RentToOwn-HouseFinder.com

Where can I find legitimite info about rent to own or lease to purchase?

My husband and I are sick of living in an apartment with 2 kids. We can't get a home loan because of credit, but potentially have up to 10K to use as a down payment. We want to find out if rent-to-own is a good option for us.

Public Comments

1. Rent to own is a great option especially if you're looking for a chance to get in the market and have credit problems such as yourself. It basically hinges on one major thing ....steady income. Since rent to own will give you a stipulation of renting with a portion of the proceeds being credited as down payment and eventually owning withing a year, 2 or 3 depending on the agreed contract. Issue is if you miss so much as one rental payment and/or fail to apply for ownership within the allotted start time you forfeit all your money. In the meantime you can work at fixing up your credit by ordering your credit reports and paying off accounts, pay for deletes on really old stuff and deleting any errors. Good luck!
2. Please be cautious. There are a ton of rent to own/lease purchase option scams out there. First, do not go to any company that wants a fee for you to "take over payments" or rent to own. Once you hand over your money, you will either not qualify or they will not have any homes that meet your criteria. Another scam that companies and individuals are doing, taking your down payment, entering you into an impossible to satisfy RTO contract, kicking you out after a while and keeping your money. Then they will rent the house again to the next person willing to try. There is a guy in my town that has done this several times to unsuspecting people, but they signed the contract without having someone review it, they make a mistake, he waves the contract, boots them out and keeps the money. Unfortunately, most RTO are also going to look at your credit, and a legit seller may exclude you if your credit is bad. RTO can be a great option if you find the right fit. Some people are in a position to carry until you get your credit straightened out. (Most RTO works that way, you are renting for a period of time until you get situated, then you obtain your own financing) Just make sure you either have someone review the contract, or you go over it with a fine tooth comb.