Lease to Own Pro's and Con's and IRA fund

[Christopher Bannister]

Ok BP Nation, who would've known it was so hard to get financing with poor credit and no savings...yes that's me and not afraid to admit it, I'm an open book who's honest and upfront.  I met a wholesaler thru here that's been working his but off sending me deals, but trying to understand the numbers and find lenders is a huge obstacle at the moment.  I need to understand if I have a deal or not prior to sending it to lenders, so if anyone is willing to invest their time to show me how to crunch numbers properly, please DM me.  Now that my personal business is out there, need an opinion on a plan I have to get into the investment game.  Yes, I know I have to get my finances in order and work on my credit, those are the no-brainers, the reality is...If I keep waiting on everything to be "perfect" I'll be retired finally celebrating my first property.  So here we are....

Option 1: Considering my current financial situation, I was thinking about a Lease to own at my current residence.  My partner and I have been here for 5 years and I was thinking it might be a good idea to do a Lease Purchase considering we already live here and have a stable relationship with the owner.  If I pursue this, I need to know the Pro's and Con's of the decision prior to addressing this to our landlord.  

with that said:

How do I address him to make the deal work for both of us?...What do I need to know prior to addressing him?...What if he says no, is there a creative way to counter that or make him at least consider it?...If rent increases, should the difference be placed in an escrow account for closing costs at a later date? 

Option 2: I may have poor credit and no savings, but I have $12,000+ PRE-TAXED in my IRA account and wondering if I should use that to pay down the little bit of debt I have (Can honestly use my weekly pay for that, just had a bad month that put me in a tough situation) ... or do you honestly think I can use that towards a property and get lending with what I have in my IRA?....I'm getting rid of the IRA either way, because my return would be much greater in real estate instead of letting it sit in my IRA...If I'm wrong, don't hesitate to tell me, I have thick skin.