Home rental: lease to purchase (Vancouver, Camas: sale, real estate market, apartment complexes)

[Mermaid26]

Hello all
Are there any rent-to-own homes in the Vancouver and/or surrounding areas within a 30-mile radius North of PDX? Any suggestions for property management companies, realtors, or private landlord resources who facilitate single family home rentals? This may be a long shot, but it never hurts to ask. I am a single female, no kids, no fur-kids, professional (work remotely), looking to relocate from TX to WA in late Fall. Thank you in advance.

[texasdiver]

I don't know the answer but I sort of doubt it in this real estate market. That tends to be something sellers do in more depressed real estate markets and a method that they use to sell cheaper hard-to-sell properties in sketchier neighborhoods where a traditional sale is more difficult.

[Ruth4Truth]

Have you looked at Craigslist for Vancouver? That's usually where that type of rental can be found. Properties that were foreclosed on in the 2008 housing loan debacle, and more recent foreclosures typically were bought up by Real Estate Investment Trusts, and turned into rent-to-own deals. I run into them pretty much everywhere, when looking for rentals for people. Another new gambit REITs are doing, is building new homes and renting them out in high-demand markets.

How much research have you done so far, OP? Also, Camas, WA, a smaller town within an easy commute of Vancouver (I don't know how the commute it to Portland from there) is preferred by some. You could look there, as well. Nice, small-town atmosphere in a scenic location.

[oregonwoodsmoke]

Rent to own is going to be hard to find. Normally, rent to own is a sort of scam. It's all legal, but the seller has no intention of the buyer ever owning the property. They get a big down payment and then take the property back in a couple of years when the buyer can't make the payments. People who can afford to buy get mortgages. Rent to own buyers are usually people who can't afford to buy, so they get their funds removed and then don't end up with the house because they bought something they can't afford.



So if you are going to do this, be very careful and have a good real estate attorney look over the contract for you so that you understand all the nuances of what you are signing.

[Mermaid26]

Thank you everyone! Yep, that all makes sense. I think I will just look into apartments/townhomes coz I need a garage-- I have noted a few online. Perhaps home-buying will have to be put off for the following year. I appreciate the thoughtful words of advice.

[texasdiver]

Originally Posted by Mermaid26

Thank you everyone! Yep, that all makes sense. I think I will just look into apartments/townhomes coz I need a garage-- I have noted a few online. Perhaps home-buying will have to be put off for the following year. I appreciate the thoughtful words of advice.

Honestly nothing is for free. If you can't swing a purchase through traditional financing routes then you should think hard about getting sucked into potentially sketchy alternatives. Renting and saving is the tried and true way of working your way into home ownership. The market goes up and down and I sense that we are in something of a bubble right now that may not last. There will be future opportunities for those with the patience to wait.

[texasdiver]

Do you really NEED a garage or just a parking spot? The climate here is different from DFW. Parking your car outside is not a big deal except for the rare occasion that we get a bit of snow. Cars don't bake to death in the sun like in DFW. Pretty much all suburban apartment complexes have parking, they just don't often have private garages for each unit.

If you can live without a private garage then you will have a lot more options because there are a LOT of new apartments going up all around East Vancouver, many of which look pretty nice.

[HeartNox18]

I love to sell via rent-to-own!

Spreads out my gains over several yrs
Provides future cash flows
Helps get tough to qualify buyers into home ownership
Can make for a dedicated (easy to please) tenant who will profit greatly. I usually sell under market so buyer runs equity positive very quickly.

These deals are usually networked, not advertised.

[Mermaid26]

Originally Posted by texasdiver

Do you really NEED a garage or just a parking spot? The climate here is different from DFW. Parking your car outside is not a big deal except for the rare occasion that we get a bit of snow. Cars don't bake to death in the sun like in DFW. Pretty much all suburban apartment complexes have parking, they just don't often have private garages for each unit.

If you can live without a private garage then you will have a lot more options because there are a LOT of new apartments going up all around East Vancouver, many of which look pretty nice.

Hi! Well, the garage is basically for general safety, privacy and maybe some storage-- moving to a new part of the country, all three are important points, hence the garage requisite. I did see some duplex rentals that offer the convenience of an attached garage, so that might be my direction for the first year.

[texasdiver]

Originally Posted by Mermaid26

Hi! Well, the garage is basically for general safety, privacy and maybe some storage-- moving to a new part of the country, all three are important points, hence the garage requisite. I did see some duplex rentals that offer the convenience of an attached garage, so that might be my direction for the first year.

That is going to severely limit your rental options in an already tight rental market.

A LOT of smaller older homes don't have garages. Or the original garage has long-since been remodeled into living space.

A LOT of newer (and older) apartments don't have garages.

So that is basically going to limit your search to newer houses and higher-end town home type apartments. They exist but you will pay more and have much less selection.