Thinking about a Lease to Purchase option?

With the strict lending regulations, it can be difficult for buyers to obtain mortgage financing. This often leads them to think about a Rent to Own option. It sounds like a viable options, but in reality it can be complicated.
Here are just a few general things to think about:
First, the buyer/tenant needs to find a home that 1. you want to buy 2. with a seller that is capable of leasing instead of selling. The latter can be difficult because the seller often needs the proceeds of the sale to transition to their new home. The best type of seller to pursue are investors and builders. Still, it's never a guarantee.
Secondly, as a buyer, you still need down payment money for this type of transaction. Depending on the situation, you'll need a security deposit and additional deposit to be held in escrow until you purchase the home at the future date. Maybe you have the downpayment, but need to build up your credit score for mortgage approval. As a seller, they will want to know you are aggressively working towards your credit through a repair service of some sort.

When going this route, you are essentially signing a lease for an agreed upon term with the option to buy at the end of that term. As a buyer, there could be penalties if you do not buy at the end of the term. And as a seller, you may have lost out of potential buyers while home was under lease contract.

There are many pros and cons for each party in this type of agreement. To make it work, everyone involved needs to have the same goal in mind.

If you have any specific questions, please contact me directly at kskneeland@gmail.com or 484-343-2406

Local Family Fun

Throughout the month of June, Greener Partners is having 'Strawberry Days' on Saturdays and Sundays. Come down to the Longview Farm & Market in Collegeville to pick your own strawberries with the family. Visit between 10am-12pm for all you can eat strawberry pancakes for $5. -I'll definitely participate in that!


Vist the Longview Farm & Market site <<here>>
Visit Greener Partners event page for more events <<here>>

Monday Morning Update

Some Positive news this morning:
In the Philadelphia real estate market, April set a new record for the number of appointments scheduled to visit properties. And with a large number of listings currently under contract, we can expect closed transactions in May and June to be well above where they were a year ago.

With all of these homeowners moving into their new home, they'll need to figure out how to organize their new rooms and their old furniture. This is one of my favorite things to think about! I love imagining how the room will function and think of fun ways to make it work.
Potterybarn.com offers a free online tool to plan your room. You can utilize their example room dimensions or upload your specific room length and depth. Once you select the room size and type (i.e. bedroom, dinning room or living space) then you can play around with furniture placement.

Check it out at http://www.potterybarn.com/design-studio/tool/room_planner.html
Obviously they are promoting their furniture, but it's helpful even if you don't own their items.
Have Fun!

Monday Morning Update

I hope all the mother's out there had a wonderful Mother's Day yesterday. It was a beautiful day here in Philadelphia to send time with your mom, even if it was only a phone call.
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We are in the height of the Spring Real Estate market. Our local market has heated up over the past few months. I have seen first hand that the low inventory is causing homes to go under contract quickly. For example, I have a client looking for a townhome or condo under $300,000 within the King of Prussia area. On three different occasions she has given me 2 or 3 homes she'd like to see and by the time we have set a date/time, they are already Pending.

In March, the local real estate Multiple Listing Service reported:
"We saw very a very high level of activity in the market during March, certainly not unusual for this time of year, concluding a strong 1st Quarter in 2013. Electronic showing requests were at a record high and were 19% above the level a year ago, with corresponding increases in Pending sales. With Total Inventory still around 15% below where it was last year, we are also seeing increases in the Median and Average Settled Prices."
Low inventory can result in less "Days on Market" and higher sale prices.
Check out this short video for some more statistics