Rent to Own: Use Your Rent Money to Get Started Owning Real Estate

by Robert Irwin

Overview

With long-term, unconventional financing strategies, homeownership is within your reach. Rent to Own shows you how to turn your rent money into a new home, whether you're a single professional, young family, and or are living on a budget, using lease options and other overlooked purchasing tactics.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780071594592
Publisher:	McGraw Hill LLC
Publication date:	07/16/2007
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	224
File size:	446 KB

About the Author

Robert Irwin is a successful real estate professional and author, as well as a consultant to lenders, investors and brokers. One of the most recognized experts in the field of real estate, he is the author of more than fifty books, including Buying a Home on the Internet, The Pocket Guide for Home Buyers, and McGraw-Hill's bestselling Tips and Traps series.

Table of Contents

Preface     ix
Why You Should Own Your Home     1
Why Buy?     2
Where's the Profit?     3
The Ownership Advantage     14
Ownership Drawbacks     16
The Name of the Game     17
But the Market's Uncertain     17
Does It Ever Pay to Rent Instead of Buy?     19
Calculating Whether It Makes More Sense to Own or to Rent     20
What If You Still Can't Afford It?     22
Do Market Conditions Really Count?     23
Tomorrow's Market     25
Can You Get Hurt?     27
How Can House Prices Go Higher?     27
Where Is the Market Now?     28
Be Wary of Headlines     30
But Can I Afford It?     31
I Can't Buy because I Don't Have the Down Payment     32
I Can't Buy because I Don't Have the Closing Costs     37
I Can't Buy because My Credit Is Bad     41
I Can't Buy because My Income Is Too Low and I Can't Afford the Payments     45
Conclusion: You Can Afford a Mortgage     53
Using Your Rent Money to Buy-the Lease-Option     55
The Types of Buyers Who Should Get Lease-Options     56
How Lease-Options Work     57
Lease-Option Example     60
Advantages of Lease-Options for Sellers     62
Potential Problems with Lease-Options     64
Finding Lease-Option Sellers     75
Dealing with Agents     78
Lease-Purchases     82
Transferring Lease-Options     83
Lease-Option Opportunities under Section 8     84
The Bottom Line     85
Contract-for-Sale or Subject-To Purchases     86
Contract-for-Sale Purchases     86
Subject-To Purchases     95
Nothing Down and Lower Monthly Payments     105
An ARM (but Not a Leg!) for Lower Payments     106
Interest-Only Mortgages     110
100 Percent Financing for Nothing Down     112
FHA and VA Government Insured or Guaranteed Mortgages     115
100 Percent Seller Financing     116
Reducing Your Payments by Eliminating the PMI     119
Absolutely Minimum Payments with the Option Mortgage     122
Getting around the Closing Costs     127
Getting Financing Even When Credit Is a Problem     132
What Can Hurt a Borrower's Credit?     132
What Is a Credit Score?     134
How Does a Borrower Get a Credit Score?     135
How Does a Lender Evaluate a Credit Score?     136
What Is a Financial Profile?     137
What If a Borrower Has a Poor Financial Profile?     137
How Can a Borrower Improve a Credit Score?     138
How Can a Borrower Fix Bad Credit?     141
How Can a Borrower Correct a Credit Report Mistake?     142
How Can a Borrower Establish Credit If He or She Has None     143
Buying Foreclosures     146
The Availability of Foreclosed Properties     147
The Foreclosure Opportunity     148
Lender-Owned Properties     153
Bidding Low for Bargain Buys     158
The Art of Lowballing     159
The Effect of Market Conditions on Lowballing     162
Deciding How Deep Your Lowball Offer Should Be     164
Finding Out What May Be Motivating the Seller     165
The Steps in the Lowballing Process     166
What to Do If Your Agent Does Not Want to Convey Your Lowball Offer     167
Appraisal Offers     168
FSBOs and First-Time-Buyer Programs     170
Making an Offer to a FSBO Seller     171
Handling the Paperwork Involved in Purchasing a FSBO Property     172
Negotiating Tips for Dealing Face-to-Face with the Seller     174
The Importance of Getting the Purchase Agreement in Writing     176
Finding FSBO Sellers     177
Special First-Time-Buyer Programs     177
Understanding Real Estate Tax Advantages     179
Are Your Property Taxes Deductible?     179
Is the Interest on Your Mortgage Deductible?     180
Are the Points You Pay When You Buy a Home Deductible?     181
How Valuable Is Mortgage Interest as a Tax Deduction?     182
What about Interest Added to a Mortgage?     183
What Are the Tax Consequences of Refinancing?     183
What Are the Tax Consequences When you Sell?     184
How Do You Qualify for the Tax Exclusion?     185
What Are the New Tax Exclusion Rules?     186
Are There Exceptions to the New Tax Exclusion Rules?     188
How Important Is Record Keeping?     190
Getting Started on a Budget-and over a Weekend!     191
Make a Budget     191
Get Preapproval     193
Check the Timing     194
Know Your Determination     194
Get an Agent     195
How to Choose an Agent     196
Narrow the Search     200
Make an Offer     201
Close the Deal and Move In!     202
What You Should Know about ARMs     203
Low Initial Rate: The Teaser     204
The Basics of an ARM     206
Interest Rate Caps     212
Mortgage Payment Caps     213
Negative Amortization     215
Prepayment Penalties     217
ARMs with Caps on Both the Monthly Payment and Interest Rate     218
Types of ARMs     219
Convertible Option Mortgages     219
Other Mortgages     221
Index     223