Kareem JamalGenerational Wealth Realtor
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Watch me take over a seller's 3% loan.

Most agents skip past "assumable" in the listing remarks because they've never actually run one. I have. When a home carries an FHA or VA loan from years ago, the rate on that loan can move with the house — to you — if you know how to structure it. Watch the entire process, message by message: finding it, verifying it, and closing it.

Watch the takeover Check a listing for me
The servicer callThe equity-gap mathEvery pushback handled
Kareem Jamal, Realtor with Rodeo Realty Fine Estates
Kareem is structuring a takeover

“We're not asking for a favor. We're qualifying for a loan that's already sitting on the house.”

Kareem Jamal

You're in the room for the whole takeover.

Blue messages are me. Gray messages are the other side. Gold notes explain the strategy. The dollar figures are placeholders — your deal fills them in.

Scroll the full takeover
01
Before anyone calls anyone

I find the loan hiding in the listing remarks

My objective: most buyers — and most agents — read past "VA loan, assumable" like it's noise. It's not. If the balance and rate are right, it can be the single biggest number in the whole transaction. Triage comes before strategy.
Worth pursuing

FHA or VA loan, originated 2020–2022

Rates in the 2.5%–3.5% range, a decade-plus of term remaining, and a loan balance that leaves a manageable equity gap to bridge. This is the one worth a phone call.

Why most agents miss thisAssumptions were rare for a decade because rates only went down — nobody wanted an old loan. Now that they've gone up, the loan sitting on a 2021 purchase is worth more than the house's paint or kitchen. Most agents never had to learn this skill; I did.
Powerful ally · Screening
Knowing which listings to skip is half the skill.

I don't chase every "assumable" flag. I run the rate-and-balance math first, so we only spend real effort on the loans actually worth taking over.

Kareem Jamal

Found a listing that mentions an assumable loan?

Fill in what you know. I'll place it into a ready-to-send text and give you a same-day read on whether it's worth pursuing.

Text Kareem my situation

Your details stay on this page until you choose to open the text.

02
Call 1 · I call the loan servicer

I verify the loan is actually assumable

What you are watching: "assumable" in the listing remarks is a claim, not a fact. Before anyone writes an offer around this loan, I call the actual servicer and get the real numbers — rate, balance, and the qualifying process — from the source.
Kareem Jamal
Kareem ↔ Loan servicerVerifying the assumption
Why the servicer, not the listing agentThe listing agent read the loan docs once, maybe. The servicer runs assumptions for a living and has the payoff figure and the exact qualifying checklist. That's the only source I trust for numbers this size.
Hi, I'm a Realtor with a buyer interested in a property with an [FHA/VA] loan on it. I'd like to confirm this loan is assumable and understand the qualifying process for my buyer.
Kareem
LS
Yes, this is an assumable loan. Your buyer will need to qualify through our underwriting — credit, income, and debt ratios, similar to a new loan but at the existing rate and balance.
Understood. Can you tell me the exact current payoff balance, the note rate, and roughly how long the assumption package takes from submission to approval?
Kareem
LS
Current balance is $[balance] at [rate]%. Assumptions typically take [X–Y] weeks once we have a complete package.
Perfect — that timeline works with our escrow. One more thing: does the seller need a formal release of liability once this closes, so their name and VA entitlement are fully cleared from the loan?
Kareem
Why I ask about the releaseWithout a release of liability, the seller stays on the hook for this loan — and on a VA loan, their entitlement can stay tied up too. Protecting the seller's exit is how I get their agent to actually want this deal.
Powerful ally · Verification
I confirm with the source before I build a strategy on it.

A listing remark is marketing. A servicer's written confirmation of rate, balance, and process is the ground my buyer's offer actually stands on.

03
Call 2 · I call the listing agent

I structure the equity gap

The real math: the loan balance is almost never the full sale price — there's a gap between what's owed and what the house is worth. That gap gets bridged with cash, a second mortgage, or a seller-carry note. This is where the offer actually gets built.
Kareem Jamal
Kareem ↔ Listing agentStructuring the offer
Why I lead with the loan, not the priceMost agents anchor on sale price first. I anchor on the loan my buyer keeps — because that's the number the sellers should be excited about too: a faster, cleaner close with far less financing risk.
Hi [name] — my buyers want to move forward on the loan assumption. We've confirmed the balance at $[balance] with the servicer. That leaves a gap of $[gap] between the loan and your list price. My buyers can bring $[cash] in cash — can we talk through how the sellers would want the remainder structured?
Kareem
LA
That still leaves $[remainder] uncovered. How do you propose closing that?
A few paths: my buyers can bring more cash, secure a second loan for the difference, or — if your sellers want ongoing income instead of a lump sum — a seller-carry note at [rate]% covers the gap and gives them monthly payments. I can model all three so they see real numbers, not guesses.
Kareem
Why I offer three paths, not oneSellers rarely reject a takeover on principle — they reject uncertainty about getting paid. Giving them options, each with real numbers, turns "I don't understand this" into "which one works best for us."
LA
Let me run the seller-carry idea by them — that might actually interest them for the tax spread.
I'll send over a simple one-page comparison of all three structures so it's an easy conversation for your sellers, and I'll loop in a CPA-referral note for the tax question — I don't give tax advice, but I know who does.
Kareem
Powerful ally · The structure
The gap isn't a problem — it's a design choice.

