of sale that lets the trustee sell the property after a default without a full court case. What applies to your note depends on your documents, so check with a Mississippi attorney.
Often, if the home was sold together with the land. Buyers want to know whether the home has been made part of the real estate or is still titled separately. Notes on a home without land have far fewer buyers.
Sometimes. Each buyer sets their own minimum, and fixed costs weigh more heavily on a small note. We will show the note to buyers who take smaller balances and tell you honestly if the offers do not justify selling.