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Rent To Own Houses – Lease Option Homes

Posted Wednesday, October 3, 2007

If you have been putting off purchasing a home, now is your time to buy. There are many reasons people put off purchasing homes. Sometimes people are just plain scared to own a home and be responsible for making payments on time. Other times people know they do not have good enough credit to get financing for a new home. 

Well even if you have bad credit now is your time to buy a house. With the real estate market on the down turn there are many people willing to sell their house on terms. For the house buyers with bad credit the best terms are to purchase a house as a lease option or rent to own.

The rent to own or lease option process is very simple and easy to do. There are many programs out there but the basics are as follows. You put down a non-refundable down payment on a house. This down payment can range anywhere from $2,000 to $20,000 depending on the price of home you are purchasing. When you deposit the down payment you also sign paperwork stating that you are going to buy the house within a cretin time frame, usually one to two years from the time you move in. Then you move in the house, make monthly payments, and purchase the house in one to two years.

There are many benefits of doing a rent to own or lease option. The largest benefit is you have a house you can call home. You can paint the walls, have pets do landscaping projects, and you do not have to worry about a landlord getting upset. Another great benefit of a rent to own or lease option is the amount of time you have to raise your credit score.

You can also gain appreciation from a lease option or rent to own program. When you sign a one or two year lease option you set the price of purchase the day you move in. If the house is worth more in one to two years when you purchase, that equity is yours to keep.        

If you have been renting a home and thinking of buying a house, now is your time to act. There are many people who need to sell their house and you could be their answer. If you can afford a minimal down payment and minimal monthly payments you could be living in your new house. The rent to own or lease option process can be very quick and you could be moving into a new house within a week. I suggest contacting a local rent to own company.  You can complete a very short buyer form on-line and be notified of available properties the next day.