I won this dubious award myself when I secured a great lease option deal on a gorgeous lakefront home but made the HUGE mistake of having the option start right away (just at the beginning of the off-season)  instead of once I found a tenant-buyer.  I made 5 months of payments out of my own pocket on an empty home while I tried to find a tenant-buyer.  In the end that mistake cost me over $7,000 and a lot of stress.   

Lesson learned: I should have either made my contract contingent on securing a tenant or waited until the start of the on-season to begin the contract. 

For more information on avoiding other risks in lease options see Chapter 4 of my book Investing in Real Estate with Lease Options and Subject-To Deals.

Sellers who make this objection take pride in their home and they don’t want someone, like a tenant, living in their home that won’t take care of it.  You want to reassure them that you are not putting tenants in their house, you are putting future home buyers in their house and that is a big difference. 

You might say something like, “I want you to know that I really screen my rent-to-own buyers and they are hand-selected by me.  I also am not going to put just any tenant into your home.  I am putting a future home buyer in your home.  These people take better care of a home, because they are planning to purchase it.” 

Remember, don’t cringe when you hear objections – they are signals that the seller is seriously considering your offer. 

For more information on how to handle seller objections see chapter 6 of my book Investing in Real Estate with Lease Options and Subject-To Deals.