1) Who is your Rent-To-Own Program designed for?
Although our rent-to-own program is quite flexible, it really is designed for folks who do what to become homeowners in the next year or two.  Rent-To-Own is PERFECT for those who want to OWN but just need some TIME to get their credit in shape! You’ll have 1.5+ years to exercise your Option to buy this home while LIVING IN & renting TODAY as credit is being restored! That's why it's also referred to as a Lease-Option or a Lease with an Option to Buy.

2) Why Would I Rent-To-Own?
Rent-To-Own allows you to move into the home you want TODAY and gives you the exclusive option to purchase later down the road after move-in.  It also puts you in the position to shop for the best home loan product for you (we have referrals!) and/or time your purchase to take advantage of the best rates!

3) Is there a Security Deposit with Rent-To-Own?
For the vast majority of our homes, INSTEAD of a refundable security deposit, there is a NON-refundable Option Fee down pymt (OFDP) due UP FRONT in addition to 1st full month's rent.  Although there is no security deposit, the upfront OFDP is always going to be higher than the typical security deposit for a straight rental.

4) How much is the Option Fee down payment (OFDP)?
The OFDP varies for each home, however in general, The MINIMUM to put down for an OFDP is typically 3.5% of the Option Price of the home or $5,000.00, whichever is greater.  Homes in the County tends to be higher (because they are priced higher) and typically require a minimum of $7,500.00 or more. It all depends on the Option price and the Owner.

5) Why would I pay an OFDP?
100% of the OFDP counts towards the option price of the home later on when you go to exercise your option to purchase the home.  So it’s NOT like an extra fee just to rent-to-own…ALL of it counts towards the home!  Your future home loan is going to require a minimum of 3.5% down anyways, so you're basically getting that out of the way.  Many of our clients prefer to put 5.0% down as that not only satisifies the 3.5% loan requirement in the future, they also have a nice chunk of funds (the remaining 1.5%) to go towards closing costs.

6) Can I use other sources for my OFDP?
Yes! There are several allowable sources for the OFDP!  Some of our clients use their 401k or IRA account WITHOUT PENALTY, get gift funds from a relative, cash advances from a credit card, and/or borrow the money from a friend or relative.  You can even pledge your tax return or any other expected funds!

7) My credit is not so great.  Is that okay?
Yes, challenged credit OK for rent-to-own! We don't have a "credit SCORE requirement" per se as in a specific #, but we do review your reports to make sure you have a clear game plan on what you need to do to get up to a 640 during the rental phase of the rent-to-own. Rest assured, we work with credit challenges all the time

8) I want to apply for one of your rent-to-own homes, what's the Next Step?
Our application is FREE and we can email you our Next Steps emails (2) straight away!  In essence: we'll need a full application for each adult, income docs for each household earner (last 2 paystubs and/or tax stmts for self-employed), and credit reports (we have a FREE resource to get them if you don't already have recent reports).  The 2nd email we send has optional items you can submit to strengthen your application.  We do all the rest and present your complete application to the Owner for a PRE-approval.  Once we have that we do the final checks (rental history & background check) after you've put at least partial funds in escrow.  Once those checks come in good you are automatically & officially approved!  Time to go to contract!