A contract for deed enables the seller to obtain a better sales price and the buyer to become a homeowner when they can't qualify for a traditional mortgage. A draw back for the seller can be that it takes years to receive all of their money from the sale when they offer a contract for deed.

Contract for Deed - Structuring the Sale

Variations to contract for deed sales commonly occur in the terms and conditions of the contract. Rather than the boilerplate contract used by traditional lenders, almost anything can go into a contract for deed.

Contract for deed sales almost always have a balloon payment at a future date

The area of most interest to both seller and buyer is usually if and when a balloon payment becomes due. If the property is an investment property, the seller may offer to carry the contract for deed until the full purchase price is paid in 20 or 30 years. However, most sellers want their money sooner than that. A contract for deed may require the buyer to find alternative financing in as little as 2 years or it may be 10 years. Most contract for deed arrangements fall somewhere in between.

Circumstances of the buyer often have to be taken into account when determining the balloon payment of the contract for deed. If the buyer has a bankruptcy, the soonest they are likely to qualify for a traditional loan is not for at least seven years. Same thing for a foreclosure. However, a short sale might qualify in as little as two years.

Another issue of high interest to both the seller and buyer in a contract for deed is the interest rate. The seller is entitled to a higher interest rate than a traditional lender offers. With risk, comes reward. Buyers should expect to pay 8% and up as interest, although traditional rates are hovering at historical lows around 4%. This relatively high interest rate is something that can entice sellers to set the balloon payment farther in the future, so they collect the high interest rate for more time.

Contract for Deed - It's All in How the Contract is Written

Contract for deed arrangements favor the seller more than the buyer. As holder of the first mortgage, the seller retains the right to foreclose on the property if the buyer defaults. Unless the buyer completes the full terms of the contract they risk losing the property.

One thing the buyer is smart to insist be included in the contract is the requirement that the seller signed deed be held in escrow by a third party. This allows the deed to be recorded with the county in the event the seller cannot be found when the buyer completes their contract obligations. Also, the original deed for contract should be recorded with the county to put the world on notice that the buyer has an equity interest in the property.

An important clause for the seller to have included in the contract for deed is what happens if the buyer cannot obtain traditional financing when the balloon payment comes due. Laws vary from state to state but it can be difficult or impossible to foreclose on a buyer that is current with their payments but can't obtain a new loan required by the contract for deed. Besides, for most ethical investors, doing so would be morally wrong. The way most contract for deeds handle this is with a payment escalation clause. The interest rate can go up. Or the length on the mortgage can be shortened from 20 years to 15. Something changes when the balloon payment is missed to cause the buyer to pay more and motivate them to find traditional financing.

Be sure to sign up for the FREE eBook and FREE Video training today at WendyPatton.com.

In this blog, I'll answer the question how to get a lease by explaining how to use craigslist and scouring neighborhoods to find motivated sellers that you can bring into a sandwich lease deal.

How to Get a Lease Using Craigslist to Find Motivated Sellers

Craigslist has nine subcategories under the main category of Housing. When working at how to get a lease, you want to be active in 'apts / housing' and 'real estate for sale'. The apts / housing subcategory is where you find landlords advertising houses for rent. This isn't intuitive because you're looking for motivated sellers, but they exist in this subcategory. How to get a lease in this category involves looking for key words in the advertisement indicating the owner is having trouble finding tenants. Common indicators are words like 'rent reduced', 'no deposit required', 'second month free', etc.

When lease option students begin using this technique, a second question I often get is assuming they figure how to get a lease, how will they possibly rent it for more than the current owner is asking for? What you need to remember is with the lease option, you are going after a different audience. The second part of the sandwich lease are people that want to buy a house but can't qualify for a traditional loan. These are not people that want to rent - more about this in another blog. Right now we're concerned with how to get a lease.

