lease/rent to own?

Having sold a house a couple of years ago, I would never agree to that. I spent a lot of time and money getting the house prepped to sell so I would be worried that your family might mess up the paint, flooring, etc and I would have to go through all that again if you didn't buy it. Selling a house is a business deal, not a personal one so no matter how much I might like you, it would be too risky for me. We wouldn't even let our buyers move in 2 days early when their bank didn't wire the money in time. I'm sure our homeowners insurance wouldn't have covered it if anything had gone wrong during those 2 days and what if the money hadn't come through at all and they were already living in our house? Maybe the owners of the house you are interested in would feel differently though so it might be worth asking. I wish you the best and hope everything works out.

To be honest, I think it's pretty ballsy to ask them to apply the entire rent towards the purchase price. There's no benefit for the seller, at all, to enter into an agreement like that.

IMHO There is a zero percent chance that a seller will go for this. You are not ready to purchase a home. Please don’t put the cart before the horse - it will always bite you in the butt.

I feel your pain. Our house is on the market and I would love to move out. We have two large dogs and five large birds. The birds super messy and can be very screechy loud so I have to be around to keep them clean and quiet whenever there is an open house or showing. Plus, everything including furniture is out of the house except bare necessities and we are living out of plastic totes. Further, renting is not an option for us due to our pets, no apartments living, and there are house rental shortages in the area.

Lease option sounds like a great idea but not practical due to so many variables on both sides and very risky to all involved. We too are very anxious to move and I have tossed around a million ideas to get us into a new house prior to selling this one. I have devised complex plots including lease option, owner financing and even refinancing the small balance on our current home and getting a balloon mortgage on a new home which will be paid off when we sell. I have even talked to lenders and in our market it is doable but could be a disaster if the market shifts or if we do not sell as planned.

Ultimately we just have to sell and to do this deal with constant disruptions, cleaning and noise control. I think having the birds and dogs living in the house while listed is a problem. Our realtor does not see it as an issue and says people sell all the time while living in their homes with tons of variables and distractions, including multiple children and pets. When we are at our worst he reminds us to be patience and persistent and it will translate into new home at the best price.

Good luck to you and hope you sell and can move on quickly.

As a home owner, I would have to be very hard pressed to agree to lease to own. As for all lease payments going towards the purchase of the home - no way! In essence you are asking them to take a big reduction in price, along with a huge risk that you won't damage the home and will actually follow through on the purchase. Too many scenarios where that purchase doesn't end up happening: you never sell the first home, you lose your job, etc. Then as the owner I am stuck with a home that is no longer ready to market due to wear & tear, plus I have the added headache of getting the renter/hopeful buyer out of my house. In many locations that isn't easy.

With regards to selling with 4 children, it may not be the best scenario but it can be done. Many people do it all the time. You just have to be organized and do your prep work as to decluttering and organizing.

People buy homes all the time that have families with kids living in them. It's part of the deal. Most buyers can get past a little disorganization. Don't let the TV shows make you think your house has to be absolutely perfect for every showing. It should look cared for and be as clean as possible, but you have a life and it's ok to live in your home while you sell it. Most people would prefer to see furniture in a home (as long as there's not too much of it) than see it empty anyway.

Rent to own can bite you in the butt as well as the sellers. You would have to have an airtight contract and even then, things can go wrong, like you could lose your financing. It happens. If you were to do it, you would need to agree on who pays for any repairs to the home during that time and have a purchase and sale contract in place with the purchase price outlined and the sale date firmly written in. You would also need to outline exactly how much of your rent goes to the purchase because very rarely does 100% get credited.

That's a very common occurrence. Make an offer on contingency, rent a storage unit for all your crap, and get your house listed. Don't you think it's likely that the people living there also need to buy another house and need to sell their house to do so?