Rent to Own

I am doing rent to own, properties, and I ask for
1.What they are looking for? #beds/baths etc
2.what is there current living situation
3.how much they have avail. for the option consideration (down payment)
4.what area they are looking for etc

Hope this helps.

Ok...Now I have a better understanding...What about after both parties have agreed to terms?....What info should you have then? Social security # etc....

Well - about renting...

I know of a property management company that's been inthis area for over 25yrs. I rented a home through this Property Management company for 2yrs at $1200. when a 3 bedroom apartment nearby costs $1300.

So for the property management company - I plan to pay the initial fees and the the 10% (of what I charge for rent), each month. That P.M. company will advertise(even online),find and qualify renters and take care of much of the little issues that come up. I will offer my rentals for Less then fair market value.

I also know of a home repair warranty company...I was renting a 3bd-2ba house
(the house was a $265,000. place at the time)...the warranty company charged about $360. a year and repaired the Air conditioning 3 times! I was paying $50. a month for that warranty per the lease to own contract...so I MORE than paid for that warranty.

Everything will be in the Rental agreement or lease to own.

What I don't know is if the Property Management works with lease to own.

Looking for advise on rent to own contracts. We are offering our duplex for sale with a rent to own option. We want to make sure the contract is written properly so as not to trigger the "sale" clause in our mortgage. All advise would be greatly appreciated.

Make sure, like all networking you do in RE, to SCREEN them well! I just spoke to my dentist who dables in rental properties (I gave him info about becoming a private money lender. ) and this is his 3rd disaster with another property management company. The renters didn't pay for 3 months, they had to evict them, they had 4 animals and left feces and pee all over the house; so much so that Home Depot would not come out and remove it! This was due to a poor property management company who did not screen the tenant well or check up on the home!

Many property managers do the minimal amount of work possible, so screen them well! ASK many questions about how they conduct business, find tenants, and choose them. The key to renting out is to get a good tenant in the first place. If short cuts are taken there, you'll have a lot of problems. Its much easier to get a tenant in than get them out of the property! So, the solution is to get a good tenant.

Many property managers or realtors will do lease options if you opt to outsource it. I do all my property management on my own, with the help of neighbors, HOA, and contacts in the home's neighborhood for maintenance issues. I screen my tenants well and rarely ever take the first applicant (many property management companies will just to get the hard part over with, and it can end up disastrous like my dentist's situation above.). And, property management companies not only get the 10%, they also get any other fees incurred. If the tenant makes a late payment, they keep all the late payment penalty money.

Now, making the transition into lease options, I'm looking for the same thing I'd look for in a tenant. Most of my tenants don't have good credit to begin with, but you want to find someone who is honest and upfront about their credit and background and who is showing to be doing something to fix it. Honesty is the most important factor though!!! If I go run a background and credit check, and there are a whole bunch of items they didn't tell me about, I go to the next applicant. ( I created a whole thread on this here: http://www.deangraziosi.com/real-estate-forums/rental-and-cashflow-prope...)

Of course, you also want to know the items cathyb mentioned to find something for them! You should get an application from all prospective tenants, whether its a regular rental or a lease option! Remember, people back out of the option portion all the time and you end up getting the property back! So, CHOOSE WISELY!

Treat them as though you are the bank and underwriter and they are the customer and they are actually buying the property.

Do your due dili on their finances, credit, employment status and history, paystubs, and references. Especially references. Take what their present landlord says to heart.

Property owners have somewhat of a kinship and tend to be very honest and forthright with each other from a standpoint of karma and not wanting foul stuff to happen to them and would hope for help. If they tell you the client "has been late a few times" or "plays the music loud alot" or "takes alot of showers it seems", or something similar, thats not good.

They're telling you that "they're often late", "they stay up late and have no regard" and "they run up my utility bills. If they're complaining in a tone that seems like its no big deal, its just the opposite; it is a big deal, but they're telling you in a way where they're not outright telling you but you know.

If the first thing they tell is not something positive, move on.