The second category on craigslist is 'real estate for sale'. Discovering how to get a lease in this category involves the same technique, looking for key words in the advertising indicating they are motivated to sell. Words like 'price reduced', 'NEED TO MOVE', 'ALL OFFERS CONSIDERED', etc. Notice how some of the ad headlines are in all capital letters. These are people doing everything they can think of to grab your attention. The other clue you are looking for are owner financed houses. These people are more sophisticated sellers and will understand what you are trying to do with a sandwich lease.

The next step in how to get a lease is nothing more than starting to make phone calls to these people and explaining your proposition. However, there are many ways to find motivated seller when you are trying to figure out how to get a lease. Another is scouring neighborhoods for abandoned houses.

How to get a lease can be done by driving around looking for abandoned houses

How to Get a Lease Scouring Neighborhoods for Motivated Sellers

The picture I selected is a little over the top when it comes to learning how to get a lease by looking for abandoned houses but I wanted to grab your attention. How to get a lease for abandoned house is going to involve properties in better shape than this one. But you'll be looking for places needing minor repairs, the landscaping is in bad shape, and there are old notices tacked to the front door. Places that people can move into with minimal repair but that are clearly abandoned.

Once you find an abandoned house, the next step in how to get a lease is finding the owner. This is done by searching the public tax records. Most counties now have these online. You need to Google something like 'Oakland County tax records'.

I hope this blog helps you find a couple of more ways about how to get a lease that you can turn into a profitable sandwich lease.

Also, take advantage of my Free Book Offer and Video Training for finding motivated sellers and to help you find more ways about how to get a lease. There is valuable content in all of these resources I'm providing to you free. By taking advantage of them, your chances of learning the best ways of how to get a lease improve greatly.

Please visit often and leave comments below.

So, I went looking at short sales. Homes that the owner is underwater with the mortgage and is asking the bank to take less than what is owed as full repayment of the mortgage.

Reasons Short Sales Have Potential as Option Homes

Short sales often cost banks less than foreclosures. Clearly, the less you can buy houses for the more you can earn converting them into option homes. It took banks some time to realize it's beneficial for them to allow short sales more often than foreclosing on the properties. One reason you can acquire short sales to convert to option homes is that the bank never takes possession of a short sale. They don't have to pay property taxes or maintain it. Now couple that with the fact that the seller won't receive a penny from the sale and you have a formula to buy short sales at a very low cost to turn into
option homes.

Option homes are one of, if not the best, ways to maximize your real estate investing dollars

Some short sale negotiators I know tell me that recently they've had 80% to 90% of their short sale offers accepted. All of this should be telling you that it's time to look at short sales as a source for option homes investing.

Tips for Converting Short Sales Into Option Homes

First of all, don't get bogged down doing the short sale negotiation. You're in the option homes business not the short sale business. Every new short sale requires that the sellers be educated in the process and requirements. Then the seller has to be handheld to collect the needed documentation. And then multiple negotiations happen with the bank. You need to stick with the option homes side of the business and let someone else deal with the short sale.

Not all short sale offers will be accepted, so you want to structure your purchase offers in a way that maximizes the profit and cash flow for your option homes. One way you do this is by requiring the inspection be performed only after the bank accepts your offer. No point in sinking money into the option homes deal until you know your offer will be accepted.

Same thing with any earnest money deposit you make. To maximize the cash available for other option homes deals, you want to put in the minimum cash you can at the front end of a short sale. Even with minimum in, it's reasonable to require that the check not be deposited until the bank accepts the short sale offer.

Now it's time for you to take action by making a few short sale offers to grow your option homes business. But first, you will want to take advantage of these other free resources.

See my article and quick video on Getting Your Real Estate License for Real Estate Investing. Also, take advantage of my Free Book Offer and Video Training for finding motivated sellers to make the most of your option homes investing. There is valuable content in all of these resources I'm providing to you free. By taking advantage of them, your options homes business will prosper.

I hope you enjoy reading my blogs about option homes as much as I enjoy bring information about options homes to you. Please visit often and leave comments below.

