Rent to own in Tampa?

Question

Hey BP,

So I’ll be moving to Tampa later this year.

Initially I was thinking of buying a house. But I haven’t spent much time in Tampa so I was thinking of renting. However I don’t want to jump into a 12-month lease and then find a house I like halfway through and break the lease.

So I was thinking, how can I find rent to own opportunities in Tampa? Then if I find a place I like I can rent and then keep it if I choose.

Are there websites for this sort of thing?

Cheers,

André

Obed Calixte · Answer

Hello there Andre - hope the previous neighborhood info was helpful.

In regards to this post I will caveat that I have not closed a lease/option deal aka "Rent-to-Own" however I will share what I do know to give you initial guidance until others chime in.

There are ways to find lease options - including but not limited to dedicated sites such as homepartners.com, some new construction homebuilders to on/off market properties that can be seller financed.

Now there are some things to consider with a lease option:

1- generally will require an initial 1 year lease

2-generally requires a non-refundable fee for the "option agreement". The option agreement is what gives one the option to buy the home without being obligated to purchasing it

3- more involved process than simply signing a lease or a purchase agreement

If your main objective is to prevent breaking a lease, finding a property with "month to month" leasing may be your best bet.

Hope that helps in the interim!

Stanford R. · Answer

@Andre Crabb, going the month to month option or any other form of living that doesn't require a year long lease like @Obed Calixte and @Michael Haynes mentioned above definitely sounds like your best option at this point.  As far as Tampa neighborhoods go, the South of Gandy, Seminole Heights and North Hyde Park areas are all up and coming.  As a Tampa native and resident of 30 years I've seen the City grow substantially.  "Tampa" is a very large area and most people refer to Tampa as the entire Hillsborough/Pinellas/Polk/Pasco county region.  If you're talking about within the Tampa City limits I'd look into the above three neighborhoods.  If you're talking about the entire region, then there are obviously a lot more options to consider.

Michael Haynes · Answer

Hello Andre Crabb, you might consider a House to Share on Zillow and keep your funds ready for the end of the Rent Moratoriam and Increase in all the Taxes and Fees that the new Administration is trying to do. We are all looking for a safe place to park our Money, but, with prices for Houses and Rents at all time highs in Tampa you have to consider that the party may end soon. Then, when you do find a Home you can make it a Tax-free Sale of your Residence after 2 years and move into your next fixer-upper as your Basic Real Estate Business Plan. Try to work smarter and not harder as we are looking at a big increase in all our Taxes and living expenses. Your in San Juan...what's wrong with doing the same thing in Paradise?

Dan Maciejewski · Answer

Another option that I've found is great for relocations is an investor partner that will let you choose a house on the MLS, buy it, and then rent to you at a pre-agreed price.

Then they also give you a lease option to purchase at anytime for up to 3 years, also at pre-determined prices.  That way you can test-drive the house, neighborhood, and area.  The rents are usually market-rate, and so are the sales prices.  Actually right now, with the market going up 3-5% every month, the sales prices they will give you will beat that -- they go up 3-5% every year.

You do have to fit their rental criteria but you're not buying a house anyway if you don't.  This isn't the typical lease option for bad credit risks, this is actually for relocations that don't know the area well and don't want to commit to a house just yet.

Michael Haynes · Answer

Hello again Andre Crabb. If you go to Craigslist.com/Tampa you can search for "sublets and temporary" in the areas that you choose. Sometimes you can find a big house to share, no smoking, with pools, South Tampa to share. I saw a one person trailer to rent in Largo for $600. There are lots of expensive monthly houses and vacation homes.

Andre Crabb · Answer

Thanks guys!

I’ll focus on finding a month to month lease for the time being 👍👍

Rent to own in Tampa?

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