Members can buy real estate, including property, homes, condos, even if they don’t have sufficient trade available to pay for it. 

Historically, trade exchange members purchased a condo in Vermont, 14 building lots in Riverhead, building lots in the Poconos, a 30,000 square foot office building in NY State, a 10,000 square foot warehouse and a condo in Pennsylvania. These transactions ranged from $60,000 to over $1 million. 

Typically, the buyer paid a 20-30% down payment in Trade Dollars. The balance was often financed with a barter mortgage, just like in the cash world.

Barter Exchanges can make mortgages available to qualified buyers of real estate, where the monthly principal and interest is paid in Trade Dollars. Members provide their product or service to exchange members and the Trade Dollars from sales is deposited into their account. 

A set amount is deducted from a member's account each month to cover the mortgage payment. Even better, trade exchange brokers should refer the new business members need to make the payments, and online sales can enable members pay off the property even faster. It’s that simple.

An offering was made for a beautiful house in New Jersey. The owner wasn’t able to sell it in the year it was listed with a realtor. Because he had a need for Trade Dollars, he was willing to accept 100% of his equity in the home in Trade Dollars. 

The asking price was $450,000. The equity of $225,000 was paid in Trade Dollars, the balance of $225,000 was paid by obtaining financing with a bank mortgage.

An example of creative trading would be for the buyer to apply for 60% financing of the $450,000 and get a $270,000 mortgage to purchase the house. The seller only requires $225,000 in cash to pay off his indebtedness, leaving an excess of $45,000 cash that the buyer keeps. 

The buyer also makes a down payment of 25% of the barter mortgage, $56,250 in trade, leaving a barter mortgage of $168,750. This can be paid in product or service of approximately $4,000/month for five years. The house needs approximately $25,000 in cosmetic interior renovation, most of which can be done on trade.

Bottom line is, the house could be bought for trade and cash, the buyer walks away with $45,000 in cash and lives in or rents the house for five years. The house could then be sold for at least $425,000. Pay off the remaining cash mortgage of approximately $225,000, and walk away with another $200,000 in cash.

Creative trading with barter can turn Trade Dollars into cash, which makes joining a barter exchange more enticing for business owners.