Selling land for cash and accepting credit card payments
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Does anyone have experience selling land using a credit card? I have a buyer for some property and they want to use their credit card to buy it all in cash. The sales price is $8,500. They said the biggest cash advance they can do off the card is $400/day so it would take a while to get all the money. I'm considering using a payment processor like Venmo so they could pay with their credit card. My biggest concern would be a charge back or the payment processor/credit card company stopping the payment because they suspect fraud. I also know there are some payment processors specifically for land. Does anyone have experience with something like this? Any input would be greatly appreciated!
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The one thing I would be careful of is credit cards allow for recourse reversal, in which they will pull the money back if buyer is not happy with transaction. I sell allot of cars and I will not do full price purchase with a credit card and there is typically a 3% fee for the transaction you will need to pay. Also there are allot of scammers out there who have access to a credit cards, me personally I would a deposit but not a large purchase.
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Dan - Jaren Barnes wrote a very detailed review on Heartland Payment Systems, which can allow for this kind of payment for land.
That being said, I think you're right to proceed with caution on this. Credit card processors can get very skittish with big purchases like this, especially if it's broken up into multiple cards and/or if any of the cards are from other countries.
I realize credit cards definitely provide convenience, but sometimes that convenience comes at a cost in other ways.
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Seth Williams I would 100% agree.
I understand the appeal of being able to process credit card payments... but it's almost easier just to stick with ACH. -
I have used credit cards for over five years to sell land. I have actually used fresh books as my accounting software and have billing through them without an issue, but I have heard other stories where stripe will flag real estate transactions. I have also use Venmo and Cashapp.But in your situation with your seller the flag lineup when they told you they can only do a $400 day cash advance. When you do a cash advance they’re gonna charge you upwards of 25 to 29% on that Cash advance. Why would someone incur that additional cost to get to the sale price? I would proceed with caution.
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Dan Michael a Farmer Seth Williams Jaren Barnes We use Heartland with REI Conversion, and we've had two chargebacks for our non-refundable $199 option fee. We charge a $999 deposit via credit card, which is fully refundable less the $199 option fee, which came into existence to 1) offset credit card processing fees, 2) to deter people from putting down a deposit just to lock-up the property, and 3) modestly compensate us for the pain in the rear of dealing with refunds. VISA rejected our assertion that the $199 option fee was non-refundable because we couldn't prove that the customer was made aware of the fee at the time of purchase, despite its being clearly stated in our refund policy on the site. I've talked to Jessey about having a Terms of Service checkbox at checkout, but I have not tried to get Heartland on it. And we have allowed people to purchase 100% of the deal with a credit card plus a 3% convenience fee. However... I don't feel 100% comfortable allowing full payment via credit card. We've done it with some "Buy It Now" lower priced properties. When we do take full payment via credit card, we make them sign our contract, as usual, but also sign a separate credit card authorization form. And yes, I do get a little concerned with scammers.
