Geff Olufemi, Ph.D.

Frequently Asked Questions About Selling Your House by Lease Purchase (Lease Option)

A Lease Purchase is a contract with a tenant/buyer with which he can lease a property for a certain period of time with a monthly rent payment, and with more responsibilities for the property than a renter. The "Option" is the agreed-upon price of the property that can be exercised by the buyer to purchase it at any time during the lease period.

Lease Purchases are also commonly known as "Rent to Own" and "Lease Option". Our tenant/buyers are willing to pay top dollar for a home in "as-is" condition in exchange for flexible terms so that they can eventually own a piece of the American Dream.

Our tenant/buyers have a "buyer" mentality and, therefore, treat the home with an ownership mentality. Their responsibilities are to be liable for any repairs up to $1,000 per occurrence and to maintain the home and property. Our tenant/buyers know their credit situation and work with an FHA Lender of their choice with a plan for financial responsibilities so they can purchase their new home any time during the lease period.

As for our tenant/buyers, who simply have a lower credit score due to derogatory information on their credit, we have an attorney-based credit repair program available for them. In addition, we work with a company that submits the tenant/buyer's monthly lease payments to the credit bureau showing that they have paid on time every month, which helps to improve their credit.

The responsibilities for a renter is to do basic maintenance on the home and property. Any repairs needed are the responsibility of the owner. The owner bears the cost every time. If the owner neglects the repairs needed, then the renter may file a complaint with the city. The rent payments may be sent to the city until the repairs are fixed as well as any additional fees required from the landlord's code violations.

Typical Scenarios

Renter:
"Hey landlord, I know it's 1:00 AM, but our furnace stopped working. It's 17 degrees outside and our kids are getting cold. We need you to fix it now."

Tenant/Buyer:
"Hey Seller, I know it's 3:00 PM, but we just wanted to let you know that the furnace stopped working at 1:00 AM and we had to get it repaired. It cost us $300, and we still appreciate the opportunity to have lease-optioned your property. While we are waiting to buy the house, we have updated the kitchen!"

Conventional Buyer:
"Hey Seller, I know you have spent thousands of dollars in updating your property but there are still issues. My offer will be $10-20,000+ under your asking price, along with a list of repairs to be done. Oh, and your house must pass my home inspection, termite inspection, radon inspection, septic system inspection, etc. P.S., the colors you painted the rooms just aren't acceptable to us, please repaint them with neutral colors."

So, you can clearly see the benefits of a Lease Purchase.

Most realtors are not willing to wait 1-2 years for their commission in the deal. So they will either ignore offering that option to the seller or talk down about engaging with such an offer to buyers.

Our tenant/buyers buy in "as is" condition, and for top dollar, meaning that you don’t have to put another penny into updating your home. With our qualified tenant/buyer, they pay you a monthly payment while they are qualifying for a loan. All your expenses related to the house are taken care of. Try getting a realtor to do that while listing your home!

Another advantage is that we are only interested in putting high-quality tenant/buyers into the house, since we make our profit from our tenant/buyers non-refundable option consideration. Our tenant/buyers take care of all maintenance on the house, so it is in our best interest to ensure that our tenant/buyers will take care of the home and eventually secure financing to cash you out.

This means that we put our tenant/buyers through an intensive pre-screening process before they are even permitted to look at the house. We don’t just work for profits; we have a vested interest in the house and making sure that it gets sold.

That depends upon a number of different factors. We work with many mortgage brokers that are usually able to get most people financed after they have paid for 6-24 months on the Lease Purchase. Since everyone’s credit history varies, that time period can be shorter or longer for the tenant/buyer that we eventually put into the home. So we cannot guarantee when our tenant/buyer will secure new financing.

Yes, our Option Contract or Letter of Intent Contract gives sellers the flexibility they need to sell in today’s challenging real estate market and with no cost to them. If the seller finds their buyer or decides not to sell, then our contract simply becomes null and void.

NO! We are not Real Estate Agents and we don’t make commissions. We are Private Real Estate Investors who need to be under contract with the seller, so we can legally sell our interest to our buyers and make a profit. We will not engage in illegal activity just to make a profit. If you don’t like it then please ignore our contract so our buyers can legally buy another house.

Our tenant/buyers are carefully pre-screened to ensure that they want to buy the house and are able to buy it at some point in the future. However, circumstances can change in someone’s life, such as an unexpected job transfer, that makes it necessary to move. In situations like that, we find another qualified tenant/buyer to put into the home.

It is our goal to ensure that the process of buying your home is a smooth and easy one for you. We strive for a win-win-win situation in all our Lease Purchase deals. You, as the seller of the house, win by receiving the assurance of knowing that while the house is being sold, all of the expenses are taken care of, and the house is well maintained.

Our tenant/buyer wins by getting to own a home in a shorter amount of time than it would take them if they were trying to buy conventionally, as well as being able to immediately occupy their new home, while qualifying for a loan.

We win by profiting from the Option consideration as well as gaining 2 more satisfied customers. The reason that we are in business is, of course, to make a profit, as well as to use our expertise in the real estate industry and online marketing to assist homebuyers and sellers in making the sale or purchase of their home an easy one.

Either you can drop your price to the current appraised value of your property, or you can extend the lease to the Tenant/Buyer.

This question coincides with the most common statement from sellers, which is: "I just want to sell my house."

This is the worst real estate market in the history of our country. In 2007, the first year of having no sub-prime loans, only 1% of houses listed, actually sold. Of that 1% of buyers, 75% of those buyers were cash buyers and 25% were conventional buyers.

In 2010, there were over 200,000 homes listed in Cleveland, Ohio. Only 1.4% of them sold. Out of that 1.4% of buyers, 75% of them were cash buyers dealing mainly with foreclosures and 25% were "A-credit"conventional buyers that raked their sellers across hot coals.

With millions of potential buyers that have lost their jobs, increased credit restrictions to secure the fallout from the financial crisis and over a million foreclosures, selling your house to a conventional buyer for top dollar in ‘as is’ condition in our declining real estate market is statistically impossible, unless your house sits on a gold mine or a gas well.

The "B-credit" market has 60% more Buyers than the "A-credit" market.

Selling your house, for top dollar in 'as-is' condition, to one of our "B-credit" Tenant/Buyers with a Lease Purchase that works with our business model is statistically possible.

If you own a home which is available For Sale By Owner, and not listed with a Realtor, we can help to quickly purchase your property, or properties. If you would be willing to sell your home on a Lease Purchase Rent to Own basis, then we will connect you with a Nationwide Investor who has lists of qualified buyers looking to purchase properties for top dollar in your area, on a rent to own basis.

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Lois & Kristie Kral... +1(888) 802-9443 / +1(914) 962-1698

Geff Olufemi, Ph.D. ... +1(800) 718-5240 / +1(609) 431-0255