Yes, rent to buy homes are a real opportunity for people who need help with or time to save up a down payment. Rent to buy also gives tenants time to build their credit to qualify for a mortgage.

No, you do not need a realtor to rent to buy. In fact, most realtors are not willing to work with clients looking to rent to buy because they do not make a lot of commission.

Yes, a realtor can help you find a rent to buy home; however, it is unlikely you will find one who will want to. Realtors make a very little commission from rent to buy homes. They basically have to make a commission from your option fee because the sale of the home isn’t for a long time. Additionally, many buyers decide not to buy rent to buy homes, leaving the realtor without commission at the end.

To rent to buy a house, first, you need to demonstrate proof of permanent employment as a salaried worker or registered business owner with net regular monthly income above GHS1,500 before you can either apply to buy any of our in-house units or you look for a seller interested in selling his or her home so we can setup the rent to own financing option on it for you. To initiate your rent to buy, you pay an option fee to retain the right to purchase the home. You pay monthly rent and premium payments to the seller. If you purchase the home, the money you have paid as an option fee and premium payments go toward your down payment on the home. If you decide not to purchase the home, you simply walk away.

Rent to buy works when you rent a house from a landlord with the intention of owning it at some point in the future. In a rent to buy agreement, you pay an option payment at the beginning of your rent, then you rent the property and accrue rent credits. You have the option to purchase the home at any point throughout the rental phase. When you do purchase the property, your option payment and rent credits are credited to your down payment on the home.

When you rent with the option to buy, you’re renting a home and you have the option to purchase it at any point throughout the rental phase. It works because you pay an option fee at the beginning of your rental phase to retain the option to buy the home. You pay rent, like you do in any rent, and can work out a premium payment each month to earn rent credits. The rent credits and option fee are credited to your down payment for the property at the end of the rental phase, should you buy it. Otherwise, the seller keeps the money.

It’s easier to make rent to buy work with bad credit than it is to make a mortgage work. While some sellers might check your credit, they are only checking to make sure your credit will be high enough for you to qualify for a mortgage by the end of the rental phase. Your credit can be bad when you rent to buy. Rent to buy can be the key for someone with bad credit to own a home. You just need to build your credit high enough during the rental phase to qualify for a mortgage at the end of the rent.

The price of a rent to buy home depends on the market value of the home. Typically, the seller and the buyer work together to estimate what the home will be worth at the end of the rental phase. Additionally, the rent is fair market rent plus the premium payments. The option fee is about twenty percent of the monthly rent of the home.

The monthly rent payment would be calculated based on fair market rent for the area. Then you and the seller can decide whether you want to include premium payments as part of your contract. If you do, you will get rent credits based on extra money you pay each month. You can negotiate with the seller so that he or she matches your payments. Those payments will then go back to you and serve as part of your down payment.

Rent to buy costs just as much as renting a home until you have enough money to buy one, as long as you do purchase the house you are looking at. Depending on how good the rent credits you work out are, it can even cost less.

Rent to buy is safe. It has its risks, but so long as you are aware of them, they are completely avoidable. For example, make sure that you can raise your credit score or profile high enough to qualify for a mortgage (if you cannot pay it off) at the end of the 5yr rental phase. Otherwise, you would lose your option payment and premiums because you didn’t purchase the home.