Lease Options May Offer A Good Real Estate Selling Option In This Market
Articles - Mortgage
One option most home sellers don't consider when selling their home is the lease option. Lease options provide an opportunity for potential buyers to rent a house until they can buy it. Lease option contracts usually require a large down payment, and additional rent that will go towards the purchase of the house.
by BenjaminSharp


One option most home sellers don't consider when selling their home is a lease option. Lease options provide an opportunity for potential buyers to rent a house until they can buy it. Lease option contracts usually require a large down payment, and additional rent that will go towards the purchase of the house.

With the current economy, many home sellers are having no luck because there are just too many homes for sale. For people that need to relocate, having someone who can rent the house is a much better option than leaving a home vacant in the winter. By having a house for sale as a lease option, the pool of potential buyers also greatly increases.

Some Good Reasons For Lease Options

1. Avoid The Double House Payment. Lease options provide a great way to have your mortgage expenses covered until you can actually sell. The last thing people relocating want to do is pay for two mortgages. Houses offered as lease options can net higher rent proceeds than traditional rentals. A renter planning on owning the home is also more likely to take care of the property.

2. Increases The Number of Potential Buyers. With the way current lending requirements are, there are lots of people who have good credit, good income, a healthy savings account but can't qualify for a home loan. It is especially hard for people who are self employed, or who have switched careers within the last two years to qualify for mortgage loans. These potential buyers make excellent lease option candidates.

3. More People Want the Flexibility offered with Renting. Home ownership isn't as appealing as it once was. Some qualified buyers just don't want to buy right now. They fear that home prices will go down further, or just don't want to commit to a certain house. Some people moving from other areas want to get a better feel for the area before committing where they want to actually buy. For people like this, a lease option is an ideal solution.

4. Higher Purchase Price. Offering your house as a lease option, may help you to net a higher purchase price. Only a small percentage of homes for sale are offered as lease options. People that want to buy, but cant get mortgage financing have no other option. In addition, if prices do continue to drop over the next few years, your contract lease purchase price has already been set. You may be able to get today's market value for the sell of your property when the future market value is actually lower.

Increased number of potential buyers looking for the rent-to-own option increases the probability that you will be able to lease your home out. If you have only had limited showings, or can't drop your home price any more, a lease option might be a good option to help you sell your home.

DISCLAIMER: This article is provided as information only and is not to be taken as financial advice.