Adem

Thanks guys - never occurred to me to RTFM

Hi all, I'm in the process of creating a website for a home I've got under contract, and it's coming along well. However, I want to include a page that lists all the benefits for a tenant/buyer wrt rent-to-own. I know the advantages seem obvious, but I was looking to put it into an FAQ format. I did a quick search on this site to see if this has already been done, but couldn't find anything. Is my search-fu weak, or am I the first to ask about this? Thanks!

Thanks guys. I do have a question regarding the paperwork. I have a handle on what goes where, but this seller lives about two hours from me, so we're trying to take care of all the paperwork remotely. If I sign on my end and fax her a copy, which she then signs and sends back to me, is that as binding as an original copy?

Just heard from seller, and she wants to move forward! I know I have to get the short form agreement to her, but I wanted to run the numbers by you guys first to make sure everything is above board. This would be a pure CA. Seller asking price: $359 000 TB purchase price: $381 900 (comps agree with this price - if anything it's on the lower end) Seller wants a 3 year lease. Monthly rent: $1650 25% rent credit My option consideration is $8000. The o/c plus the rent credits subtracted from the TB purchase price gives us the seller's asking price. Does this basically cover it? Also, I know I can search for it but can someone summarize the paperwork needed for a pure CA? Thanks everyone! Hoping to get this done before Christmas

Hi all, I've been away from the CA/LP game for several years now - life, you know. Anyway, I'm back in it and have been firing off some emails to FSBOs, and got the following response from a new construction listing that has had the price reduced for a quick sale: This was in response to my first email which consisted of me asking if he'd be interested in selling on a lease purchase. I need my memory refreshed on what the next step here is, assuming that he is, indeed, interested in pursuing this further. Do I go armed with forms and numbers, or just meet him to find out what kind of numbers he's thinking of? Thanks, and it's good to be back

There are one or two of us scattered out here on the East Coast. My wife and I own one rental, completed our first CA this spring, and I'm hopefully signing our second tonight. Fingers crossed!

Well, it's done! We signed off all the contracts last night and deposited the money in our bank account I thought it would be a good idea to describe this deal in a bit of detail, so that I can know where I went right and where I went not-so-right. Also, if anyone else out there can learn from this then all the better. This all started back before Christmas. We saw the 'for sale' sign planted in the front yard of a house not 30 seconds from our place. The sign had been there for quite a while, and my wife and I kept saying that we should call and see if they'd be interested in doing a lease option. Anyway, one night after getting home I decided what the heck, I'll give them a call. I didn't even have a pen and paper handy, as I was expecting rejection. Not the right mindset, I know, but there you go. To my amazement, the lady that answered the phone said that they might be interested and wanted to hear more. I scrambled around for a pen and paper to jot her name down, and arranged a time the next day to drop by the house and go over the process. My wife and I met the husband the next day at the house and started chatting. It turns out that he wasn't having much luck with selling, as people would show interest but then back out. However, he'd had several people ask him if he would do a rent to own, which he was willing to do but had no idea on how to proceed. My wife and I explained what we could do for him, and he said he'd get back to us. A few months pass, and no word. We figured he'd forgotten about us or just wasn't interested, as the sign was still up in the yard. Then one night about a month ago we get a call - they'd like to meet again to discuss details. So off we went to their house (just down the road from ours), armed with our documents and a great deal of nervousness! They turned out to be an extremely pleasant couple. They owned the house outright, but would like a little bit of money up front anyway. We decided on a CA with a 50/50 split of the option consideration, as they had been landlords for almost 20 years and were used to the concept. We explained how the CA worked, and they were very excited about the prospect. However, they did want to have the documents looked over by their lawyer (we'd already had them looked over by ours), and we said it was okay. I know you're never supposed to leave a copy of your docs with sellers, but trust me, these people weren't going to do anything behind our backs. Their lawyer agreed with ours, and the deal was a go. We started advertising in the paper on a Wednesday, and started showing the house by that Friday. The second couple to see it wanted the house, so we advised them to check with their lender to see if they'd qualify for a mortgage. We continued to show it, but let the ad lapse after 7 days. About a week later we found out that the interested couple wasn't so interested anymore, so we re-placed the ad, and I added some internet based advertising. This proved very effective, although I received a large amount of flame posts claiming I was scamming people. However, enough people saw through the venom to call me up and arrange some showings. A week ago Wednesday we showed it to a nice couple who, again, were very interested. The difference this time was that the husband was already pre-approved for more than the purchase price of the home, and he called us that night to say they wanted to proceed! They booked a home inspection for the following Monday (note: no contracts had been signed with them yet), and based on that report they made an offer on the home yesterday. The original contracts specified a certain price, which upon approval from the sellers, we ammended to the new agreed upon price. All three parties met last night and all the papers were signed. Everyone was pleased with how things went, with the t/b's intending to buy this summer. I think they would have bought the place straight out, but want to earn a few rent credits first, simply because they can. The sellers were so pleased with the outcome that they've told us that they're going to give us a bonus when the sale goes through. That will certainly be nice, but it wasn't necessary. I've never heard of the negotiating of a final sale price prior to signing contracts over in a lease purchase before, and I think that's where we deviated from the norm. However, in this case I think it fostered a sense of 'buying' rather than renting on the part of the t/b's. What do you think? Sorry for the long post, but I wanted to see what the experience folks out there thought of how we approached this deal. Needless to say, my wife and I are extremely excited and are eager to move on to the next deal. There's a 60 inch tv that calls out my name whenever I walk by the electronics store, and I intend to own it soon Thanks, Adem

