HomeRun Homes Rent to Own Homes Blog

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HomeRun Homes is a centralized marketplace which helps people Find or Sell a Rent to Own Home, both Nationwide and Globally to the thriving Rent to Own Market. http://www.lease2buy.com

June 30, 2010

Grandma's Lesson, HR 5623, and More...

Hi Everyone,

Happy last day of June to all of you! I cannot believe that we are turning the page into July. Time truly flies !

I wanted to share a funny story with you from my younger years (way, way back!), when I was a big collector of baseball cards. Everyone knew that I loved collecting baseball cards. One day, my grandmother knew that I was looking for a Pete Rose rookie card, which I knew as quite a pricey item. She went to her local hobby shop, and they had the card, so she kindly asked for the price, and they said two fifty. Not wanting to make the purchase without having me checking the card first, she called me up and I was on my bicycle to her house within minutes. Once we got to the store, I saw that it was definitely the card I wanted. My grandma dug deep inside her little purse, and she pulled out two dollars and fifty cents. The guy behind the counter looked at her like she was crazy, and said, "Sorry, two fifty means two hundred and fifty dollars". After giving my grandma adequate cold water to snap her back to reality from the "sticker shock", I came to realize a very valuable lesson: "In Writing".

I just cannot say this enough. I referred to it a while back (Mortgage Horror Story Blog Post), when I had to re-learn that lesson the hard way. May you all learn from this so that it may never cause you heartache and problems.

On another front, some good news came across the wires yesterday, which basically stated that the House OK'd the extension of tax credit closing deadline. This Bill, the "HR 5623", would give people some breathing room, should the Senate pass it when they vote on it. Per the Inman News Website, there are approximately 200,000 people who were under contract by the tax credit expiration of 4/30, but they will miss the closing deadline, which was today.

On the website front, we had our Rent to Own Home Blog posts streaming on our home page. however, there were some errors coming up from the Content Aggregation service, so we have removed it for now. As always, you can read, follow, and interact on our Blog right here !


Have a great day, and Happy Rent-to-Owning !

June 28, 2010

33% Drop in Sales? Where do we Stand?

Hi Everyone,

Welcome back. We hope that you stayed cool this past weekend, because at least for us here on the East Coast, the humidity has been searingly painful. However, there are people who adore this weather, which shows that we are all unique in our likes and dislikes.

We had a whirlwind week here last week, with some fantastic publicity regarding Rent to Own Homes, along with a lot of work we have been doing on the website infrastructure (including making the website resolve even quicker on your screen).

Looking back to last week, in retrospect, we saw some numbers come out that were a little bit of a shock. By now, most of you already heard that new home sales (new single family homes) plunged about 33 percent from April to May. The tax credit incentive for purchasing homes ended April 30th, so that is a major contributing factor, but are we really shaping up yet? Are the fundamentals of the economy that strong yet to tout a recovery? Yes, there are definitely some promising areas in the country in terms of economic and housing recovery, but there are a lot more regions that are in trouble. Is it that a lot of the incentives are not as far-reaching as anticipated? Or just that it will take more time? On that note, we can only assume that "time will tell", as the old cliche says.

Now, there are some more numbers coming out tomorrow (S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices), but these have a 2-month lag, so I really am interested in seeing their next release (the next one after this release). Let's all keep an eye on them together, as it effects each and every one of us.

Advice for the moment: Keep your focus on the Rent to Own Home that you are either looking to buy or looking to sell. Stay tuned to us for new information, announcements, and contests. We will try to be your liaison and will try to provide you with updates whenever we have them.


Have a great week, and Happy Rent-to-Owning !!

June 25, 2010

Rent-to-Own Transactions Move into Mainstream

Hi Everyone,

Hope you are all having a great week. We are extremely pleased to share with you an article that was done on Rent to Own by a major, authoritative website, American-apartment-owners-association.org.