• Price
• Length of Contract
• Monthly Payments
• Option Credits
• Mortgage Buy Down – The principal adjustment
• Automatic Renewal Periods

By knowing which criteria the buyers of rent to own homes are most concerned with, you can create a win-win scenario by giving them what they want and getting what you want.

Rent to Own Homes - Contract Terms

As an investor, it's important that you have certain clauses in your rent to own homes contracts.

Typically, investors engage an option lease contract with the seller and then find a willing buyer for rent to own homes they don't yet own. As an investor, you don't want to be locked into leasing the home until you have an end buyer willing to sign a lease option contract.

In addition to the seller criteria discussed above, I usually include terms that limit my risk. One is a clause allowing me to terminate the lease option within 60 days with written notice to the owner. This is an escape clause for rent to own homes contracts in the event the owner is difficult to deal with or other problems pop up.

Another clause I use even more frequently is to make my obligation begin only after I have found a tenant willing to sign a contract for rent to own homes. This significantly reduces my risk because I won't be paying rent and looking for a tenant at the same time.

Here is another important clause to have in the contract. You want your lease option period to be slightly longer than your tenant's option period. You need to still be in control of the property when their contract expires.

One last clause to have included in rent to own homes contracts is a strong maintenance and repairs clause. The end buyer wants to be a homeowner and being a homeowner means maintaining the property. The end buyer should be responsible for all except the most expensive repairs.

Rent to Own Homes - Let the Cash Flow

Once you have both lease option contracts in place, you'll have a nice passive income stream for the length of the end buyer's rent to own homes contract. Obviously, you want to be paying less to the seller than the buyer is paying to you. You collect the difference each month while minimizing your risks.

By finding the tenant before you have to start paying rent, you can also collect the option contract payment from the end buyer. Use a portion of this to pay your option to the seller and you're in the deal for no money and actually walk away with some cash.

If you're paying $750 to the owner for rent to own homes and the buyer is paying you $1,000, you'll profit $250 each month. Even if $150 of the buyer's rent is credited towards a down payment, you don't need to be concerned because it should be nonrefundable if they don't exercise the purchase option.

Learn more about wholesale lease options and how to structure rent to own homes contracts by viewing my past webinar.

If you've had financial trouble that damaged your credit score, rent 2 own is still possible once the financial problem is behind you. The Rent 2 Own Program can be a win-win for the buyer and the seller.

Rent 2 Own is the Seller's Option in A Buyer's Market

Rent 2 own is the program sellers are turning to because they can't sell their property in today' very slow market. Homes sit on the market for 90 or 120 days without an interested buyer making an offer. It's definitely a buyers' market and you should take advantage while prices remain down. Prices will go up, they always do.

Landlords and real estate investors are more sophisticate when it comes to understanding what it takes to succeed in this down market. They have come to understand that offering seller financing through the Rent 2 Own Program dramatically increases their chances of selling the property. When buyers can't get financing, the way landlords and investors sell properties is by offering seller financing, affectionately known as the Rent 2 Own Program.

Rent 2 Own Get's Buyer's the Home They Want While Prices are Low

As the buyer, you have the option to buy at any time up to a predetermined date through the Rent 2 Own Program. You can rent the house for a month, six months, or two years. You have a set price you can buy for up until the date your option to buy expires. With the rent 2 Own Program, the buyer is in control. You set the purchase price today with an option to buy in the future. If the house value rises, you'd be well advised to exercise your option. If the market value of the house decreases, you're not locked into buying. As the Rent 2 Own buyer, you have all the upside and none of the downside.

Rent 2 Own Program has many benefits for the buyer:

• Full control of the home. You can learn if there are maintenance issues or if your family is a good fit with the home before fully committing to buy.
• The buyer is able to live in the neighborhood to see if they like it without committing to staying there long term through the Rent 2 Own Program.
• The Rent 2 Own Program can be your ticket to getting your children into a better school district.
• Credit problems and difficulty documenting income are not obstacles to owning a home with the Rent 2 Own Program.
• Grow equity in the house before you buy it. Often, a portion of the rent payment is credited towards the down payment or equity in the home when you exercise the option.