Cash, a second, or a carry note all close the same gap differently. My job is showing every side the real numbers so the right structure picks itself.

04
The doubts every takeover hits

I keep the deal moving

What you are watching: every response below is one I've actually heard — from listing agents, from lenders, and from buyers themselves. I don't argue with any of them. I acknowledge, clarify, and hand back a path to yes.
LA
Our sellers just want a normal sale — this sounds complicated.
Fair, and I run the whole process — the servicer paperwork, the qualifying package, the release of liability. Your sellers sign what a normal sale requires, plus one release form. That's the entire difference on their end.
Kareem
LA
Isn't this going to take way longer than a regular closing?
The servicer quoted [X–Y] weeks for the assumption package, which is comparable to a standard loan approval. We're building that timeline into escrow from day one — no surprise delay at the finish line.
Kareem
LA
If it's a VA loan, doesn't the seller lose their VA benefit forever?
Only if the buyer isn't also VA-eligible, and only without a substitution of entitlement. If my buyer is a veteran, the seller's entitlement can transfer back in full — that's worth confirming with the servicer before anyone worries.
Kareem
LA
Another buyer offered full price with a regular new loan.
That offer carries new-loan appraisal and financing risk your sellers have seen fall through before. My buyer's financing is already half-approved — it's the loan already sitting on the house. That's real certainty, not just a higher number on paper.
Kareem
Powerful ally · Composure
Unfamiliar isn't the same as risky.

Every objection above is really "I don't know this process yet." I answer with the servicer's own words and a clear timeline — not pressure, and not a sales pitch.

05
Nothing is real until it's written

I lock it into the assumption package

The step buyers skip: a verbal "yes" from a listing agent is worth exactly nothing at closing. The assumption goes through the servicer's underwriting, the release of liability gets signed, and only then do contingencies come off.
Kareem Jamal
Kareem ↔ Listing agentFinal terms confirmed
LA
The sellers agreed to the assumption with a $[gap] seller-carry note for the gap.
Great outcome for everyone. I'm sending the purchase agreement now: loan assumption at $[balance]/[rate]%, a $[gap] carry note at [carry-rate]%, and the release of liability filed with the servicer at closing. Once underwriting approves the assumption package, we set the closing date.
Kareem
LA
Sending it to my sellers for signature now.
Perfect. And genuinely — thank you for working through this with me. Not every agent takes the time to actually understand an assumption; it makes the whole close easier.
Kareem
Why I thank the other sideI work these same neighborhoods for decades. The agent I walk through an unfamiliar process patiently today sends me the next one — because now they know I can actually run it.
ASSUME

The takeover closes

Buyer keeps the seller's rate, seller gets a clean release of liability, and the gap is bridged by cash or a carry note — everyone's paperwork is clean.

BLEND

Assumption plus a second

Sometimes the cleanest structure keeps the low-rate first loan and adds a small second at market rate for the gap — I run the blended-rate math before recommending it.

PASS

We pass, informed

If the servicer's terms or timeline don't work for my buyer's move date, we walk before writing an offer — no harm done, no deposit at risk.

Powerful ally · Protection
My job is to make an unfamiliar structure feel as safe as a normal sale.

Assume it, blend it, or pass on it — you choose from complete, written information from the actual servicer. That's what having an ally who's actually run one of these is for.

Why I publish my playbook

The conversation is the service.

Most agents never learn this skill because for a decade, rates only fell — nobody wanted an old loan. Now the reverse is true, and the buyers who know to look for an assumable FHA or VA loan are quietly locking in rates the rest of the market can't touch. So I publish the conversations. If showing you exactly how I run one costs me a little mystique, it earns something better: your informed trust.

This sits alongside the inspection repair-credit walkthrough and the appraisal-gap negotiation — same discipline, applied to the part of buying most agents skip past entirely: the loan already sitting on the house.

I've actually run oneNot theory from a training class — a real assumption, verified with a real servicer, structured to a real close.
Evidence firstServicer confirmations, payoff figures, written timelines. I negotiate with paper, not adjectives.
Calm is leverageNo bluffing, no threats. Specific requests, workable paths to yes, and a visible calendar.
Writing or it didn't happenEvery structure lands in a signed agreement and a servicer-confirmed release before a contingency comes off.