How it Works
~Looking for a Home?~

Before you can lease purchase a home, you need to know what a lease purchas is. (CLICK HERE to find out what's a lease purchase). Once you understand what a lease purchase is, below are details on how to go from a prospective tenant/buyer with damaged credit and/or insufficient down payment for traditional financing, to the American Dream of Homeownership!

1. Find a home you like: Look in our Available Homes section and find a home that you would like to see. Once you see a home you are intersted in, you will need to follow the link found in the details section of that home and fill out your contact information to see the home. An e-mail with your information will automatically be sent to the person who "listed" that home (we'll call them the 'owner'). They will contact you with instructions to see the home. Note: If you don't see a home you like right now, you can sign up under the same form to be notified of new homes BEFORE they are advertised to the public!
2. See the home & fill out an application: Once you see the home, the owner will have you will out an application to determine when you would qualify for "traditional financing". Don't worry if you don't have the best answers for the application because the lease purchase is perfect for those who don't qualify for "traditional financing". Be honest in the application so the owner can best work with your situation.
3. Screening process: Obviously, every owner can't take every application they receive. Your application typically screened for rent, job, and credit history. This will involve running your credit. You're credit will NOT need to be pulled if: 1. You have give a copy of your credit report with the application, or 2. You have a pre-approval letter from a lender qualifying you for the price of the house. Note: Again, the lease purchase was made to work with those with "less than perfect credit". Keep in mind that you may be asked to offset your risk with more money down. The days of "sub-prime lending with no money down" are over! :-)
4. Complete the paperwork: Congratulations!! You are the lucky one the owner has selected to lease purchase the home. You will sign a lease purchase agreement and place down your first month's rent and any additional funds down, refered to as an "option consideration", required to lease purchase the home. The amount you place down will go towards the "principle balance" of the lease purchase agreement and will usually get credited towards a down payment if you decide to "refinance" using traditional financing.
5. Move in and start making lease purchase payments: You will pay your lease purchase payments directly to the owner provding you the lease purchase opportunity. The owner pays the principle, interest, taxes, insurance and any HOA/condo dues (and continues to get the tax write off) until you are able to "refinance" into traditional financing later. You get the benefit of accumulating "rent credit" each month (a portion of your monthly payment that will also reduce the principle amount due under your lease purchase term until you are able to "refinance" into traditional financing later.
6. Contact a mortgage broker: As soon as you move in, work with your mortgage broker (we can recommend one if you don't have one) to develop a plan convert to traditional financing at the end of the lease purchase term. If necessary, you may want to get into a credit repair program (we can recommend one if you don't have one). During the lease term, periodically check in with your mortgage broker to ensure you are on track to purchase during the lease term.
7. Refinace out of the lease purchase later: Once you are able to, contact the owner to let them know you ready to refinance out of the lease purchase. In addition, contact the closing company to make closing arrangements. At the closing, you will get credit for any "rent credit" you agreed upon with the landlord/seller, as well as for the "option consideration".
8. Homeownership!! Once you've achieved the American Dream of Homeownership, you will stop paying the landlord/seller and start paying a mortgage payment to your mortgage company that provided your traditional financing. This will most likely be a different amount than the lease payment you made - usually, it is higher. But, you will now get all the benefits, like appreciation and tax write off, of owning a home.
   
   Get started now! Check the Available Homes section for a lease purchase home that to meet your needs!!