Lease Option

Charlotte Property Management Weekly: Making Rent-To-Sell’s Story Sound like BP’s

2. Misery. Agony. It will definitely lead to eviction which means years of court battles that will make the OJ trial seem like a traffic ticket. Once the tenant moves in, your life will be drastically different. It’s like having another child; be prepared to be over to your old house weekly at 1 AM to fix the toilet. I feel I must present this offer to you, but I would highly recommend against it.

Charlotte Property Management Weekly: Solving the High-End Home Sales Stagnation with Rentals and Rent-To-Own

Many are realizing that they need a solution to get them past the next few years. They are starting to explore rental and rent-to-own options. They’ve heard the horror stories that people tell about renters, but they can also do basic math.

What do I mean by that?

Charlotte Property Management Weekly: The Top 3 Reasons Why Good Property Managers Matter More Now (Reason #2)

Traditionally, this could be considered a “lowering” of standards; however, in today’s market, I would argue that it is understanding, collecting, and interpreting tenant data better. Tenant selection has become more of an art and less of a science.

And this makes it much harder!

Charlotte Property Management Weekly: Top 6 Miscellaneous Tips for Rent-To-Own Deals

5. What about the much publicized “higher rental rates” you hear about that rent-to-own arrangements command? I don’t see evidence of this. Does this ever happen? Sure. Does it happen often in competitive markets? No. As an example, try to list your rental home for $200 above market rate as a “rent-to-own” and see what your response rate is. There are plenty of rent-to-own opportunities at market rate rent (or below).

Charlotte Property Management Weekly: Signs of the Times: Layaway and Rent-To-Own Are Back!

If you owe the bank $100, that’s your problem. If you owe the bank $100 million, that’s the bank’s problem.
(J. Paul Getty)

This can easily be reworded to fit today’s real estate market:

“If you can’t get financing to buy a house, that’s your problem. If millions of people can’t get financed, that’s the home seller’s (and their real estate agent’s!) problem.” (Brett Furniss)

Charlotte Property Management Weekly: Rent-To-Own- A Great Lead Generator for Traditional Brokerage!

During the webinar, the host asked the presenters what percentage of their company’s revenues came from lease options. The other presenter quickly answered, “100%.” I thought about it and said “15-20%”; afterwards, I felt like a fraud. Why was I asked to participate as a “lease option expert” when 80-85% of my company’s revenues derived from elsewhere?

Charlotte Property Management Weekly: It’s All About the Narrative: The Key to Maximizing Your Rent-To-Own Client’s Value

“I can’t sell this couple on anyone. If their financial history was made into a movie, it would be in the “Horror” section. Well, the “Drama” section would fit, too. And with eight kids, it could probably be get into the “Adult Content” section as well… (Charlotte Realtor bemoaning the plight of their rent-to-own client with less than stellar credentials)

Charlotte Property Management Weekly: Drive + Drink = Lease + Option?

“Lease options might be the worst idea ever. Who would ever be a party to one? I tried one once and it was a complete disaster! I mean, I’m not a lawyer- there’s just so much that can go wrong; I don’t have firsthand knowledge of this mind you, but I’ve heard lots and lots of stories.” (Traditional Realtor)

“Combine two innocuous substances and “Walla!” A homemade bomb.” (Al Qaeda training manual quoting a MacGyver episode)

Charlotte Property Management Weekly: Is Rent-To-Own a Scam? Wait- Who’s Laughing?

“If you can’t spot the sucker in the first half hour at the table, then you ARE the sucker.” (Matt Damon in Rounders)

Back in 2006 when life was good and real estate sales were plentiful, I got a call from a friend of mine from New York City.

Charlotte Property Management Weekly: Santa Claus, Unicorns, & Risk Free Transactions (Or “How to Risk Manage Yourself Out of a Living”)

“I can’t do lease options. They are way too risky!” (Concerned Charlotte Realtor)

“That’s why it’s a short cut. If it was easy, it would just be the way.” (Paulo Costanzo in Road Trip)