We have all seen the late night commercials talking about getting rich in real estate with no money down.  Some of these programs work and in rare instances can create win-win situations.  Most often though they are very risky for the investor and if it is a lease to own it is also very risky for the buyer.  This section of our website is just dedicated to educating potential buyers.  Hopefully this information will allow you to ask informed questions and make informed decisions before entering into a long term relationship with an investor.  There are a lot of honest investors out there, but there are also a lot vultures out there preying on desparate people everyday.  Please do yourself a favor and read the following.  It could end up saving you a lot of money and grief.  We also reccomend reading a book on lease purchases.  The old saying that "knowledge is power" never rang truer than it is in this instance.           

     OK now that I have your attention and hopefully scared you into doing a little research lets get on with the common pitfalls of lease to own deals.    

 Here are some warning signs you should look for when shopping for a lease to own home:

• When you call the number on the for sale sign and the message on the other end only tells you to leave your name and number and the amount of downpayment that you can afford.  Guess who gets the house?  The person with the most money for a downpayment.  These investors are not interested in you owning the home.  They will put anybody in the home just to get the down payment money.  If the you pay the rent great and if you don't thats fine too.  They just evict you and find another tennant the same way and the process begins again. This is a warning sign that the investors don't have any money invested so they have nothing to lose.  Chances are they don't even own the property. 

• The seller tells you that you don't need to have it appraised because their bank has just done one.  When you agree to buy a home at a certain price, that price is locked in.  So if you pay your rent on time and do everything else right and when it comes time to buy the home and it appraises for less than what you originally agreed upon, guess who has to make up the difference?  YOU!!! You can minimize your risk by doing a little research.  If home prices in the neighborhood are comparable with what the asking price of the home is chances are, if the home is maintained and the neighborhood is steady, it will be worth at least the asking price in 3 years time.  We try to only invest in neighborhoods that are stable and increasing in value.  When you lease/purchase a home from us and if the home is properly maintained it will almost always appraise for more than the original asking price when the time comes for the you to buy the home.  Remember we have a vested interest too and we cannot afford to invest in things that will lose value.  There aren't any guarentees in life but we do everything we can to minimize our risk so you shouldn't worry too much.  You can and should do your own homework whether by professional appraisal or at least find comparable homes in the neighborhood and see what they sold for.

• Most of the investors that you will run into in this market of lease to own are not licensed professionals.  We suggest you do some research and maybe even ask for references.  After all you are entering into a long term relationship with the person you are dealing with.  If it were me, I would like know that the person holding all of my rent credits and option money is a person that I can trust and depend on.   
• Hire a home inspector.  Remember you will be maintaining the home during the period of the lease and after you buy the home.  If you buy an older home, even if it has been recently remodeled, it has been our experience that it will cost more to maintain.    It is really a trade off.  Either have a little higher monthly payment and virtually no maintenance cost on a newer home or a lower payment and higher maintenance cost on an older home.  Some people disagree with us but when is the last time you had to paint vinyl siding?  As a rule of thumb we don't invest in anything older than 30 years.  On average our homes are 7 years old.