Rent to Own Homes in DeRidder Leesville Fort Polk
In this line of work we get a lot of requests for from potential customers looking for rent to own homes in DeRidder Leesville Fort Polk. A typical phone call might sound like this:
| representative – | Hello this is DeRidder LA Real Estate. How can we help you? |
| caller – | Yes do you all have any rent to own homes in the area? |
| representative – | No, I’m sorry we list homes for sale. We don’t list any rent to own homes. |
| caller – | Oh okay thanks, bye! |
| representative – | No problem. Have a nice day, goodbye. |
On an ordinary day we might get one or two of these types of calls which equates to roughly 10 per week. I couldn’t help but think to myself, “Are there actually any rent own homes in this area? Do these callers really know what rent to own is?”
So, I decided to do a search on the internet for rent to own homes in DeRidder Leesville Fort Polk. Of the results returned, none had rent to own homes listed! All I found were the typical sites like Trulia and Zillow doing their usual bait and switch tactics. On each search result the information appeared to contain a list of rent to own homes, but when you click the link it goes to a page of homes for sale or some other bs, but not rent to own. Here is a screen capture of my search results:
not a single one of these results actually had rent to own homes
So, what is rent to own? We asked our callers!
That’s right, we asked our callers what rent to own by asking them to consider this scenario. Suppose you want to buy a $100,000 house by renting to own it. How would you think this is done? In every person we interviewed their answer was that they would move into the property and start paying monthly payments until it is paid off. To make sure we understood we said, “So if you rent to own a $100,000 home and pay $1,000 per month, how much would you owe at the end of the year?” Every single person said they would owe $88,000 at the end of the year! Folks, this is not rent to own.
This is rent to own
Time to set the record straight, this is rent to own:
- A deposit is required at the moment the rent to own agreement is put into place. The deposit is called “option money” and is generally in the range of 2% to 7% of the value of the home. So be prepared to pony up $2000-$7000 for that $100,000 home you want.
- The option money is put into an escrow account. If you follow through with the purchase of the home the option money will be used towards the purchase. If you do not purchase the property within the agreed upon time period then you lose the option money.
- After you post your option money you then move into the property and begin paying monthly rental installments that may or may not count towards the purchase price of the home, depending on your agreement. You will most certainly lose the rental payments if you do not follow through with the purchase of the home at the end of the lease.
- Unlike a normal rental, you will be responsible for the repairs and property maintenance as if you already owned the home.
- When the lease is up you are required to purchase the property at the agreed upon amount. The lease term is usually between 1-3 years. Your option money and (maybe) your monthly payments will count towards your purchase price. However, if you choose not to follow through with the purchase you will lose all of your payments and option money deposit.
And finally we leave you with a rent to own FAQ
| q: | Where can I find a list of rent to own homes? |
| a: | Nowhere. There isn’t one. The reason why is because sellers usually want to sell or rent. Buyers almost never have the upfront money needed for rent to own. |
| q: | I’ve asked several real estate agents for help finding a rent to own property, but nobody seems interested in helping me. Why? |
| a: | Most real estate agents are focused on selling their clients’ homes quickly for the best possible price. To approach their clients about rent to own options is completely counterproductive to the listing agreement in place. |
| q: | I’ve read this entire article, but I still want to find something to rent to own. How can I get this done? |
| a: | Finding a seller that is willing to rent to own is like finding a needle in a haystack. I’ve seen sellers that are willing to take their home off the market and rent it for a while. I’ve even seen some sellers rent their home to somebody, and eventually the renter ended up buying the house. But I’ve never seen a true rent to own situation where option money is given and the option followed through with at the end of the lease. |