It's a win-win because the seller benefits as well:

• The seller has a tenant with a vested interest in keeping the property in good repair.
• The seller has rental income to cover the mortgage and maybe a little more through the Rent 2 Own Program.
• Opening to a market of buyers with less than stellar credit dramatically increases the number of possible buyers.

Both buyers and sellers can make lemonade out of this difficult real estate market with the Rent 2 Own Program.

Rent 2 Own is where buyers and sellers meet for a win-win deal.

Please leave comments or ask questions below.

Carefully selecting buyers greatly increases an investor's probability of succeeding with the rent to own homes strategy. The pool of people wanting rent to own homes is growing every day. Investors have plenty of buyers to choose from.

Rent to Own Homes are Good for Investors

Rent to own homes strategy is different from the traditional flipping strategy. Traditional flipping involves the end buyer taking out a traditional loan to pay off the investor. The Rent to own homes strategy requires investors provide seller financing for a few years. After between from 2 and 10 years the buyer will be expected to obtain other financing to pay back the rent to own homes investor with a balloon payment.

While the seller financing is in place, the investor can be expected to collect a healthy 8% to 12% interest rate. The rent to own homes strategy is one of the most secure investments with a high rate of return that you will find today.

The large inventory of bank owned real estate is depressing house prices but makes it a great time for picking up rent to own homes at rock bottom prices. The rent to own homes strategy sells these houses for a price approximately 10% above market value. Investors profit twice. Once when they sell the house for considerably more than they bought it for and again when they collect an interest rate that's well above the market rate.

How to Select Buyers for Your Rent to Own Homes

People that have had their credit damaged are not all deadbeats. Plenty were paying mortgage payments on time for years until the economic downturn cost them a job or some other temporary financial trouble hit. Those with a history of on time payments and that are back into decent paying jobs are your best candidates for rent to own homes. The key is the set back has to have been temporary and they have to have recovered.

Along with a history of making on time payments, you need to get a decent down payment. The higher the down payment, the more skin they have in the game. The more skin in the rent to own homes game, the harder they will work to stay current with the payments.

The size of the down payment and their credit history are used to determine the interest rate you will charge. Just like with traditional financing, rent to own homes interest rates are based on risk. With a large down payment and only one major incident on their credit report, you'll probably be near the low end of the interest rate scale at 8%. Smaller down payments and multiple credit problems brings the interest rate up to 12%.

Investors have gotten up to 14% interest for rent to own homes but the risk is to high unless you don't mind going through the foreclosure process to recover rent to own homes. That's where the security comes into play. As the mortgage holder, you are in first position if the buyer defaults. You have to go through the foreclosure process but when you come out the other end, you are able find another buyer, sell above market value, and collect another down payment. The rent to own homes strategy is your ticket to success in today's real estate market.

Investors typically go with modest homes for the rent to own homes strategy

Please leave your comments or questions.

Option Lease is Superior to Rentals

Although many people consider renting residential property to be passive income, there can be considerable work involved maintaining the property and the ever-dreaded call in the middle of the night to unplug a toilet. It's these types of irritations that make the option lease superior.

An option lease can be a great passive income

In an option lease, the lessee makes a down payment granting them the option to buy the house at a set price before a specific date. Along with the option come additional responsibilities not normally associated with tenants. Repairs and maintenance up to a predetermined dollar amount become the responsibility of the lessee under this arrangement. That makes it easy to understand why the option lease is more passive than traditional rentals.

Option Lease - The Almost Nothing Down Method

Option lease can be achieved with almost nothing out of the investor's pocket and the little that's required is quickly recovered. You don't have to own the house to option lease it to an end buyer. Instead, as an investor, you take out an option lease yourself. You need to do this for less than you turn around and lease it to an end buyer.

