subject: Offer More Buying Options When Trying To Sell A Home [print this page] I often consider another way, besides leasing or outright selling, whenever I want to sell my house quickly. I've sold quite a few houses on lease options during my career as an investor, and it always worked out for me, whether or not that buyer ended up purchasing the house from me. I'll start by explaining a lease option agreement for you, and then describe a little more about how it works.
At the outset I arrange for an option fee to be paid upfront, or simply added onto the monthly lease payment at the time the tenants sign a lease for one year or more. The option fee gives the tenants the right to purchase my house at a specific price by a certain date, usually the last day on the lease agreement.
People who are interested in buying a house on a lease option usually aren't quite in a position to buy it outright because they need to build their credit and save for a down payment. While they are making monthly lease payments sometimes a small portion of the payment applies to their purchase price should they decide to exercise their option and buy my house. But I usually collect an option fee at the time the lease is signed as well.
This set-up gives the tenant/buyers an opportunity to get into the house they want to buy right away, and I have an agreement that works for me because it is a good situation when I sell my house quickly. I am in a good position when people who want to buy it move into a house I own, and they treat it as their own. They paid an option fee because it is the price for me to keep the house off the market for a year or so they can buy it at a certain price later.
Those are two valuable considerations. Besides, they are not obligated to buy the house at all, and they can move out if they choose not to buy the house. They really have the best of both worlds, security and flexibility. The way I see it, we all get a good deal. And if the housing market changes during the lease option period the agreement is still in place, so the buyers can forfeit the house if they think the value has gone down, or make haste to buy it if the value has gone up. I believe that a lease option agreement can work well for both the seller and the buyer, but one thing I know for sure - it works for me when I want to sell my house quickly!
