Lease Purchase Finance - Seller Advantages

Maximum Market Exposure: If you are only marketing your property for sale or only for rent then you are missing a large and growing segment of the market looking for Lease Purchase Finance opportunities.
Maximum Purchase Price: Because Lease Purchase Finance utilizes a delayed sale and because there are more negotiable variables involved, the sale price will generally be your list price and will certainly be greater than a straight sale.
Far Better than a Straight Rental: A Lease Purchase tenant will treat the property as their own and may even make improvements!

We Don't "Equity Strip": Many others offering this service will do so as a "sandwich lease option" where they simply try to get you to take the lowest price and get the buyer to take the highest price and they stand in between and make all of the money. Others will charge excessive commissions and fees, removing all equity from your property.
REALTOR Standards: Most people and companies offering Lease Purchase or Rent to Own deals today are not REALTORS, which means they are held to NO standard whatsoever in what they offer or how they deal with the public. These people and companies are solely concerned about their own bottom line at the expense of the public. Group 15 Real Estate is a licensed real estate firm and is held to the highest standard by the North Carolina Real Estate Commission and the National Association of REALTORS: Code of Ethics.
NC Real Estate Commission Contracts: We utilize the standard Offer to Purchase and Contract and Residential Rental Agreement issued by the North Carolina Real Estate Commission.

What are the Components of Lease Purchase Finance? There are four negotiable variables to every Lease Purchase Finance deal: due diligence fee; purchase price; monthly rent and length of lease. As you give more in one component you will be able to have more negotiating room in other components.
What is an "Due Diligence Fee"? The buyer pays a non-refundable due diligence fee to lock in the purchase price and other benefits of Lease Purchase Finance. If the buyer exercises their contract to purchase then 100% of the fee is applied to their purchase price. If they do not exercise their contract to purchase, then they walk away from the non-refundable due diligence fee.
Is the Buyer Obligated to Buy? No, but if they choose not to, then they lose their due diligence fee.
Who Pays the Taxes and Insurance? The owner pays taxes and insurance until the buyer converts the Lease Purchase Finance to a Mortgage (although we do recommend all buyer-tenants to get Renter's Insurance in the interim).
Who Makes Repairs to the Property? The owner makes all repairs. To do any differently would be committing a misdemeanor offense in North Carolina and you should be wary of any company that states the tenants will be responsible for any of the repairs, no matter how small. It is "risky business".
Can the Buyer Make Improvements to the Property? Yes, with the owner's permission the buyer can make all sorts of improvements to the home to suit the buyer's needs and desires.

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Distressed Sales. Great Deals?
Not a week goes by that I do not talk to some buyer prospect who states their interest in buying a distressed property. Word on the street is that these foreclosures, short sales, estate sales, HUD and Fannie Mae homes and the like represent the best deals the market has to offer. But is this true? Here are some quick hit random thoughts that I usually end up discussing (in no particular order):
Curb Appeal Has Never Been More Important
When meeting with a new seller client one of the first questions they always have is: "What do I need to do to get my house ready for showings?" Every house will have varying levels of de-cluttering, cleaning, painting, repairs and updating. And most people want to stay focused on interior improvements. But, the number one thing that every house needs is immaculate curb appeal.
Answering Ten Economic Questions for 2011
One of my favorite blogs, Calculated Risk, recently posed ten economic questions to ponder for 2011. Here are my quick hit answers to some of those questions: 1. House Prices: How much further will they fall and will they bottom out in 2011?