We were transferred down to Indy for dh work, (his plant closed up in MI) we lost our home to forclouser bc of the move, we still have 1 more year before we can go and buy another home, so we have been renting for over 2yrs now and a friend of his from work introduced us to an older couple (he also works with dh) who have to get out of there home and into a bigger home for family reasons. They need someone to rent/land contrract their home so they can get the financing for their new home. We went and looked at the home its cute needs a ton of landscaping and minor indoor fixing ie carpeting, removing ALL the layers of wall paper get paint up you kinow the usual. They are willing to rent to own/ land contract to us for 4 yrs with whatever we put into the home going to the mortgage debt we would be taking on. They are not looking to make money off the house they will sell it to us for what is left on their mortgage. They are not asking for a down pmt or any sort of security deposit. Hubby is nervous bc of us losing our home up in MI. And I am looking at this as a sign or a gift from God that here we have a great oportunitity (sp) to get into our own home without the money up front. We will need to get the 20% for when we go for a mortgage at the 4ry mark. what do you think? He will be less than 10mins from work as apose to 30mins on way now (major gas savings there) finanically it will be almost the same as we are doing right now $ wise just he will be closer to work and the place will become ours. if we come up with the $ earlier we can buy it sooner than the 4yrs.
I would get everything in writing and find out if their mortgage company knows what they are doing. In 4 years you may not need the 20% down if they are only asking for you to pay the balance (the housing prices may come up some by then).
You should talk to a lawyer before you decide or tell them yes. I have found that if something sounds too good to be true it usually is too good to be true.
Get an appraiser to appraise the home. If the home will appraise for more than you are going to sign a contract for then that is the first test.
Second hire a real good, very experienced, home inspector. He will be able to find out and tell you if there are any problems with the home (termites, wiring, wood rot, roof, attic, etc.) He is very worth his fee.
Then get a contract written up by a real estate attorney so you are protected.
Verify that there aren't any liens against the property and make sure the contract says the current owner can't put a lien on the property.
If you can get all that and you like the house and its location, the I'd say go for it. Painting is easy. Landscaping is easier. Its real tough to change the location and its only slightly easier to add on or remodel.
Good luck to you and yours.
Don't look at it like a sign until you have had an inspection done. And you need a really good inspector. You need an appraisal done to make sure these people aren't under water on their mortgage, and you will also need to talk to a real estate lawyer. I really don't like the idea of you paying for work on the house. For all you know, 4 years down the line, you end up not getting to buy the house, their fault or your decision, and you've fixed up their house for THEM.
Get both these things, an inspection, an appraisal and a real estate attorney. You just HAVE to do that. Think of Holmes on Homes if you don't believe me...
Dawn
Sounds like a blessing, but I understand him being squeamish since it does sound too good to be true.
Have them bring out the paper, and make sure you know what you are signing.
4yrs is a short time if a huge balloon payment has to be made, you have to be putting that away for that day to come.
Please make sure you understand what "rent to own" means.
If you miss a SINGLE PAYMENT - you have voided the contract, and they don't have to sell to you.
If you miss the FINAL PAYMENT - you have voided the contract.
If you make a short payment (less than total amount) - you have voided the contract.
If you are not approved for a permanent mortgage by the timeline set forth - you have voided the contract.
There's only one way to make this work, and about a thousand that it blows up in your financial lap. Please be cautious.
Gift from God, but I think God might want you and your man to get everything in WRITING! The Bible is is writing.....RIGHT?
Best of everything....God is GOOD
That is great. Make that sign shine bright and like Mom says, make sure you have things done through an attorney to make sure things do not get screwed up later. As you know things can happen and you don't want something to come up 2 yrs from now..
A former neighbor had this same thing happen and the person he was contracted with was badly hurt in an accident. His brother even got power of attorney. He tried to kick them out so he could sell the house himself. Their legal docs protected them and the judge would not let him proceed.
I agree with the inspection and the lawyer. I would also consider private contract/private party and just pay them for the duration of the mortage instead of a balloon payment.
If you are going to fix up the place, then you should be doing it as either a rental..ie take money off of the rent, or, as part of the payment...really talk to a lawyer so that you are screwed by the fine print. It sounds like a great deal and a windfall from god, but even god needs you to do your homework and protect yourself and your family.
Sounds like this could be a really good option for you. However, it could turn into a nightmare if you're not careful.
1 - Make sure you have a home inspection done, NOW. Before any papers are drawn up so you know what you're up against.
2. Make sure you have an attorney. Read over the contract very carefully and make sure you fully understand everything.
I think 'sign'...
....but that being said, anyway you can get an inspection done on that 'sign'?
I would like to tell you how we got a house for lease to own. Hubby ended up losing his job so we let it go back, no other reasons at all, we just lost everything so there was no fault or blame on anyone.
Here's how it went:
We found this house, it was cute bungalow. 3 nice size bedrooms, one main bathroom, a 1/3 basement, unfinished. Washer and dryer in the basement. Dark and creepy but still, storage space right?
We paid down $1200 and the contract was for $375 for XXX amount of years. We were responsible for all home owner things like homeowners insurance, repairs, upgrades, etc...it was not a rental property in any way. We were the home owners.
We went down to the court house and the house was put in our names with a lien against it for the total amount owed on that day. As we paid it down that amount would go down, $375 each month. There was no interest of any kind, it was $375 for XXX amount of years, maybe 18 years????? The total cost of this home was just over $80, 000. I figured out if we paid interest and a regular house payment for 30 years the house would have cost us over $135,000K. So I felt the $375 with no interest for 18 years was a very good idea.
The papers were filed at the court house along with the lien. This meant if there was a fire and the house was destroyed we had the choice of rebuilding with insurance money and him still having the lien or giving the money to him and paying off the house in total. Then trying to get a loan of some sort to rebuild, or we could just give him the check and walk away. Let him retain the property and give us any money that would be left over, if any.
When we gave the house back to him we still did not have any regrets. We paid the same as if it was rented and we did what we wanted to it. I painted the hot pink walls in the bathroom with 4 layers of paint and it was still pink. I changed out the carpet in our bedroom and loved it.
I think if the terms of the home owner are decent and they work well then it is a win win.
I do think that making sure your options at the end of the 4 years is spelled out specifically.
If you cannot get a loan but want to remain in the house...are there are options or do you just have to move out?
If hubby gets a transfer at work or changes jobs what are your options for selling the house or are they going to require you to just relinquish it back to them with no money changing hands at that point.
I think the more you think about and plan for the better you will feel.
But it comes down to this. Consider renting this house. Is it worth what they are asking you to pay each month? Is it worth you putting any work into with the possibility of it just being a donation to this couple, nothing will be paid to you for doing it.
Things happen, life changes, all sorts of illnesses and tragedies occur.
Would you feel like you got gypped? Like you were used and abused?Or would you feel like you had the best rent house ever? It was the perfect fit for you.
Then it's like renting where you are paying someone for letting them live in their property. You may never get a penny out of the money you'd be spending BUT you would be getting a cool place to live that MIGHT just might be yours someday. That is just icing on the cake.
You have a lot of great advice already but I want to throw in my two-cents too. This sounds like a wonderful opportunity to own your own home again. Just make sure you have a contract to protect yourselves. If they are nice people they will work out the details with you. Do make sure the contract is drawn up by a lawyer. I know several people who purchased their own homes this way - it makes it affordable for those who can't put down 20%. With your current rent situation, why not put that monthly payment towards owning your own home again?