I had a question posed to me by someone currently looking at a foreclosure deal. They've put 10% down, and have hard money investors supplying the remainder, with a closing to occur tomorrow. However, the title company is refusing to insure title as there is a time difference between when he pays for the property and when he gets the deed (he seems to think it can take up to a few months). I'm not familiar with foreclosure deals at all, so I thought I'd check here to see if anyone has come across something like this before. Thanks, Adem

I found this on a real estate glossary site: Now, everything I've ever read regarding lease options says to never imply anywhere that rent credits or option consideration are in any way shape or form to be considered equity. If your mortgage broker/lender will use them as part of a down payment, then great, but their primary purpose is to reduce the price of the home. We're in the final phase of our first CA: the sellers are signed up, and we have a very excited couple who we're meeting with tomorrow to sign up. I have explained that it's not a guarantee that the rend credits/option consideration will be used as down payment, and they seem fine with that. I'm just a little concerned about the supposed rules that cmhc is laying down regarding rent to own credits and how it considers them equity. The part about a partial refund is particularly alarming, as nothing in our contracts specifies anything of the sort to our sellers, and they would be justifiably furious to have that sprung on them at a later date. Have any other canucks out there looked into this or faced this issue before?

Hi Steve, We showed it twice yesterday, and have two more showings tomorrow, one of which is a second viewing. The sellers are very excited about the prospect and are very eager for us to do well on our first CA, which is nice I'll know more by the end of tomorrow, but things are going well so far. Cheers, Adem

Always nice to see a fellow canuck join the crowd. I'm from the east coast myself, far enough away from the Center of the Universe that we can avoid its gravitational pull Anyway, good luck with your first deal. I'm in the process of marketing my first CA - the ad went in the paper on Wednesday, and we have a potential T/B coming by to see the place tonight. She's very excited about the place so far, so fingers crossed! Cheers, Adem

Hi all, I'm signing up my very first CA tomorrow (woo hoo!). The sellers are very very excited about the prospect, as am I. I just want to make sure about one thing regarding the forms. I'm taking three copies of the CA lease and the option to purchase tomorrow, with the seller and I signing all three copies. Then, when I find a T/B, is he required to then fill out not only the CA Assignment of Agreement (along with the seller and myself), but is he also supposed to sign anything on the CA lease or the option to purchase? Or is the fact that he is signing the assignment agreement enough? Is it advisable for the T/B to sign/initial anything in the CA lease agreement or the option to purchase? I just want to make sure I know what I'm talking about when I speak to the seller tomorrow. Thanks, Adem