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 Cincinnati, OH

Latitude: 39.13616 -- Longitude: -84.503088

Other Area Cities: Cherry Grove Forestville Glendale Groesbeck Kenwood Lincoln Heights North College Hill Northbrook Norwood Reading Springdale Mason Hamilton Oxford Cincinnati Blue Ash Bridgetown Cheviot Amberley Covedale Deer Park Finneytown Forest Park Madeira West Chester White Oak Woodlawn Wyoming Mariemont Sharonville Loveland

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Cincinnati is a city in southwestern Ohio, in the United States of America, that lies on the Ohio River. It is the county seat of Hamilton CountyGR6. As of 2005, Cincinnati's population was 308,728, making it the third largest city in Ohio and the 55th largest in the United States. It has a much larger metropolitan area, commonly called "Greater Cincinnati", which covers parts of Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana. As of July 1, 2005, the U.S. Census Bureau esimates that the Cincinnati-Middletown-Wilmington Combined Statistical Area has a population of 2,113,011 (making it the 20th largest in the country) and is growing at a rate of about one percent annually. Greater Cincinnati is the 25th largest metropolitan area in America. It is home to major-league sports, including America's first professional baseball team, a National Football League team, and the historic Cincinnati Masters. -- Source: Wikipedia.com

Ohio 2000 Census Population Profile Map

	Cincinnati	Ohio	United States
Population	331,285	11,353,140	281,421,906
Median age	32.1	36.2	35.3
Median age for Male	30.7	34.9	34
Median age for Female	33.7	37.5	36.5
Households	148,095	4,445,773	105,480,101
Household population	317,849	11,054,019	273,643,273
Average household size	2.15	2.49	2.59
Families	72,496	2,993,023	71,787,347
Average family size	3.02	3.04	3.14
Housing units	166,012	4,783,051	115,904,641
Occupied units	148,095	4,445,773	105,480,101
Vacant units	17,917	337,278	10,424,540

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