Decoding the Offer: What “Subject-To,” “Assumption,” and “Seller Carry” Actually Mean

"Subject-to"

In a subject-to deal, the buyer takes over your property but leaves your existing mortgage in place — in your name. They start making the payments, but the loan is still legally yours.

That's the catch. If the buyer stops paying, it's your credit and potentially your liability on the line, even though you no longer own or control the park. You handed over the keys but kept the risk. Subject-to can occasionally make sense for an owner in a real hurry, but you want to understand exactly what you're still on the hook for before you ever consider it.

"Loan assumption"

An assumption is a cleaner cousin of subject-to. Here, the buyer formally takes over your loan with the lender's approval, and the lender signs off on the swap.

Because the lender is involved, this can be a legitimate, tidy structure — but it only works on certain loans that are actually assumable, and the terms have to still make sense. The thing to insist on is a written release of liability, so that once the buyer assumes the loan, you're truly off it. Don't assume the release is automatic. Get it in writing.

"Seller carry" / owner financing / land contract

This is the one where you become the bank. Instead of getting all your money at closing, you accept a down payment and then monthly payments over time, with interest.

There's a real case for it, and there are real risks, so it gets its own post next time. For now, just know that "seller carry" means you're financing the buyer — and the strength of the deal comes down to how much they put down, how qualified they are, and what protections you build in.

"All cash" — sometimes with an asterisk

Plenty of offers say "cash." Sometimes that means cash in the bank, ready to wire. Sometimes it means cash the buyer still intends to raise from investors or a lender they haven't lined up yet.

The fix is simple and fair: ask for proof of funds or a financing commitment. A buyer who really has the money won't mind showing it. A buyer who hesitates just told you something.

The throughline

None of these structures is automatically bad. Owners close good deals with several of them every year. But each one decides who carries the risk if something goes wrong, and usually that's the question the friendly wording is designed to skip past.

So before you nod along, slow down and ask one thing: in this structure, who's holding the risk? If the honest answer is "me," that doesn't mean walk away. It means make sure you're being paid, and protected, for carrying it.

The Campground Marketplace has been helping owners read the fine print since 1971. If an offer's wording has you guessing, send it our way and we'll translate it.