The Right Road Home
Buy Now Boulevard
You've worked hard, saved some money and paid your bills on time. You think your credit score is good enough to get you into a solid, fixed rate home financing loan, but you're not sure. Consulting with a lender is the perfect place to start. Pre-approvals are done at no-cost and no-obligation to the customer and usually take less than a day. Once pre-approved, you can shop for a home with confidence knowing how much you can afford. A one-hour consultation leaves you prepared for your next step - finding your perfect home. You'll leave the lenders office knowing about earnest money, escrow accounts, pre-paid expenses, inspections, appraisals, and much, much more! We have relationships with many area realtors as well as people looking to sell their home on their own. We'll point you in the right direction!
Rent to Own Road
You've met with a lender - reviewed your financial information and credit, and you're not quite ready to be approved for a mortgage. However, together with your lender, you've decided you're ready to take the next steps towards home ownership. You are tired of renting and want to stop throwing money away every month. We have a large team of sellers and investors willing to sell you their homes with a "rent to own" program. Good credit is not necessary to enter into a rent to own transaction. As a matter of fact, it is almost expected that you have less than perfect credit. If you had good credit, you would simply go buy a home! An initial review will make sure your credit can be worked on and repaired by the end of your lease period so you can purchase the home. Most rent to own transactions require a deposit. It's usually non-refundable if you don't honor the terms of the contract. Upon completion of the lease, the deposit is usually applied to the mortgage or the closing costs. The rent payments will be slightly higher than "normal". A portion of the higher rent will be deposited into an escrow account. At the time of purchase, those funds will be part of your down payment or can be used to cover closing costs on the loan. This additional money is also non-refundable if you don't complete the terms of the contract. The terms of the rent to own contract, including monthly payments and final purchase price, are agreed to at the beginning of the process. Depending on how much credit repair is needed, the rental portion of the contract could be for 6 months to 2 years. Our lenders have relationships with various credit counselors and credit repair agencies that we encourage you to work with during the term of the lease. This will help to ensure success when it comes time to get your mortgage and purchase your home!
Land Contract Lane
A land contract is a contract between you and a seller of a home where you take possession of the property, but the seller holds legal title to the property until all agreed upon payments are made in full. In this respect, it is similar to bank financing, except that under a land contract, the seller holds the legal title until full payment is received. A land contract would attractive to you if you do not meet the credit requirements, minimum down payment requirements, length of employment requirements, or other requirements for bank financing. The initial costs associated with a land contract sale are also significantly lower than a sale with bank financing. Usually under a land contract, you make a down payment, then make monthly payments to the seller for a set period of time, usually two or three years. At the end of that period of time, you are bound by the land contract to pay off the balance owed to the seller. This is called a balloon payment, and more often than not, you make that balloon payment by obtaining a conventional bank loan (mortgage loan) once the objectionable portions of your credit or employment situation are improved. Normally, you make payments that are figured (amortized) as if you had a 15 to 30-year bank loan so that the payments are more affordable, even though you actually have to find a way to pay the seller in-full by the end of the land contract period. If the you are unable to obtain financing or otherwise make payment in-full at the end of the land contract, the seller may re-take the property, and you loose any investment you have made, including down payment and equity gained through your monthly installments. In this respect, a land contract forfeiture is similar to a bank foreclosure.
Road Work Ahead
Unfortunately for some, now might not be the time to purchase a home. Perhaps you've suffered a job loss, illness, had to declare bankruptcy, or lost a home to foreclosure. You're not alone. Sometimes the amount of credit repair and time needed is beyond the 2 or 3 years a seller is willing to do a rent to own contract. Don't give up. We've teamed up with an array of professionals who can help with budgeting, planning, credit repair, and credit counseling. Our professionals will work with you until you do qualify. We believe everyone deserves a home of their own!