For the cost of the option lease (down payment), you take control of the property. Next, you find an end buyer capable of making a larger down payment than you made and able to pay a higher monthly rent then you have in your lease. Now you have a passive income at almost no cost to you as an investor. Each month you collect the difference between what the end buyer pays and what you pay.

When the end buyer exercises their option to buy, you do the same with your option lease. Of course, the amount you've negotiated to pay is less than what you are selling for. Now you have a nice profit with none of your money still in the deal.

Option Lease - Where to Find End Buyers

There are more willing end buyers than you might imagine. The foreclosure catastrophe is creating them all around us. People going through foreclosure have their credit scores destroyed. Additionally, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac require up to a five-year wait period before they will underwrite loans for these people again. But not all of them are good candidates.

You want to find the ones that went through a foreclosure or short sale that was no fault of their own. People that lost their house when they became temporarily unemployed. Now they are fully employed again and able to make monthly mortgage payments. Other than the foreclosure, they may not have any other serious blemishes on their credit report. Before becoming unemployed they may have regularly made their mortgage payments for years. These people want to own a home but can't get a loan for a few years. The option lease can be the perfect vehicle to make it happen for them today but they don't exercise the option for a few years when they again qualify for a mortgage.

Everyone wins with the option lease.

Please leave your comments or questions.

Real estate markets across the country are suffering right now. Sellers can't sell and buyers can't get mortgages. Real estate agents are finding it difficult earning a living. Gone are the days of expecting it to sell with minimal effort. It's time to get creative by learning what is a lease option!

What is a Lease Option?
Lease options are a way to buy and sell homes without an immediate conventional mortgage. It puts buyers who can't qualify for a mortgage right now into a home right away while they improve their credit and build up a down payment. It gives sellers the ability to beat their competition, which there is a whole lot of these days. Sellers will reach a much larger pool of potential buyers. They can expect to sell their home quicker and for a better price. For many sellers it's the ONLY way they will sell their home in this market.

The challenge for Realtors, buyers, and sellers alike is having an education about what is a lease option.

A lease option works like this: The buyer and seller agree to an option that giving buyers the right to purchase within a set period of time. During this option period, the buyer leases the home. By the end of the option, the buyer either purchases the home or forfeits their option fee. While the option is valid, the seller cannot sell to anyone else. In a nutshell, that answers what is a lease option.

Advantages for Sellers When They Understand What is a Lease Option?

This is what sellers need to understand when the question of what is a lease option is addressed.

1. Allows them to beat their competition.
2. Sellers collect rent while the house would otherwise sit vacant.
3. They will most likely receive a higher purchase price.
4. The can sell their home in a down market when few traditional sellers are able to.
5. Allows the seller to actually sell their home instead of just renting it.

Advantages for Agents When They Understand What is a Lease Option?
This is what agents need to understand when the question of what is a lease option is addressed.

Selling on a lease option isn't as ideal as a conventional sale where you get your entire commission up front but it's a whole lot better than:

1. Turning away potential buyers who can't currently qualify for a mortgage and you can't explain what is a lease option.
2. Having your seller rent their home because it won't sell and you only get a tiny rental commission. Knowing what is a lease option changes the game.
3. Losing a listing because the seller blames you for their home not selling.

Once you know what is a lease option, you still receive your full commission - part of it upfront out of the tenant-buyer's option fee and the remainder when they purchase the home.

Obviously selling on a lease option is not the first choice for sellers or agents. Whenever possible we want to sell to conventional buyers. However, when that isn't working this is a great alternative.

For more information about what is a lease option, check out my book, Rent-to-Sell, a step by step hands-on guide to selling your home as a rent to own.  To Find out more about finding motivated sellers you can get my free ebook on my facebook page:  Wendy's Page.

