Structures
Take title.
Keep the loan.
Subject-to is not a trick. It is a deed transfer where the existing mortgage stays in place. The rest of creative finance is how we fill the equity, the repairs, and the seller’s need to walk away clean.
What “subject-to” means
The seller deeds the property to North Pole Star. The mortgage is not paid off. It is not formally assumed through the bank. We make the payments. The note remains in the seller’s name until it is refinanced or satisfied.
That is why a 3.1% loan originated in 2021 is still a 3.1% loan after we close. In a 7% market, that spread is often the deal.
Most U.S. mortgages include a due-on-sale clause. The lender may call the loan if title transfers. We do not hide that. We keep the loan current, service it through a third party when it helps, and hold a refinance plan if a call ever comes. Performing loans are rarely called. Pretending the clause is fiction is how people get hurt. Talk to your own attorney before you sign.
The kit
Six ways we actually close.
01
Subject-To
We take title subject to the existing mortgage remaining in place. The loan stays in the seller’s name; we make the payments. You keep the rate the market no longer offers. This is not a formal bank assumption.
02
Seller finance
The seller carries a new note. Useful when the current loan has to be paid off, when there is equity to stretch over time, or when a second note sits behind a subject-to first.
03
Wrap / AITD
A new all-inclusive note wraps the existing financing. One payment, transparent servicing, a paper trail both sides can follow.
04
Lease option
Control now, deed later. Used when occupancy or a future refinance is part of the plan — never as a disguise for a sale that should be a sale.
05
Hybrid stacks
Subject-to the first, a seller note on the equity, private capital for repairs. Parks and apartments often close this way. The stack has to cash-flow on day one.
06
Cash when it fits
If the asset needs a straight cash close, we can do that. Most of what we buy is creative because that is where the gap is: a low-rate loan, a tired owner, and a property a new bank loan will not touch.
Sequence
From submission to recorded deed
01
Send the facts
What it is, where it is, size, asking price, the loan balance and rate if you have them, and why it needs to move. Brokers and wholesalers are paid when a deal we buy closes.
02
We look at the numbers
If the property and the financing can work, we put a structure in writing — subject-to the existing mortgage, seller finance, a wrap, or a mix. You get a clear yes, a structured counter, or a clean no.
03
Close on your clock
Title, escrow, and a written close date. We buy as-is. Deferred maintenance is not a last-minute haircut. Seven to twenty-one days is typical when title is clean.
Questions
Straight answers
The deed transfers to us subject to the existing mortgage remaining in place. The loan is not assumed through the bank and is not paid off at closing. We take title, we make the payments, and the note stays in the seller’s name until it is refinanced or paid off. You should understand that before you sign anything.
Yes. Buying real estate subject to existing financing is a long-standing, lawful structure. Most mortgages contain a due-on-sale clause, which means the lender may call the loan if title transfers. We do not hide that. We keep payments current, and we do not pretend the clause does not exist. This website is not legal advice — talk to your own attorney and tax advisor before you close.
It is a line in most U.S. mortgages that lets the lender ask for the full balance if the property changes hands. Lenders may or may not enforce it. Performing loans are often left alone; that is not a guarantee. Anyone who tells you the clause “doesn’t apply” is not being straight with you.
In a subject-to sale, yes — the loan typically remains in your name until it is paid off or refinanced. We take over the payments. That is the trade: you get out from under the property without waiting on a new buyer’s mortgage approval. It is also the risk you should weigh with your own advisor.
If payments stay current, the loan generally continues to report as current. That is often why someone chooses this over a foreclosure or a short sale. We cannot promise how a lender or a credit bureau will treat any file, and we will not.
RV parks, multifamily, single-family homes and small portfolios, commercial buildings, businesses tied to real estate, factories and warehouses, land, mobile-home parks, and mixed-use. If the financials make sense and we can see a path to profit, we will look at it — anywhere in the United States.
Yes. As-is. Occupied is fine. Vacant is fine. Behind on payments is often the reason we are talking. We do not need the kitchen remodeled for a close.
Often, yes. Bring the facts: how many payments, whether a sale date is set, and what the lender has sent you. Speed matters more in those files. We cannot stop a sale that has already happened, and we will not promise to.
Seven to twenty-one days is typical when title is clean and you are the decision-maker. Faster if the file is already opened. We will not fake a 48-hour close on a park with incomplete books.
No. You can sell directly to us. If you already have an agent, that’s fine — we work with brokers and pay them at close when we buy. We are an investor, not a listing agent, and this is not a listing service.
None of those. NORTH POLE STAR LLC is a United States real-estate investor. We buy property. We do not sell education, signals, or hard-money loans, and we are not a law firm.
Yes. Protected, in writing, at close — when we buy the deal. Send the memorandum or the contract. A listing link with no seller and no control is not a deal.
Sometimes. It depends on the equity, the existing loan, and the structure. Subject-to deals often leave little or no cash out; seller-finance and hybrid deals sometimes do. Tell us what you need and we will tell you if the numbers support it.
We spell this out in writing on every file. Title and escrow are opened with a licensed company. Taxes, insurance, and the existing loan payment are part of how the deal is structured — not a handshake. You should have your own advisor review the documents.
You, the seller, carry a note. The buyer pays you over time instead of (or in addition to) a bank. It is common when we cannot or should not take over the current loan, or when there is equity to stretch. The rate, term, and security are negotiated and recorded.
A short sale needs the bank’s permission to take less than you owe, and it is slow. A foreclosure is the bank taking the house. Subject-to keeps the existing loan in place and transfers the deed. It is a different path, with different risks — including the due-on-sale clause — and it is not right for every owner.
We look at property anywhere in the United States. Some markets we see more often (Texas, Florida, the Sun Belt, the Midwest), but if the structure works, geography is secondary. We do not buy outside the U.S.
Send it anyway. Factories, warehouses, land, notes, mixed-use, a small business with real estate attached — if we can underwrite it and see a profit, it is in the conversation.
Asset type, city and state, size, asking price, occupancy, the existing loan balance and rate if you have them, and why it needs to move. Photos and a memorandum or contract help. A Zillow link alone does not.
You’ll hear a clear no, with a reason when we can give one. We don’t string people along, and we don’t charge a fee to look.
Have a file?
Send the asset, the city, and the existing loan. We will tell you if a structure exists.