Selling Real Estate Using Lease Options

by Lesley Wilson
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How can you be a landlord without all the trouble? Maybe instead of a rental house you should have a lease/ option to buy house.

Landlords who own single family homes may have much more to do than they bargained for. Repairs and maintenance can really add up, and suck up a lot of your profits. There are alternatives. Have you tried lease options? It’s also a great way to begin Real Estate investing.

Doesn’t it seem like you hear about lease options everywhere? You read about them in lots of real estate web sites, other ezines. Is this just another get rich quick scheme?

Nope, not a get rich quick scheme, but it may help you get rich. You hear about it so much because it is a great way to work the rental business.

A lease/ option to buy house. How exactly does that work? First a Lease agreement is made with the tenant, and then an option agreement gives the renter/buyer the right to purchase the property for a set price by a predetermined date. So they are leasing, and paying for an option to purchase the home later.

Let’s look at some of the advantages:

1. Your renter is planning on buying the property, so they usually maintain the property better than your average renter. 2. Your lease has the renter taking care of most maintenance. You only take care of big stuff, like roofs and furnaces. (you do have to check state laws on this one) 3. You get a non-refundable option fee up front, possibly $3,000-5,000 or more depending on your area. 4. The majority of renters never take the option and buy the home, so when their time is up, you can continue to rent to them, if they have been good tenants, you could extend their option, for a fee, or get a new renter and another up-front option fee.

Doesn’t sound like there are too many downsides to this type of plan, does it?

This works great if you want to hold property long term to build wealth. You can have occasional options fees whenever tenants move, monthly cash flow, and your renters continue to pay off your property with minimal costs.

This is all fairly simple, but there are some secrets that it helps to know. Make sure you get educated on the process, and then lease options will help catapult your wealth. A lease option house is a great way to begin investing. Lease options can be a great part of a wealth plan. You have all the income, and also all the tax benefits of rental property.

Note: There are some states that are working on legislation to limit lease options. This is because of the few unscrupulous investors that are cheating people. They give us all a bad name. As far as I know, at this writing, Texas is the only state where it is not legal, but some adaptations to the program can be made to make it legal. Consult your attorney.

Lesley Wilson is a Real Estate investor, a licensed Real Estate agent, and has also worked in the Title Insurance industry for many years. She has been investing, and helping others invest for over 30 years, and has been a licensed agent for over 15 years. She is dedicated to helping others find financial freedom through Real Estate investing, and providing them with all the Real Estate Resources they need to be successful. www.RealEstateResouceCompany.com.

Keywords: Lease with option to buy, rental houses, landlord, real estate investing

About the Author
Lesley Wilson,
lesley@REALESTATERESOURCECOMPANY.COM