Creative Financing Isn’t New

It’s just not always talked about

When most people think about buying a home, the usual route of applying for a traditional mortgage has always been the default setup—married couple. But there’s a whole world of creative financing strategies that have been used quietly for decades—especially by those in the know.

Most people raise their eyebrows at it—my aunt included, who was a mortgage lender—when I bring up the concept of Co-Borrower Hub. She yelled, “No! Never! Not possible!” I figure she comes from another era, which only makes me more determined to push this advocacy forward. And here you are, reading about it in this blog.

Co-Borrowing and Equity Partnership is a type of creative financing. It’s a strategic way people have pooled income, shared responsibilities, and building wealth together—long before it became a buzzword.

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Whether you’re a first-time buyer or just need to tap into Other People’s Income (OPI), and understandably you can’t do it solo with just one income, this type of approach under ‘creative financing, ‘ could open doors you didn’t even know existed. Just to clarify, I invented the acronym OPI, which stands for Other People’s Income. Read more about it in my previous blog. I also referred to per capita income in the context of co-borrowing as income qualifications, read more about it here. The OPI is the solution, and the per capita income is the problem we are trying to solve.

Creative Financing is a term mortgage lenders and real estate professionals use to describe non-traditional methods of securing financing for a property purchase—outside the typical 20% down, 30-year fixed-rate mortgage from a bank.

Types of Creative Financing

1. Seller Financing (Owner Carry)

The seller acts as the lender, and the buyer makes payments directly to them instead of a bank. This works well when the seller owns the property free and clear.

2. Subject-To-Financing

The home buyer takes over the home seller’s existing mortgage “subject to” its current terms, while the loan stays in the seller’s name. This can help home buyers avoid today’s higher interest rates if the existing loan has a better rate.

3. Lease Option (Rent-to-Own)

The home buyer leases the property with an option to purchase later, often locking in a price upfront while building credit or saving for a down payment.

4. Wraparound Mortgage

The seller keeps their existing mortgage and creates a new one that “wraps around” it. The buyer pays the sellers, and the seller continues making payments on the original loan.

5. Using Other People’s Money (OPM)

This might involve raising funds or borrowing from private investors, bank, or through crowdfunding platforms to finance the purchase.

6. Other People’s Income (OPI) Co-Borrowing/Equity Partnerships

Multiple parties pool resources to qualify for and buy property together, splitting the ownership, payments, and potential profits.

7. Assumable Mortgages

The home buyer takes over an existing mortgage directly with the lender’s approval. FHA, VA, and USDA loans often allow this.

Creative Financing is often used by:

At Co Borrower Hub, the type of creative financing we focus on is relationship-based-matchmaking—connecting people who can leverage each other’s OPI (Other People’s Income) to successfully execute a property purchase.

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