Can a Rent to Own Home Help You Achieve Your Goals?
Despite the current economy, owning a home is still a part of the American dream. Unfortunately, this is a dream that has gotten much more difficult for the average American to achieve. The reality is that mortgage guidelines are showing no signs of loosening any time soon.
This has made many people look for alternative options. This is one reason that the Finance the Dream program has become so popular. Rent to own homes and owner financed homes can be a great alternative for those who can’t get a mortgage, but you need to be sure that it is the right decision for you. Here are some questions you should ask yourself before you make the decision to rent to own a home!
1. How important is it to you to become a home owner?
Is owning a home critical for your long term happiness? When you rent, does it just not feel the same as if the home was “yours”? Before you start working towards owning a home, you need to examine just how important it is to you. If you are someone who gets bored easily or who likes to move around, then maybe renting does make more sense to you. On the other hand, if you like to nest and derive happiness from having your own space, then this is probably a worthy goal. Rent to own and lease to own homes are a long term commitment!
2. How stable is your income?
Most people who consider getting a rent to own home are considering this option because their credit is less than perfect. Bad credit is almost always caused by an interruption in income that occurred at some point. If this has happened to you in the past, you need to take a careful look at how stable your income is now. Are you past the issues that caused the bad credit in the first place? Have you taken or are you willing to take the steps to build additional streams of income?
3. Are You Willing to Work for It?
Let’s be honest – getting your finances on track is hard work. It takes discipline and diligence. How much effort are you willing to put into credit repair? Are you willing to make lifestyle changes or earn extra income so that you can pay down your debts?
4. Are You Sure Where You Want to Live?
Paying an option fee up front to live in a home when you aren’t even sure that you will eventually want to buy it doesn’t make sense. For this reason, you should only consider a rent to own home or a lease purchase if you are fairly sure about the location that it is in. Some cities, like Atlanta, have ridiculous drive times. While you may fall in love with a home it doesn’t make sense to rent to own a home in Cumming when you work Downtown because you are going to spend your entire life in the car! Be sure about the area before you pull the trigger.
5. Are You Prepared to Care for a Home?
When you rent to own, the responsibility of routine maintence of the home falls on you. There isn’t going to be a landlord to call every time the toilet is leaky. While state laws dictate that certain things fall on the home owner, the reality is that much of the home maintence is going to be up to you. The bottom line is that rent to own houses carry with them more responsibility than just renting! Are you willing to care for the home as if it was your own? This is something you need to consider carefully before you get a rent to own home!
Your answers to these questions will tell you for you should start looking for homes for rent to own! If it is the right time for you, check out our rent to own homes listings. We may have a rent to own home listing that is just right for you!
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