Are those programs even real? I have spoken to a guy on the phone who told me he has a house in Fairfax that he can sell me for mid $200k with 10% down. I still have a good chunk of my deployment pay left so I was really considering doing this but is it realisticly possible for someone who is 22 years old to own a home or is this somehow going to turn up as another scam. He said the way it works is you sign a lease for 12 months, after that period you have an opportunity to create a mortgage with 10% down.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 04/23/2008 01:38AM by Native.

I would suggest having your own attorney look over the papers first.
Let the buyer beware. Being a homeowner at 22 is smart. Just dont get
sucked into a scam.

I am sure there ARE legitimate rent to own programs out there - and let me know if you find one.

Beware of anything that is not in writing. Beware of penalty clauses in the contract. Who is responcible for maitenance of the unit? If the roof goes bad are you as the remter/future owner responcible or the Landlord.

I am not saying that this person is a crook or scam artist. Just a 98% chance of it. I am exagerating, but I hope you get the point.

My guess is that it is legit. It would make sense in this market for a seller to be creative. Rent to own is a great way to get somebody in there and provide incentive for them to eventually buy. Definitely do have an attorney look over the lease though.

I'm actually in the same position. I've been with the same landlord for about a year now with two different properties, the second property we agreed on to rent to own. We were told we'd rent for about a year and then start the buying process. We've been there for less than a month and unfortunately my landlord's business partner recently passed so he can no longer afford the property and is trying to sell it to us now. Long story short we're getting pushed into everything really fast and some things aren't adding up. The whole thing seems a little shady and needs some straightening out, so my roommate and I are going to see an attourney before we move forward anymore. I would suggest the same and to take your time.

I think what you're talking about is a "lease option". They can be great! Be sure to negotiate a down payment credit.

Whenever the real estate market is in the shitter, lease options become popular. I remember in the early 80's when mortgage rates were over 12% lots of these deals were made.

Like everybody said, make damn sure a REAL ESTATE lawyer draws up the contract!

google "lease option to buy" and read up on it.