You are getting ready to buy a house. It’s a pretty standard process, you drive around town looking for sale signs, you google your dream home, or speak with a realtor. You save up your money, get approved for a mortgage, put an offer up, the offer gets accepted, and you move in. Sometimes it is not that smooth, and you may start to think about rent to own houses.
Rent to Own
But, unfortunately the home buying process might not go as smoothly, for a variety of reasons. Sometimes you might have to look outside of the traditional way to land that house.
What is rent to own?
Enter in rent-to-own. A rent to own home is a home that you can rent for a specific leasing time and when your lease is up you have the option of buying it.
In a rent to own situation the renter and landlord would sign a contract stating that when the lease was up the renter could buy the house. In such cases, a leasing deposit from the buyer is required up front. (This is like a security deposit assuring both parties that the buyer will purchase the house and everything will go through smoothly.) This fee can cost anywhere from 1 to 10% or more.
The price the home will be (at the time of the lease is up) is agreed upon up front so there won’t be any negotiations after the lease is over. The lease typically lasts from 2-5 years, and through that time a “rent premium” will be added on top of the regular rent.
“Rent premium” is a percentage of money that the landlord will put away and will eventually serve as the down payment for the house when the lease is over. With the added cost of a rent premium it will look like you are paying a higher renting rate, which is true, but it will come back as the down payment in the future.
After the lease is over the renter now has an option (and the legal backing) to buy the house from the landlord- at the price agreed upon before the lease began.
Pros and cons of rent to own
Now you understand what rent to own is, let’s go over the pros and cons of it. Why could rent-to-own contracts be a favorable home buying processes in the first place?
First, the pros.
People may choose to enter into a rent to own home because of expenses. Rent to own homes can be significantly cheaper than making a down payment on a house, so financially it might be easier for you to go that route. Rent to own can also be a great option to build up your credit score if you have bad credit and therefore can’t as easily buy a home at the moment.
Maybe you would like to give the home a trial run before you settle there. The rent to own lease period would be a perfect option to test it out and at the end of the 2-5 years see if you want to buy it.
Another reason could be the added security that the price will stay the same. With the housing market fluctuating your dream home might skyrocket in price within the leasing time. But, with rent to own you can rest assured that buying price will be the same as you agreed upon years earlier.
Next, the cons.
As with most things there can be negative aspects to a rent to own situation.
One of them is that depending on the contract, if the renter doesn’t buy they might not get their money back. (As a seller this maybe ought to be in the “pros” list,) but as a renter this might be a red flag.
Who knows where your life will take you in the leasing period? Maybe after it’s over you won’t want to buy. Of course, this depends on the individual contract and rent to own contract, but chances are if you don’t choose to buy you may loose your money. It might be a risk worth taking, but it also might not be.
Depending on your contract you may also be legally required to buy whether you want to after the lease is up, or not.
Why would a seller want a rent to own?
The question remains, why would a seller be interested in rent to own? What benefit does it bring them?
The seller may be interested in rent to own for many different reasons. Maybe they are trying to sell a house and no one is buying. A rent to own might look more appealing to potential buyers. Also in a rent to own case that gives the seller more time to get to know the buyer through the lease period, and can give them more income on the side.
Best rent to own programs
Where do you find a rent to own house?
First, you can speak with local real estate agents. They would know any rent to own places nearby.
There are also some rent to own home websites that can also help you with all of your needs. The best ones include:
- Home Partners of America
- Zillow
- Avail
- Apartments.com
- Realtor.com
These companies and platforms each are a little different in the signing up process and how you start a rent to own contract with them. They may charge for their services and have additional stipulations in their process. These programs can help you find rent to own homes, start the contract process, and get you started on the lease quickly.
They can be a great resource for you. Just remember to do your research and read the full contract.
There might be hidden fees or slow to deliver promises, so what ever route you go with finding a rent to own home, it is important to keep your eyes open, If it sounds too good to be true chances are it probably is.
A Better Rent to Own Alternative
Another better rent to own alternative for your situation could be to sell your house but stay in it! Yes, you read that right. When you talk with Gary here at Garybuyshouses.com He will give you a cash offer on your home (in any condition) in 5 days or less. If you are trying to sell a home and want to skip all the hassles of the traditional selling a house process then Gary may be the perfect solution for you.
If you are trying to save up money to buy a new house in the future, but are unsure if the rent to own process is for you, Gary also can buy your house and rent it to you, so you can save money for your next steps.