Buying Real Estate Using Rent-To-Own And Lease-Purchase Options
Owing a home is a big part of the American dream. But not everyone is fortunate enough to become a homeowner due to delimiting factors such as insufficient income, bankruptcy, bad or no credit, loss of employment, etc. For people with such troubles, owning a home is a distant dream and some of these people resign themselves to a lifetime of renting. But such people are not without options. Rent-to-own, which is also known as a lease-purchase option, can be an excellent alternative available to some people who are currently unable to buy a home.
A rent-to-own or lease-purchase option is an agreement between a prospective home buyer and a home seller. The agreement is basically a rental contract with a right to purchase the property after a period of time (usually 1 year). When a home seller offers a lease-purchase option, what they are really offering is the option to rent the house at some monthly rate, and to lock in the sales price of the home now, even though the prospective buyer would not actually purchase the house until a later time (if at all).
Here is a hypothetical example. Let's say the monthly rent for a home is $1700. Under a lease-purchase option, a prospective buyer would rent the home for the $1700 a month, but would also pay an additional premium (e.g., $200-$300) every month for the option to buy the home after a period of time (usually 1 year). So in this example, the total monthly rent is actually $2000, but $200-$300 of the money will be applied toward buying the house at a later time. In other words, the home seller would apply the $200-$300 extra paid every month toward the prospective buyer's down payment at the end of the year.
The good news for prospective home buyers is that it allows them to lock in the purchase price of the home now, even though they are not purchasing the home until a later time. The bad news is that if a buyer decides not to purchase the home at the end of lease term, the seller often keeps the premium amount paid over the year, although this is usually a point of negotiation.
Prospective home buyers should know that many of the terms described above are negotiable such as how much the monthly rent will be, how much extra has to be paid every month for the option fee (if any), the length of the lease term, etc. The other issue to consider is if it makes sense to lock in a home purchase price now in markets where real estate prices are still declining.
When compared to renting, a lease-purchase can be an attractive alternative because it gives prospective buyers an opportunity to own a home before they normally would be able to. There are some advantages to a lease-purchase option such as:
1) Low or No Initial Down Payment. Many lease-purchase options do not require an initial down payment.
2) Equity Advantage. At the end of the lease term, the value of a home may have appreciated over time, which benefits the purchaser.
3) Living Experience. Prospective home buyers have the opportunity to try out a home and neighborhood before purchasing the property.
4) Leverage Advantage. With just a small investment, a prospective buyer can control a property; yet still have the option of not buying the home if market conditions don't warrant it.
Rent-to-own or lease-purchase option can be an effective strategy to home ownership. However, there are both positive and negative aspects to this type of approach (as described above). A good real estate agent can help you navigate the complex world of rent-to-own and lease-purchase option properties.
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Help answer the question about Real Estate Investing
What do I need to know to start my real estate investing?I would like to watch some DVD's on how to start real estate investing.
What to buy, How to buy, Etc...
I need a recomendation for a good DVD.
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September 1st, 2009 - 17:51
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September 1st, 2009 - 18:53
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September 1st, 2009 - 17:26
NO they are all scams – enlist the services of a realtor or real estate attorney and find a really smart mortgage broker who is a member of the National Association of Mortgage Brokers. Several of those "get rich quick investing programs" are under investigation by the states and federal Attorney generals offices-
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September 1st, 2009 - 18:41
Have you heard of Robert Kiyosaki, who wrote a book called Rich Dad, Poor Dad? check out one of his books @ the library, read it, and then go signup up for RichDadWorld.com – there is free information there on how to start. Best of luck to you.
September 1st, 2009 - 21:10
Your best bet are duplexes for rent or buying a house that needs a lot of cosmetic repairs. You just need to make sure you have enough money to pay the mortgage until it sells. The "real investors" purchase now and hold on until the market is high. Buy low, sell high pertains to real estate investor too. A real investor does not buy high and sell a little higher.
September 3rd, 2009 - 11:02
Most government grants are in blighted areas where they want to spur rehabilitation of neighborhood properties. As far as I know there are no federal grants avalable unless you are revitalizing a property which will end up on the national register of historic properties, but these would have little to no profit potential due to the high cost of rehab to get the property to standards. The local programs generally only give 5-20k for help in rehabbing homes, but unfortunately come with so many strings attached that you will be begging them to take their money back just so you can get them out of your hair. Once you invite them in, you many times lose the grandfather clauses on any number of code requirements that have been put in place since the particular home was built and you have to spend as much if not more than the grant money to get the place up to the government standards that they require in exchange for the grant.
In my honest opinion, better to just get your own loan and go it alone….
September 3rd, 2009 - 15:25
cash flow, cash flow, cash flow, cash flow and cash flow.
People that get into investment real estate hear all the stories about NO MONEY DOWN. But the problem is, that you lose money every month. Rents are less then expenses.
My rule of thumb is that my PITI equals 50 percent (or less) of my gross monthly rent. The other 50% is NOT profit, but covers up keep and other expenses.
On all my properties I have a positive cash flow and a ROI of around 14% per year (before taxes and tax breaks).
September 3rd, 2009 - 19:32
since each state has different laws and taxes, you did not say where.
i bought some apartments in pennsylvania years ago, very good return
and the write off each year is amazing. thing is, i have them very close to where i live so i can keep an eye on the maintenance and upkeep. i'm not a slum lord nor do i want to be.
i had a rental house in florida, but it was too much of a pain. when it was rented it was profitable but you need to count on Realtors to rent it and they never keep an eye on it after they get their 2 months.
no matter how bad the economy got, people still needed places to rent especially when they could not afford to buy. i am one of the few landlord that allow pets. sometimes that bites me in the butt, but in general people who would rather move than give up their pet, seem to be more responsible. my 6 apartments have been rented by the same people for the last 5 years…when i have a good tenant, i tend to lower their rent a few dollars, everyone is happy.
good luck…whatever you put your money in, keep an eye on it yourself.
September 3rd, 2009 - 20:35
Yes, you can, but if you have never owned real property previously, you need to learn a lot before you get started. You will be dealing with people who do this type of work day in and day out. You will be dealing with Mortgage companies, Title Companies, your County (taxes and deeds), as well as everyday people who might know more than you do. There are forms, contracts, not to mention home inspectors, etc …
If I were just starting out now in real estate, I would do these three things first -
1. Learn how things are done in your part of the world. This includes all of the paperwork involved.
2. Find out how much it really costs! Title companies charge more fees than just about any other business I have ever seen, but they are very good at what they do, you definitely get what you pay for. This is not the area to cut corners.
3. Make sure you don't overlook the best deals. When I started out, I worked the area within 10 miles of my home and missed out on a lot of opportunities. If I had been willing to do a little more driving, I probably could have had an easier time because I would not have been limiting myself geographically.
September 4th, 2009 - 16:53
I think you should wait until you are able to be more aware of what is happening in that state you want to invest in. It's kind of like being blind to what's going on if you can't be there for a while. I think you should wait. The market will always have a favorable time again to buy if it changes.
September 4th, 2009 - 18:00
Check out your local Real Estate investment Group ( http://www.reia.org/ )
or check out the Cashflow Clubs from Richdad.com
-Angela
http://www.ratraceclub.com
September 4th, 2009 - 19:32
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