Lease Options and Other Q&A With Wendy Patton

what is available in my lease options coaching program.

These lease options are specific to a wholesale deal rather than only to lease options. However, the answers are important to investors and the type of questions I commonly receive.

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Wendy,

Thanks for the responses to my lease options coaching questions so far. I have the following questions:

Q #1. I will keep the asking price at $142,000.00 (especially for that one investor – I just didn’t want to seem “greedy”. I was thinking of your motto of “win-win-win” and I didn’t want the rehabber to feel cheated once he found out how much I was making. LOL)

A #1. Never feel guilty if you are making a ton of money if your investor wants to buy a home from you - even if you make more then they do. Rehabbers know their numbers and let them decide what works for them.  If $142,000 works for them versus $135,000 you were thinking - TAKE IT!  You deserve it - because you found the good deal in the first place.

Q #2. I’m scheduled to meet with the homeowner on Saturday afternoon to lock up the property. (He couldn’t meet with me again any sooner)

A #2. Ok try to get it locked up then!  This is a deal you do not want to get by you.

Q #3. So is the inspection just for my “knowledge” to know nothing is majorly wrong before the end-buyer (investor) buys it?

A #3. No, your inspection is for you to know the home is ok if your buyer doesn't close and your inspection period is over, you are ok to sell to another buyer OR you can buy it yourself.  The last thing you want is to find out their are major issues with a home you are wanting to wholesale to someone else, after you can't do anything about it.  I hope that makes sense.

Q #4. The house is FILLED with “stuff” – I mean literally this home has “storage” in every nook and cranny and I don’t want the inspector to miss anything! Should I say the home inspection isn’t due (between me and the homeowner) until he removes all of his stuff?

A #4. Yes you can do this or let the inspector tell you if they can see what they need with the stuff in there.  Also, put in the contract in the additional conditions that the seller will have all personal items removed prior to closing.

Q #5. What if the homeowner tells me that he “needs” the $5k upfront in order to even begin moving? What should I do in that scenario?

A #5. I would put it with a title company anyway to protect yourself.  BUT do not pay it until you have done your inspection.  If you give the seller the money and the inspection or anything doesn't work out, it might be difficult or impossible to get it back (especially if the seller is tight on money).

Q #6. Is “consideration” the same as “earnest money deposit” for some reason I was thinking they were different? If they’re the same, I wouldn’t mind doing a promissory note. Would that being something I could get from the title company I’m working with? (I have no idea what the promissory note should read)

A. #6. Yes and no.  An earnest money deposit is definitely consideration, BUT consideration can also be other things of value.  It can be a promissory note, a car, sliver, etc.  (heck in Michigan it can be "love and affection" - don't ask me to explain that one, nor have I used that one yet

Q #7. If the homeowner needs up to 90 days to move out – would we (myself and the investor) close on the house the day the investor accepts the assignment contract? Or do we not close until the homeowner totally vacates the property?  (Truthfully, if I was the rehabber I wouldn’t want the clock to start on day 30 (of the homeowners move out) if I can’t gain access to the property until day 91 – especially if they’re using “hard money”, right?

A #7. It depends on the contract - sometimes the seller gets what we call occupancy and can stay in the home.  I would prefer them to be out the day it closes, but that is up to the seller and you to negotiate.  If they do stay there - then you will probably want some type of "occupancy charge" - which is a daily rate for the seller to stay there.   It is withheld at closing from the seller's proceeds and held by the title company or attorney. 

Thanks. I know I’m asking all the questions for my lease options coaching…but I’m hoping that they only have to be answered one time in life and then I’ll have the hang of it. LOL

Candace

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About Lease Options Coaching

If you want to know more about my lease options coaching - check out my webinar www.wendypatton.com/wendyreplay and it will go into more detail on lease options and my coaching program. You can also get a free lease options coaching type of ebook on my facebook page with more details.  http://www.facebook.com/wendypatton

If you learned something about lease options on this page or real estate investing - please click the share button and have it shared on your facebook page also.

