Rent to Own / Owner financing

November 20, 2008

Just recently I talked to a home repairman. He was telling me how he’d worked for a builder for over 10 years and how he had an “agreement” to purchase a home from his boss. They’d agreed on a price ($23,000) and on an amount that would come out of his paycheck every month. But that was it. Nothing in writing, no mention of interest. The home was in bad repair and the employee spent long hours and money renovating the home. The builder refused to do any repairs as he told the employee that as a home “owner”, it was the employee’s responsibility. Fast forward 10 years. The employee had come into some money and wanted to pay off the home and get a deed. He had enough money to pay off the principle and enough left over to pay interest of 8%. The builder refused the payoff, stating that as the home was worth more now, he wanted an additional $20,000 but that if the employee wanted, he could continue paying monthly. Needless to say, that employee is no longer working for the builder and no longer living in the house he’d called home for over 10 years.

Many people with poor credit feel that a “rent to own” option will help them find a home. They think that it is similar to going to some of the “no credit check” rent-to-own furniture stores that are in every town. “I’ll pay $1000 a month and then one day I’ll own the home”. Yes, it is possible to structure a “rent to own” contract, but it is extremely important to lay out all contingencies. How much of the base rent will go towards principle? Who is responsible for repairs? Is there a default clause if the buyer leaves the home before the house is paid off? Will the buyer forfeit the equity or will he get some of it back? In the case of delinquent rent, will the equity be applied to delinquent rent and the purchase/rent to own contract be voided? Remember, in a rent to own situation, the tenant/purchaser does not have title to the property.

Owner financing is different. In this case, deed is passed to the buyer at closing and a mortgage is held by the seller. The buyer will sign a mortgage note and mortgage the home. The terms of the note will have been negotiated before closing. In this case, the seller is not responsible for any repairs to the home and must proceed through legal channels to foreclose on the property should the buyer default on the mortgage note. Most sellers are reluctant to owner finance to someone with poor credit, but if there extenuating circumstances, this might be an option for those buyers who are not eligible for traditional financing.

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Local Information for Novi, MI

Latitude: 42.480301 -- Longitude: -83.477531

Other Area Cities: Novi Milford Bingham Farms Farmington Farmington Hills Franklin Plymouth Orchard Lake Wixom Northville

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Novi is a city in Oakland County of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is a suburb of Detroit and is part of the Metro Detroit area. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 47,386. The city is located approximately 25 miles northwest from the center of Detroit, and is located within the boundaries of the geographic Township of Novi. Novi is one of the fastest growing cities in Michigan. The construction of Twelve Oaks Mall in the mid-1970s at the interchange of Novi Road and I-96 is often credited with ushering in the growth that the city has experienced. But even before Twelve Oaks, the city experienced consistent growth since the 1950s, leading to substantial increases in the city's population, as well as commercial and industrial developments in the city. Novi is also home to the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America, which opened in 1989. Inductees receive the "Horsepower Award" on the Wednesday before the June NASCAR race at Michigan International Speedway. -- Source: Wikipedia.com

Michigan 2000 Census Population Profile Map

	Novi	Michigan	United States
Population	47,386	9,938,444	281,421,906
Median age	35.2	35.5	35.3
Median age for Male	34.4	34.3	34
Median age for Female	35.9	36.6	36.5
Households	18,726	3,785,661	105,480,101
Household population	47,119	9,688,555	273,643,273
Average household size	2.52	2.56	2.59
Families	12,324	2,575,699	71,787,347
Average family size	3.17	3.1	3.14
Housing units	19,649	4,234,279	115,904,641
Occupied units	18,726	3,785,661	105,480,101
Vacant units	923	448,618	10,424,540

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