In brief, seller financing is simply buying on time from the seller. Say that the home costs $300,000: the seller could sell it to you for, say, $10,000 down and $1,200 per month for the next 30 years, with the $1,200 per month being both principal and interest. (In this scenario--which is purely for the sake of illustration; I have not run the numbers--you'd pay around $440,000 or so over 30 years for the home.) The seller could retain a security interest and could foreclose, same as a bank could, if you fail to make your payments.Seller financing is completely voluntary: it has be a good deal for the seller for them to consider it. Typically, it's only a good deal for them if--* they don't have a mortgage on the property which they have to pay off;* they can afford to wait for their money and/or prefer an income stream to a lump-sum payment;* they can't readily sell the home to someone who could qualify for more traditional financing* etc.You can certainly broach the subject with them, but bear in mind that very few sellers want to finance their homes and be subject to the risk of nonpayment, having to wait for their money, and the trouble of collecting (and if necessary, foreclosing).