Lease options coaching helps people get their questions answered personally.

Investors have gotten up to 14% interest for rent to own homes but the risk is too high unless you don't mind going through the foreclosure process to recover rent to own homes. That's where the security comes into play. As the mortgage holder, you are in first position if the buyer defaults. You have to go through the foreclosure process but when you come out the other end, you are able find another buyer, sell above market value, and collect another down payment. The rent to own homes strategy is your ticket to success in today's real estate market.

Lease options first became popular in the 1970s and early 1980s. Lease options were intended to get around a mortgage due on sale clause. However, the courts deemed lease options to be sales rather than a lease. The purpose of lease options at that time was to pass on a low interest rate when rates were running 14% or higher.

Today lease options have several uses when selling real estate. One frequent use of lease options is to allow a buyer to buy when the bank loan standards are unreasonably strict. Another common reason investors use lease options is to obtain a better return on investment. Lease options coupled with owner financing often leads to a sale above market value. Lease options are also accompanied with higher interest rates for the seller financing.

Basics of Lease Options

There are many variations to lease options. But the basics of lease options are relatively standard.

1. Buyers pay sellers for lease options. The cost of lease options is negotiable but is often a percentage of the purchase price. The cost of lease options is nonrefundable.
2. Lease options give the buyer the right to purchase the property any time during lease options time frame. The time frame for lease options is typically one to three years. With lease options, buyers can by the house but aren't required to.
3. No one else can buy the house while lease options are valid.
4. In many cases, lease options holders can sell lease options to a third party.
5. Lease options expire if the buyers doesn't exercise the lease options by the end of the lease options period.

Please leave your lease options and other comments or questions.

Please ask anything else that will help you understand Lease Options relating to this post

Here is a lease option coaching question that I received recently.  When I do my lease option coaching, my students can ask me anything they like about their lease option deals. Some of those I have share on my blog. I hope you enjoy them.  Feel free to comment if so.

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Hello Wendy or lease option coaching staff,

I sent out postcards this week and just got a response from a homeowner who seems to be the perfect candidate for a lease option. She owns a condo town-home, which is my concern. Can this work with condo owners?

Sure IF you are in an area where condos are a "cool" or a "good" thing to own.  I live in the Michigan, and they are not the best here (but a few select areas), but in Chicago they are very hip. A lease option can work with a condo in the right areas.  Consider though who will pay the HOA (home owner association fee) - I would want the seller to remain responsible for this fee. 

Single woman in a three bedroom, three floors town-home. Wants to go to live in Germany part time and stay with her son here in NJ the other months. She has a lower mortgage (has not told me exactly what yet) and is willing to rent, no problem, and pay for the monthly HOA. When I mentioned would she sell she said yes!   She did ask me what I charged to do this and I told her nothing through my company. She asked how I make money then and I told her through the buyer. I also revealed I am a licensed Realtor and that I could charge commission.

The property was built 2003 and she bought it new.

The lady revealed that she has an appointment with a Realtor friend from the complex a few hours after my scheduled appointment with her on the weekend.

Please advise regarding the above. Thanks and I look forward to hearing from you.
What does the seller REALLY want to do?  Sell out right or get some cash flow?  The other important thing when dealing with any home owner that is considering a lease option with you and has suggested that they might list with a real estate agent is that you have them ask their Realtor to "Make YOUR NAME an exclusion to the listing contract".  This is Realtor language to protect the seller and you from the additional fees that would be charged if this were not in their agreement with their agent.  Write this down - as it is the exact language used by most real estate agents in the business.  This way if they don't sell it and you buy it the owner is not responsible for commission.  If they don't put this in there it will affect the seller's bottom line and therefore yours also.

Lease Option Coaching -  Feel free to share this post, comment or ask additional questions.   If you are considering lease option coaching check out www.wendypatton.com/wendyreplay to find out more