Rent to own home is a popular option for buyers who want to live in the home they are purchasing, but don’t have the money for a down payment. In most cases, the seller will require that the buyer purchase homeowners insurance and pay at least one month’s rent as a deposit.
The buyer will then make monthly payments until he or she has paid off the lender’s mortgage. At that point, the buyer has gained ownership of the home and can make any changes he or she wishes to make.
Sellers who wish to sell their homes through a rent-to-own agreement may be more likely to accept offers from buyers who don’t have enough cash for a down payment than those who do. These owners may also be more flexible when it comes to negotiations on price and terms of sale.
The buyer will be responsible for paying the rent and all other bills associated with the home. This includes utilities, maintenance and repairs, as well as any other expenses that may arise during his or her tenancy.
To encourage on-time payments, the option fee that was to be credited with each monthly payment in rent to own real estate is only credited with on-time monthly payments. Just because of a late payment the buyer does not get a reduction in rent since they will not receive credit. The full monthly payment is due, but with the penalty of not receiving the monthly option credit.
There is a concern that the seller will continue to make payment on obligations they have on the property from free rent to own listing, such as a mortgage payment, tax bills, sewer and trash payments, home owner association dues, etc. That is why it would be best for the seller to make payment to an escrow agent who then disperses the money to the mortgage company, local taxing authorities, sewer, and trash, home owners association, etc. to ensure that any debt obligations on the property are paid. Also of great importance and often overlooked is this escrow agent also helps build the buyers credit with proof of on time payment in the lease to own homes process.
There is still of possibility that, at the period of the sales agreement period, the buyer may still not be able to purchase the home from the given rent to own home free listings due to a variety of reasons – bad credit, not enough funds, etc. In this case, it would simply be turned back over to the original seller. This could very well have been avoided if from day one the buyer began credit repair to ensure their success in home ownership.
