Rent To Own Edmonton

By Kelly P Kramer

One option for buying a house or home in Edmonton is rent to own.  This strategy would work anywhere for anybody as long as both buyer and seller can agree on the terms.

There is many ways to buy real estate in Edmonton.

Conventional

You put up a downpayment and get approved for a mortgage.  Then travel through Edmonton looking for the house of your dreams, that also fits into your budget.  This house can be listed with an Edmonton real estate agent or listed by an Edmonton for sale by owner company, or just listed in the Edmonton Sun or Edmonton Journal. 

Lease Option 

You put up money to buy an option on an Edmonton property.  This option gives you the right, but not the obligation to buy the property at a later date sometime in the future.  More difficult than conventional, and less homes to find on the market.  Some real estate agents will take these to their sellers, while others want no part of it.  The price might be locked in or might have conditions on the contract depending on how you set up the intitial contract.

JV Partnership

This is when you find that Edmonton property that is just right for you.  Then you use a partner to help with the downpayment and getting a mortgage.  In this case you can find potential partners before looking for your Edmonton home.  That way when you do find the house you would like to live in you can move forward fast.  Most partners in this arrangement will want you to pay the mortgage, taxes, keep the property in top condition at your expense, then when you sell they get their money back and split the profits with you 50/50.  Might not sound like a great deal for you, but it gets you into your home.  You can always have a buyout option in the contract if you like. 

Rent To Own Edmonton

Now on to the main focus of this article.  Similar to a rent to own for a TV you can have a rent to own for a piece of Edmonton real estate.  In this case most sellers that are willing to do this (and there is not many) will want a non refundable deposit on the property, then you pay the landlord rent until you can purchase the property.  The deposit is option money but different from a lease option.  Not as much money as a lease option either.   And it is not part of the down payment.  Nor is any of the rent.  The benefit of this is you get into a property and 2 years down the road when your credit has improved or your work history is better or whatever the reason the banks would not give you that loan, you buy the house. 

This is similar to a lease option as well, except all you pay is rent.  The deposit is much less than an option and you do not pay the taxes or the mortgage, since you are still an Edmonton renter.  The benefit of doing this is you get into your home with the intention of buying the house at a later date.  So, two years down the road you have a better chance of qualifying for a mortgage and you have some equity built up in your home. 

The biggest draw back to this is quite often the agreed upon price is a future price of the home.  If you have a house that is valued at $350,000, a rent to own price would look closer to $370,000.  That might seem like a rip off, but a lot cheaper than a rent to own with a tv where you would pay 2-3 times the price of the tv over a 5 year period.  And when you think about it that price is being locked in for you to buy it 2-3 years down the road, even at only 3% per year, the house will be worth about $382K by then.  So a really good deal for the buyer, since they would have just thrown their rent money away anyway.

Check this link if you are looking for an Edmonton Real Estate investor that can help you!