we have been having HUGE problems with our landlord not repairing 2 things that cause mold, water leaks, etc.....this has been going on for MONTHS, so we found a rent to own home in our budget per month. we would love to out right buy a home but our credit got hammered when we filed bankruptcy last year due to medical bills and me loosing my job 2 years ago that depleted our savings. we are sick of renting and throwing our money away, so we are looking into this option. any input guys, this is a big decision for my family so i'm trying to get all the input i can, thanks in advance-Daniel

Went that way on my last home. Make sure you get a contract and you should be good to go. It should be just like buying a home, but the money goes to the homeowner. And it wont get report to the credit companies

You need to talk to a mortgage person.  The BK is going to tie you up for a couple of years as far as getting a mortgage, so if you are not careful you could sign a lease purchase and then fail to be able to close on time.  In which case you would surely lose your deposit.  





The BK is probably gonna screw you for 7 years, before the lending regs tightened back up you could of probably gotten in on some D paper after 3 years or so at a brutal interest rate.  





Either way, probably the only way you are getting into a home right now as far as purchasing is owner financing.  With the economy and housing markets sucking there are quite a few owner financed properties available out there right now.  If you do go this route, make sure you have a real estate attorney review your purchase docs...I really cannot stress this enough.  I know a good one, if you need a referral let me know.  He is in Alpharetta.  





Good luck.

 

guys thank you for the input

I have heard both Clark Howard and Dave Ramsey both say rent to own lands are GREAT ....for the one renting it.....

Yeah, I would also caution against it.  Its easy to end up with nothing when you rent to own a house.

Is the purchase price of the house comparable to similar houses in the area?
Are the payments going to be fixed over time?
How much of your monthly payment is going towards the purchase price of the house?
Is the monthly payment comparable to the rent you would pay in a similar house?
Are the payments less than you would pay on a mortgage?
How long do you have the option to purchase the house?

Yeah, I think the screw-you factor on those RTO deals is extremely high. Lots of shitty individuals I know of were buying distressed properties and renting them as RTO. If you missed a payment by a day the deal was off and you lost your "equity". Even Citimortgage gives me a 30 grace period.

Why not take the time and rent & save money until the bankruptcy black flag is removed off your record?

What you are describing could be two different things.

The first is rent to own, which is not such a good deal, because you don't actually purchase the house in the beginning.  In this case you make payments to the CURRENT owner of the home.  If you miss a payment, well you can get evicted.

The second is called seller financing.  This is  where you actually purchase the house and the deed is recorded in your name, but you make mortgage payments to the FORMER owner of the home (because you own the house now).  In this case the lender (AKA the former owner) has to follow all the legal foreclosure requirements in order to take the house back.

i believe the second option is what we are looking at, we are going to meet with the guy again and we now have alot of questions to ask. at this point we are just looking but are stongly interested in this, we are just trying to be carefull.

again thanks everyone for the input