Rent to Own primary residence, bad cred and no down payment

Rent to Own primary residence, bad cred and no down payment

Member since 2022 · 25 posts · 15 votes

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $88,000
Cash invested: $10,000

Rent to Own Contract .
Purchase price : 88K.
Down Payment : 200.00/Month Installment plan over 4 yrs .
Details: 775.00 Monthly rent + 200.00 down payment installment over 4 yrs gave me a 10,000.00 down payment and 4 yrs of home appreciation.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

After a divorce late in life ruined my credit i was unable to obtain a financing to purchase a home. I was in danger of becoming homeless. I placed an ad online asking if anyone would sell me their home with seller financing or rent to own with no down payment. I needed time to recover and found someone who had a job transfer who could not sell home quick enough.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

I placed an ad online locally asking people to present their offers to me for owner financing and rent to own properties.

How did you finance this deal?

I had owner/seller financing in the contract if i was unable to obtain a mortgage when we closed later in 4 yrs.

How did you add value to the deal?

Luck :-)
Home appreciation over time and simple repairs such as flooring and painting.

What was the outcome?

Entered contract 4 yrs ago with purchase price of 88K, in process of closing now with a value of 168K to 178 K

4 yrs of on time payment history using online auto payments provided a huge boost to my credit score.
Credit Score raised to 660+ plus (from so low i refuse to state it here. )
The good 660+ Credit score allowed me to qualify for both a conventional loan and VA Home loan.
I am currently waiting to close the VA loan on the house in a couple weeks.
Completed the following minor repair

Lessons learned? Challenges?

I was very lucky the owners/sellers were honest people. I made several glaring mistakes with the contract wording etc that could have bit me in the *** or allowed the owner to walk away with my down payment at the end of the contract and not sell me the house. A quality contract and understanding of what needs to be included and knowing how it should be worded is crucial in a rent to own or owner/seller financing contract.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

NO. Had/having a bad experience with agents currently. Not going into more detail until the purchase is complete and not naming names/companies at this moment while still working with them. Communication and clarity are important when working with agents. Lack of can lead to customers feeling negative about the experience etc....

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  • Investor · San Diego, CA · Member since 2016 · 1k+ posts · 975 votes
    4y

    @Susan Authement Congrats!! And thank you for sharing your success story. Your post is a great example of how folks can get creative in challenging situations to achieve their goals. Most people would have just given up and said "well I can't qualify for a mortgage so I guess I can't buy a house" but you didn't give up! 

    I especially like the way you posted an ad for exactly what you needed. 

    Now that you have much-improved credit and some equity, are you going to pursue another property so you can rent this one out? 

    Thanks again for sharing.

  • Member since 2022 · 25 posts · 15 votes
    4y

    Hello Doug

    Yes, i plan on pulling out the equity and using to purchase property in Michigan to be near my elderly parents.  I just have to be very careful and plan it well . A mistake moving forward would be a disaster. After i am situated in Michigan any mistakes or learning curves would be easier to handle. I admit i have 3 or 4 ways i can do this with the equity but I am not sure which way is best for me. Example i know home security is very important to me, having a place to live and not have to worry about losing that home is critical for me. I could simply pour all the equity into a primary res. When im settled i could pull the equity back out of that house and purchase a duplex or triplex with that money to provide cash flow, doing that would now mean i have a mortgage over my head if something goes wrong. Would it go wrong, probably not, but not a for sure thing. I could buy a triplex and move into a unit. That is stability but im not a big people person. I dont want to share a home long term with other families. Im happiest in a shack in the woods with no phone LOL. I also perfer to live outside of a small town in a rural area. Most multi families are located in city limits. Options just swirl around in my head like hurricane. I need to develop a plan and then make choices that fit that particular plan. Very hard to pick the best plan when all plans have pro and con aspects.

  • Solo 401k Expert · Anaheim Hills, CA · Member since 2012 · 18k+ posts · 6k+ votes
    4y

    Congratulations!

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