Is Lease Purchase Right For Selling Your Daytona Beach Home?

You need to sell or your property is sitting vacant. What can you do?

The situation for selling your home is bleak. There are over 6,000 homes and condos for sale in Daytona Beach according to the MLS and less than 300 per month are selling. Foreclosure and short sales are forcing down market prices. To top it off, buyers who want to buy, can’t qualify for the current very tight mortgage requirements. What can you do?

If your home is not in financial distress and you need to sell, or at least cover most of the costs, then you should consider lease and purchase options.

Three Lease / Option Scenarios

There are three basic scenarios you could employ:

1. Straight Option
2. Lease Option
3. Lease Purchase

Straight option and lease option allow the buyer to decide, at the end of the term of the agreement, if they will exercise the option as listed. Lease purchase is a sale. The buyer must buy the property at the end of the term.

The options allow the buyer to walk away, while the lease purchase does not. Check out the Lease Options page at about.com for a great description of each scenario.

Protect Yourself

Whether your buying of selling Daytona Beach real estate through lease / options, you need to protect yourself by having an attorney draft or review the agreement. Option and purchase terms, such as the amount of option money up front and the amount that goes toward the purchase price, are between the buyer and the seller. However, the terms need to be legally binding and that where the lawyer comes in.

Home Sellers Due Diligence

If you are selling using lease option, you must qualify the buyer to your satisfaction. Getting a credit check, references and proof of income must be considered. You must satisfy yourself that the buyer can make the payments. The upfront money can mitigate risk to some extent, but you still need to be sure they can pay.

Sellers of Daytona Beach homes and condos have creative options to work with buyers who need to build a down payment, or re-establish their credit scores. It requires accepting the current market and deciding to employ some creative options. If you need more information to help you decide on these options, give me a call at 386-566-7503.

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