Rent or Lease to own in North Port or Venice general area (for sale)

[Trbl39]

I would like to know if there is a specific place I can look for rent/lease to own in the North port or Venice general areas. My house has been put up for sale in PA and I am preparing for the next step. I figure it best to rent and check out the area and if i can do the rent to own and actually end up liking it i am a step ahead as opposed to just renting and leaving the rental. I know if I don't end up getting the rent to own that I could potentially lose more, but I can't even find these homes to begin with! maybe i am just not putting in thew right search parameters, I don't know. I do most of my looking on My Florida MLS. and some craigslist. So where should i be looking, or is this just not all that common in this area?

[coastal chic]

I don't think they're very common here although I have heard of some. They are not normally advertised that way though, it usually comes about in talking with your Realtor and the sellers.

[Big House]

There are so many foreclosures that keep the prices down, and so many buyers coming in and buying and many paying cash, that most people that sell aren't interested in rent to buy deals. Rent to own deals can be made, but you have to be creative and consider putting a large non-refundable payment down for that type of deal. Consider why-else a seller would consider carrying your debt, when they can sell outright. If it were me, I would probably only consider doing a lease/purchase type deal for someone very close to me like my kids, or someone I really want to go out on a limb to help.

I would recommend that you rent first. Learn the area where you want to live. You can easily get some month to month type leases. They are easy to get out of as well, so if you find a house you can move quickly on it - if it is right for you. Renting for a while will let you get a feel for what the weather is like in the hot times, where things are that interest you, etc....

Find a job first before you do any of that, if you need a job to live on. Finding jobs here is not very easy, but it is getting better, you can do it, but that is a job in itself.

North Port is a pretty nice area, and is within a half hour to the beach, so you can go often, but not liive in the "beach-traffic" all the time. It is pretty convienient to a lot of thing that Florida offers, and housing prices are very competative.

[justNancy]

I agree with the above comments and would strongly advise you to carefully read any rent-to-own contract in Florida and ask your lawyer to review it. As Big House points out, most homeowners will ask for a downpayment because they are taking the house off the market. If you decide not to buy, will you lose that downpayment? If the value drops, will you be contractually obligated to pay the agreed upon price? What repairs are you responsible for while renting? How much, if any, of your rent will be applied toward the purchase? Because prices have dropped more than 60% over the past 5 years, many sellers who rent newer homes are losing money because their mortgage payments, insurance and taxes are higher than the rental income.

I've always wanted to rent first, since I'm almost paranoid about noise and bad neighbors because of a bad experience. However, usually a home for sale is not available for rent and vice-versa. Right now you can rent a house for less than owning it, but that depends on if you are paying cash or financing. It also depends on the size of house you require. I know owning a home in the long run is better, but between the taxes, insurance, maintenance, lawn care, etc., every time I do the math, I'm better off renting and leaving the money invested elsewhere.

Good luck!

Edit: I want to add this to my comment. If you come to FL after May 1, you can often find a short-term lease for a considerably lower rent. When you live here, you learn that Florida has 2 seasons..Season and Off-Season. However, usually the summer rentals are fully furnished. Many owners will require a minimum of 6 to 8 months, since they realize it's difficult to rent during the summer months. With a 6 month lease you also avoid the sales tax, but that's a whole new subject. Get to know an area before you commit to purchase, since that's such an important decision.

[TamRE]

There are a few homes with owner financing listed in the MLS. Most of them require a 10% or higher deposit. I could send you a list of them.