The article, titled, "Rent-to-Own Transactions Move into Mainstream" (http://www.american-apartment-owners-association.org/blog/2010/06/24/rent-to-own-transactions-move-into-mainstream/), provides HomeRun Homes some fantastic publicity, and it describes HomeRun Homes as, "a highly-ranked online classifieds service matching properties to buyers/tenants".

Within the context of the article, they quoted me when I discussed some of the best markets for Rent to Own (also called Lease Options or Lease Purchase), as Atlanta, Central Florida, North Carolina, California and Chicago, because, "...of the severe decline in home prices in those areas, coupled with a rough economy that poses credit hardships on many buyers".

I was also quoted as saying, "Rent-to-own gives investors a creative option when dealing with slow-moving or distressed properties", and, “At least you know you have someone in the property who wants to be there."

Kudos to that great website for spreading the word about Rent to Own Homes.

We will be checking back in with you on the housing numbers of this week gone-by.

Have a Great Day, and Happy Rent-to-Owning !

June 23, 2010

Our 8th Anniversary in the Rent to Own Homes Market...


Hi All,

Happy Wednesday to all of you. We wanted to let everyone have a copy of our Press Release that just hit the wires today (FULL RELEASE HERE). It's been a tough road for us with a lot of ups and downs, but we love what we do and we love hearing great news from customers who bought or sold Rent to Own Homes by using our website.

We will continue to provide the best service and the best Web experience for you. Our belief is that you either give 110%, or you stop altogether. Well, we choose to give 150% !

OK, Enough of my blabbering - here is the full text of the Press Release:

For Immediate Release:

HomeRun Homes
(631) 676-3609
(631) 574-2420
homebuyer@lease2buy.com
http://www.lease2buy.com/

Top Website for Rent to Own Homes Celebrates 8th Anniversary

Ronkonkoma, New York, June 23, 2010 - HomeRun Homes (http://www.lease2buy.com/) is celebrating their 8th anniversary this month. The Company has continued to be an omnipresent force in the Rent to Own Homes niche of the Real Estate market, and continues to thrive in a field that has seen a majority of their competition dissipate.

Another Milestone for One of the Original Rent to Own Websites

The management team of HomeRun Homes\Lease2Buy.com commenced web operations in June 2002, after working on a series of Real Estate rehab deals in Orlando and Central Florida. The President of the Company, Robert Eisenstein, states that during that time, they found it difficult to locate people who would be interested in Renting to Own the properties that they had rehabbed, and he says that, "We realized that something had been missing - a central location where sellers could find buyers for their Rent to Own homes, and where buyers could ask for exactly what they needed in a Rent to Own home". He goes on to say that, "HomeRun Homes was born from this concept."

Acquisitions, Ventures, Web Traffic, and Global Reach

Today, Lease2Buy.com attracts a vast amount of web visitors, and has in excess of 1.2 Million hits. During their tenure, they have made one acquisition, which was a purchase of Equifree.com, a Stop Foreclosure website, and they have spun off an additional website, StopForeclosureRenttoOwn.com, which reaches out to those in the most urgent need of buying or selling a home. Continuing their tradition of helping people find what they need, they also offer a free Rent to Own Newsletter via download on their website, and also provide a very useful Blog (http://blogging.lease2buy.com/).

HomeRun Homes appears in many publications, such as Financial Advisor Magazine, Wallet Pop, and many others, as well as reviews on multiple Blog Sites. Their reach extends to the global real estate market, with their top 5 markets listed as the USA, Canada, Australia, the UK, and the Philippines. In his 8 year Anniversary meeting, Eisenstein states that the company plans to make a stronger global reach a top priority, since there are "many people in many countries who are stranded, and don't even realize that Rent to Own could be a resolution to any housing problems that they may be facing, as either a buyer or as a seller."

For additional information on the topic, "Top Website for Rent to Own Homes Celebrates 8th Anniversary", please visit http://www.lease2buy.com/

ABOUT HOMERUN HOMES

HomeRun Homes is a Centralized Marketplace which helps people Buy or Sell a Rent to Own Home, a Commercial Property, or to offer Home Services nationwide and globally to the thriving Rent to Own market.

