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Rent To Own A Home / Lease Option:Are you considering buying a home? Maybe you want to do a rent to own purchase on a property? Whatever your plan is make sure that you do your homework and research your local area before you put down any money (or sign any paperwork). If you are thinking about finding a property that you can rent to own, you are probably at a stage in your life where you want to settle down (and invest in your future). If you live in Ohio, Nashville, Michigan, or let's say Texas then you might consider just renting a home if you are not ready to buy. Some parts of the country show little appreciation in the housing market (on a yearly average), and if you live in one of those areas you certainy don't want to rush in to buying a house or condo. I live in Las Vegas where the real estate market (and prices of homes) has gone crazy the last few years, some neighborhoods saw their property value double in the last 6 years. States like Florida, California, and Oregon have also seen many renters eliminated from the dream of home ownership because of the ridiculous rise in home values. A city like Las Vegas is a great place to find a lease to own property for many reasons - all of which we will discuss in our review below. The main benefit of renting to own a home is that you don't have to get financing from a bank. This is a big help for people who need to fix their credit, find job security, or just need to decide on where they want to live.
Rent To Own Benefits - Should I Buy a Property?:Deciding where to live is always a big question for people in America. It doesn't matter if you live in Charlotte, Minnesota, or Arizona, when it comes to picking a place to live it's never easy. There are many factors that go into deciding if a "lease option to buy" is the best financial situation for you. I recently found a rent to own property here in Las Vegas so I will use that example to demonstrate how it works. The first advantage to doing a lease option purchase is that you don't have to get financing from a bank (at least not until you are ready to buy the house). On my property in Las Vegas I signed a 12 month lease to own contract with a sales price of $249,000. I had to put down $5,000 (usually the seller will want between 1 and 2 %) as a down payment that will go towards the purchase of the home in 12 months if I decide to buy it. I agreed to a monthly rent payment of $1250.00 (the monthly payment is usually close to what the seller owes on the house) with $100 of the rent going towards my down payment when I buy the house. Sellers that do lease to own deals usually just want to cover their monthly mortgage on the property until they sell it (so you can bargain sometimes and get a great deal). My house is 3 bedroom and 2 bath with a little backyard, a similar house in my neighborhood would rent (not rent to own) for about the same price or maybe more. As you can see if you are serious about planning to buy a house then a lease to own can be a great move. At the end of my 12 month contract I don't have to buy the house and that is defintely in my favor. As a buyer I can watch the housing market here in Vegas, see if the home appreciates, and then figure out what is best for my financial situation at that time. If you have great credit, have some $ in the bank, and know where you want to live then you are probably ready to buy. On the other hand if you need to repair your credit, get a job, finalize a divorce, etc. then you should probably wait to buy and try to find a good rent to own property. Buying a home (mobile home, condo, townhouse) can be expensive and very stressful even when you can afford it, so if money is tight then Don't buy Now. Realtor.com is a great website for searching homes for sale. You can search their website by price and zip code which will help you determine if the time is right for you to buy.Rent To Own Property Costs - Lease To Own Risks?:There is never any guarantee as to where to buy real estate for investment purposes. The last 5 years has really been hot for areas like Orange County, Dallas, Las Vegas, Florida, and of course Los Angeles when it comes to real estate. Another thing to consider when buying and selling real estate is the capital gains tax that you have to pay to the government. If you live in a house for 2 of the last 5 years then you can keep up to $250,000 that you make in equity (profit) on the sale of the house, and up to $500,000 for married couples. Any money over that amount is considered taxable income and you can bet the government is gonna want their cut. For more information on capital gains taxes check out www.moneychimp.com/features/capgain.htm where you can use their capital gains tax rate calculator. The one theory that most investors agree on when it comes to real estate is to try buying property in the city you live in (especially if you are new to buying and selling houses). Obviously if you live in Florida this theory is gonna work better than if you live in Milwaukee, but there are reasons for buying locally. The main reason to buy investment properties near where you live is so that you can manage the property and tenant. If you live out of state and there is a problem with your rental house how are you going to fix the plumbing in the middle of the night. Repairs can get expensive and it's a lot cheaper if you can do some of the fix it stuff yourself. The other advantage of buying property in your city is that you will have some insight on the local real estate market (where the good schools are, high crime areas to avoid, etc.). The last piece of advice is to avoid buying a property at the high point in the market (when prices have hit their peak) as it is hard to build equity once a local market slows down and no one is buying homes anymore.
Rent To Own Advice - Rent To Own Guide Online:Do you want to read some articles or advice on the rent to own process? There are a lot of websites online that offer information and reports on leasing to own, but we found the most helpful website to be ownrent.com. Their website offers a free sign up section where you can receive listings for your local area and get an idea about prices. If you are looking for basic details on the rent to own process then be sure to check out yesrenttoown.com. It is definitely worth your time to review all the information you can find before you get any further in the process (or start to negotiate on a property). There are so many factors that go into making a good real estate deal, so talk to friends, realtors, co workers, basically anyone you can find who has some knowledge about your local housing market.
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