There's more than one way to get out of your house. You can, of course, sell it outright. Or you do a lease-to-buy deal.
By:
Tammy Stoner
If your house has been on the market for a while, you need to move quickly, or you have a motivated buyer who can't gather enough cash to buy but can put down a non-refundable deposit on a future buy, you might consider a Lease-to-Buy Option.
Your Realtor (or your collection of real estate books) can walk you through the details, but the overall picture is this: You and your
leasor
agree to a set price (great for the
leasor
/buyer if the market goes up and great for you if the market goes down) and time frame to make an offer with a non-refundable "earnest money" deposit (often called a "consideration" in lease-buy options) from your
leasor
. The
leasor
may offer to buy at any time during your term, often putting their rent and earnest money against the agreed-upon price. If they decide not to buy, you keep the earnest money and put the house on the market again (you hope at a higher price than the year before), continue your lease-to-buy, or simply switch to a standard rental agreement with your tenant.
Although cleaning and decluttering are never on anyone's list of favorite household activities, they are two of the easiest and most efficient ways to give home value an immediate boost.
With the possible exception of price, the terms of your offer should mirror as closely as possible the terms the sellers' agent expressed would be preferred without impairing your important legal protections and other common sense needs.
Overwhelmed by the idea of a monthly mortgage, taxes and other costs of owning a home? Do a little real estate therapy with expert Tara-Nicholle Nelson.
When dealing with appraisals, loans and flaws in the condition of the house you're about to buy, having a contingency plan allows you to back out of the purchase with no penalty.
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