leecain

I tried your fsbo email method. While I was sending emails, I got a response on my msn messenger from one I just emailed. We talked (using msn messenger) for about 15 minutes. Sounds like a good deal brewing. Maybe keeping msn messenger up while sending emails will help.

I noticed you are having trouble getting your tenant/buyer to commit. I put a little fire in them by saying I won't take the house off the market until I get the non-refundable option deposit. First one with the deposit in my hand gets the house. That speeds up their decision.

The only time you might have a problem with a simultaneous closing as Michael described is if the tenant/buyer's lender wants seasoning with the chain of title. In other words, the lender doesn't like the fact that you have owned the property for about 15 minutes during the closing. To avoid that, just assign your lease/option agreement with the seller to your tenant/buyer for a fee (your profit). If your profit is large, this might not work. Any other suggestions?

Thanks Michael; The initial payments are really the only risk, and you have provided even more safeguards than I use. I say the initial payments are the only risk because if my tenant/buyer defaults, it means I can get another non-refundable earnest money deposit (option money) from another tenant/buyer. Of course, part of the first earnest money was put in an emergency fund to cover payments until I find that second tenant/buyer. With today's economy, there are more people looking for homes (that need more time to qualify at the bank) than there are lease/option homes. When I advertise 'Rent to Own', I always get more tenant/buyers than I need.

Lease/options is a very low risk way of getting into Real Estate investing. When I started, my biggest worry was needing to pay a payment before I found a tenant/buyer to pay it for me (I was flat broke). I started putting the following clause in my Lease/Option agreement, and to date, I have not had to pay a payment out of my pocket. RENT: Tenant/Buyer agrees to pay to the Landlord/Seller, the sum of $ ______ per month, with the first payment beginning thirty days after installment of sub-lease/option, as rent for the property, for the term of this Lease/Option, and during any extensions thereof. This means you don't pay anything until you find a tenant/buyer. Of course, this assumes you have a sub-lease/option clause allowing you to find a tenant/buyer. If this does not fly with the seller, I offer to make the lease/option agreement null and void if he/she finds a buyer before I find a tenant/buyer. That makes it a race where the seller wins regardless of who wins the race. The seller seldom finds a buyer before I find a tenant/buyer. I don't know how this will hold up in court; it's never been contested. :ph34r: If anyone has any other ways of making lease/options risk free, please let us know. Lee