Help to find rent with option to buy home (Portage: bad credit, lawyer)

[jrutledge]

Hello Forum,

Can someone please recommend any rent to own opportunities in the following areas: Valporaiso, Portage, Chesterton, Merrillville, Cedar Lake, Schereville, Lake of Four Seasons, Winfield, and Crown Point?

We are looking for a 4 bedroom, 2.5 bath, attached 2 car garage.

Any assistance is greatly appreciated. We just haven't had any luck in the papers.

[rrah]

The problem you are running into is common because most people need to sell their home to purchase the next. There are so many potential pitfalls for YOU and the owner with this kind of arrangement. I hope you have legal advise.

I would suggest placing your own ad in the paper or on craigslist.

[REmarketer]

There are a ton of rent to own homes in NWI. You can check out RTO Homes LLC. They have homes in many of those areas (Portage, Chesterton, Merrillville, Cedar Lake). I do marketing for them.

[ImGibby]

Yeah RTO is typically more benneficial to the seller than the buyer. In some cases, depending how it structured, it can be benneficial to both parties.

Unless there is a reason you are looking for rent to own, ie bad credit, I would not recommend it. If you qualify for conventional financing but are not ready to buy just yet, you may find someone willing to let you rent and then buy the house from them at a later date without doing a Rent To Own.

The main problem with the RTO to be aware of is the non refundable deposit you are required to put down up front. This can be in the tune of thousands of dollars and guarantees you the right to buy the house during a specific term at an agreed upon price (this price can include any anticipated appreciation during the term). You are essintially "buying" your right to buy the house, but everything else is still the same a standard Lease. If you do not excercise your right to buy in the agreed time, you forfiet your deposit and lose your right to buy.

There was a huge scam a few yrs back with a company in FL that was signing RTO deals but making it virtually impossible for the tenant/buyer to execute their right to buy. This came in the form of ridiculous terms that were required of the tenant/buyer, and if any of these terms were not met, it voided the RTO portion of the agreement. The company was essintailly taking peoples deposits and finding reasons to disqualify them from buying and then they would then turn around and do the same thing with another tenant/buyer on the same property after the previous deal would fall apart and the people moved out, minus their down payment of course.

RTO can be an alternative way to buying a house, the preffered way is the conventional way of course....attining financing and making an offer. But make sure you do your homework and truly understand how this process works and know what your getting into before you jump in.

[jrutledge]

ImGibby,
I do agree with you, the renter can lose out in the end and it can be a big mess. The problem for me has been the homes for rent are way to small and very substandard. I most cases people that are looking for a rent to own are ready or need to buy but with the credit restrictions so hard, you can't get financed but you still need a place to stay. Also, lenders will tell you to fix your credit but they don't tell you how and it takes for ever to fight the errors. Its so hard when you have a family you have to provide for.

[ImGibby]

Originally Posted by jrutledge

ImGibby,
I do agree with you, the renter can lose out in the end and it can be a big mess. The problem for me has been the homes for rent are way to small and very substandard. I most cases people that are looking for a rent to own are ready or need to buy but with the credit restrictions so hard, you can't get financed but you still need a place to stay. Also, lenders will tell you to fix your credit but they don't tell you how and it takes for ever to fight the errors. Its so hard when you have a family you have to provide for.

The best way to fix your credit is to USE credit...wisely. If you have a credit card (prefrably with a zero balance) use it to pay for your everyday things....gas, food, etc. Anything you usually pay cash for, swipe your card....BUT, do not charge more than you can pay off that month. Most credit cards give you a grace period on intrest, so as long as you pay off the balance every month, you should not incur any interest charges. The act of using and paying off credit is how you increase your credit score. But that is assuming you dont have any unpaid debt, you will need to bring those current to start removiing the negative impact they have on your credit.

If you have errors on your credit report that are hurting you, get a copy of your credit report (FreeCreditReport.com | Free Credit Report and Credit Score Online by Experian or i think one is Free Annual Credit Reports and Credit Scores) and it should tell you how or who to contact to dispute something on your report. Otherwise, you may need to seek proffesional help from a lawyer or credit repair agency.

[jrutledge]

Thanks for all your feed back.

[CJHunt]

Originally Posted by jrutledge

Hello Forum,

Can someone please recommend any rent to own opportunities in the following areas: Valporaiso, Portage, Chesterton, Merrillville, Cedar Lake, Schereville, Lake of Four Seasons, Winfield, and Crown Point?

We are looking for a 4 bedroom, 2.5 bath, attached 2 car garage.

Any assistance is greatly appreciated. We just haven't had any luck in the papers.

There should be online service there is a sight for Valporasiso on the www I would look for the real estate magzines that they have online.CtresseyEverett
and other