Lease-to-Buy Option??

DH bought a house last spring that is now back on the Market b/c we are divorcing. The house has been listed since the 1st week of October and has had quite a few showings, but no serious buyers. The other day I got a call from my agent that another agent wanted to come see the house ASAP for a relocation client of hers. She came to see the house and thinks her clients will LOVE it. Sounds good, right?? Well....turns out the people are from another country. The are coming in this week to look at houses, but this agent thinks ours will be the top contender. According to the agent, the couple is looking for a lease-to-buy option?? If you don't know what that is, basically they would rent the home from us and agree to a buy out price. Out of the monthly rent, you set aside a few hundred $$ that they basically bank towards their DP for the house. If they decide to walk away and NOT buy the house, DH and I would keep the DP $$. This sounds like a nice option because right now DH and I are splitting the mtg and i'm not even living in the house. Kind of stinks having to pay that much money for something you see 1 or 2 x's a month....and we haven't had any serious buyers yet. What I don't like is that with this type of "Sale" they don't actually have to buy the house. Sure it's nice that we get to keep the money if they walk, but i'm not selling because I want to, I'm selling bc of a divorce. If they DON'T buy, then it's a year later and I have to put the house back on the market again. As long as this house is still around, i'm still connected to my husband. Thoughts??? Has anyone done this before??? TIA

Re: Lease-to-Buy Option??

bump...

anyone??? lol

Re: Lease-to-Buy Option??

From what I've heard, lease to buy isnt very common around here. However DH and I are looking to move out of state and it's VERY popular where we are looking to move.

I do think it's a great option to look into, you pretty much hit the nail on the head on how it works however like you said they don't have to buy the house and the process starts all over again.

It would def. leave you connected to your husband b/c you guys would essentially be landlords for a specific amount of time but the positive to it is that there is money coming in, it's not just sitting around waiting for a bid.

Re: Lease-to-Buy Option??

yep.....it's a lot to think about. We'll see what happens!!

Re: Lease-to-Buy Option??

I would speak to a real estate attorney

there are many different ways to handle this situation

Re: Lease-to-Buy Option??

Good: You and STBX won't have to dish out money for a house anymore and you get landlord deductions. You do however, have to claim the income but, you have interest to write off so it will balance.

Bad: You are still tied in with your ex but this time also on a professional level. It's now an investment. Have a lawyer include the info about the rent to own stipulation and what that means for YOU in your divorce agreement. DO NOT NOT do this and go by your ex's word. DOCUMENT it.


I am renting my co-op I bought before I met me DH and considering rent to own with a tenant, It's not uncommon this day and age where people don't have down payment !