Make sure you do everything possible to ensure that your Optionee pays the monthly payment early, on time or, at the absolute worse, 15 days late.  One of the main components of Lease Option financing is that the Tenant has proven that they can pay their house payment on time.  If they can’t, then the [...]

In the last post, we suggested that you have your lease option tenant meet with a financial expert to make sure that the tenant can exercise the lease option in the future. Here is an example of why this is so critical.
Let’s say that you have a Lease Option Tenant named Sue and Joe.  They [...]

Since credit is getting tighter, if your exit strategy is to have your tenant exercise the lease option after a certain period of time, you should have your finance person run a check to see if they will be able to refinance in the time frame you have in mind.
This is going to cost [...]

Many people seek out a lease option agreement because they can’t get a home through traditional means. Since credit is getting tighter and the qualifications for ANYONE to get a mortgage are being raised, you can help your tenants qualify for the lease option, and get financed, by putting them in a credit report program.
Let [...]

Once you get a lease option tenant in your property, it’s best to have a third party collect the payments from your tenants.  This can help with proving that you are doing things by the book and aren’t trying to defraud the lenders.
Since lenders are always looking for anything fishy, eliminate the possibility by having [...]

More and more lenders are moving towards requiring that the Lease Option tenant be able to prove residency at the property with at least one utility bill in their name at the address of the property that is being refinanced.  This is because of the fraud that used to take place when investors would just [...]

There’s something going on right now in lending that all investors must be aware of. Lenders are now trying to say that whatever the original Lease Option Price was at the beginning of the Lease Option is all the property is going to be valued at for the entire duration of the Lease Option!
For example, [...]

When your Optionees make their payments to you, make sure that they do it with anything except for cash! You should take one of the following things:

Check payments where the tenant receives the cancelled checks and keeps them.
Cashier’s check (with them down as the remitter and keep the receipt)
Lock box
Direct debit
Teller deposit into an account

Any [...]

Once you get the lease option signed, make sure you keep the original signed Lease Option somewhere safe.  I would suggest a Safe Deposit Box.  This may sound crazy but we’ve actually had underwriters ask for the original at closing.
Why? I have no idea! But you’re better safe than sorry. I think what they were [...]

Make sure the last page of the actual Lease Option Contract is only used for signatures and dates.  Don’t have any contingencies on this page! This will allow you immense freedom if necessary when it comes time to refinance.  Remember, our main interest is intent…..we’re not worried about some technical reading of the Lease Option [...]

Recording your lease option correctly is essential to being able to exercise the option correctly and refinance in the future. When you record the lease option, you should only record a one page document entitled “Memorandum of Lease Option.” You shouldn’t record the entire lease option because an underwriter will then ask to go through [...]

Lease options can help you get more deals done as a Real Estate investor. However you need to understand some key facts in order to be able to use them effectively. One of the most important rules about lease options is the fact that you need to have a track record for your lease option [...]