She found a loophole around high mortgage rates

Think 4% interest rates are long gone? Not for Veronica Parkinson at SoldFast Utah, who recently snagged a 3.6% mortgage rate on her Salt Lake City home. Her secret: She asked the seller to serve as her bank. Here’s why it worked.

Average home price: $572,003 (up 2.4% YoY, per Zillow)
Homes that sell over list price: 25%
Homes that sell under list price: 54.8%
Average rent: $1,599/month

How she got started: After graduating with degrees in biology and chemistry, Parkinson spent her days as a clinical researcher—until the real estate bug bit in 2015. Her first property was a duplex where she lived in one unit and rented out the other; her next, a fixer-upper. “Once I sold that, I was hooked,” she says. “I miss science, but real estate is flexible, and I’m able to work from home with our little kids.”

Her market’s pros: Unlike much of the country, Salt Lake City’s prices keep climbing. Landlord-friendly laws round out the investor-friendly package that has helped Parkinson flip 75 homes and run six rentals.

The cons: Homes around this popular ski area are expensive. Add in today’s high mortgage rates, and it can be “hard to make rentals cash flow well,” she explains. This is why Parkinson focuses on flips—particularly condos and townhomes, which cost less than single-family homes. “Some investors avoid them because of the HOAs and red tape, but they’ve been really good investments for me,” she says.

Her advice: Parkinson’s workaround for high rates is to ask sellers if they’re willing to act as her lender, which is how she bought her home for $1.27 million at 3.6%. Although many have never heard of seller financing, it can be a win-win for both parties. “Sellers appreciate being able to make a little more on their property through interest payments,” she says. “It can also help them delay capital gains and put them in a lower tax bracket.” In another recent seller-financed deal, flexibility was key. “They had a cash offer, but didn’t want to move yet since they were waiting on a missionary trip,” Parkinson explains. “So I gave them a year to move out. I got the house for $535,000 at 4%.”

Here’s more on how to convince a seller to finance your purchase at a low rate.