- END -


We will check in with you to discuss the latest housing numbers when we have had a chance to take a good review of them.

Have a Great Week, and Happy Rent-to-Owning !

June 21, 2010

Dad's Day, Secrets Winner, and Big Housing Numbers...

Happy Monday to All,

A Happy Belated Father's Day to all of you Dads out there. Our son is not at the "tie-buying" age, yet, but he is still in the "make-a-present-for-daddy" stage, which is absolutely wonderful. The walls of my office are decorated with his masterpieces and it adds color to every day. I know you're too young to read this Blog, but thanks buddy !

Now, on Friday, we announced our contest question; "What city did we begin investing in when we first started our business?". To all of the people who answered correctly and won their free copy of, "Secrets of Rent to Own", Thank You! Now, for the answer to that question, the winners of the contest checked out the "About Us" section (http://www.lease2buy.com/rent-to-own-homes.php), and you found out that the answer was Orlando, Florida.

We officially opened the doors of HomeRun Homes/Lease2Buy.com on June 8, 2002, so we are now officially into our 9th Year. We will continue on with more contests and giveaways, so make sure to tune in here. Want to make life even easier for yourself? Choose one of the "Follow" options on the right-hand side of the page !

This is going to be a very big week in terms of Housing Market data. Today, the Loan Performance Housing Price Index numbers will be released. On Tuesday, some hefty data will be released: NAR Existing Home Sales and the FHFA Monthly House Price Index. As if these major factors weren't enough, New Residential Sales will be released on Wednesday. This is quite a contrast to last week, which was a lot quieter in terms of Housing.

We will check back with you on Wednesday to take a look at what these numbers were, what they mean for you and I, and to take a look at how they can or will impact the Rent to Own Homes market.


Have a Great Week, and Happy Rent-to-Owning !

June 18, 2010

Tax Credit Extensions and a Cool Contest...


Hello and Welcome to Friday !

A lot of emphasis is placed on looking at the National stage and spotlight for the latest housing trends and news, but I think that it is also important to look at your local area and see what news is being generated. That being said, it might be that your local market is an exception to the rule vs being an actual microcosm of the true market.

With that statement out of the way, we have a great local paper that I review quite often, called the Long Island Business News (thus, my sermon about checking out your local markets). They just ran an article, titled, "Senate passes tax credit extension", and this was about the extension of the closing date for those purchasing homes under the tax credit. The date was changed from June 30th to September 30th, which gives lenders what they referred to as, "breathing room". One of the attorneys that they interviewed for this article mentioned that he has all of his deals ready to close by the 30th. This is the the case with most of the attorneys we have been speaking with, some of which are listed in our Home Services Section.

Well, the wind up here is this: Thank you, Washington ! Nothing like going down to the wire. But breathing room is good.


CONTEST TIME:
OK, we will be providing a Free Copy of our E-Book, "Secrets of Rent to Own", to the first 5 people who answer the following question:

What city did we begin investing in when we first started our business?
Hint: The answer is very, very easy to find on our website.


We will give everyone the answer on Monday. So quick - dig up that answer on www.Lease2Buy.com and then E-mail me at homebuyer@lease2buy.com with the subject, "CONTEST ANSWER".


Good Luck to Everyone !

Have a Great Weekend, and Happy Rent-to-Owning !

June 16, 2010

A Viable Option and Some Promotional News...

Happy Wednesday to Everyone,

Hope you're all having a great week.

I just returned back here after a meeting with a panel of Realtors (Agents and Brokers), along with a mix of people who are selling their homes. Surprise/Surprise; a majority of the homeowners have been just sitting on their properties, and some have engaged the services of these Realtors to help them along.

We were there, at the invitation of some good-hearted Realtors, in order to present the concept of Rent to Own, and to let them know it is a viable option. Realtors know that if they place their clients homes on our website, and there is movement, traffic, and offers on the property, they look like magicians, especially nowadays. Rent to Own is moving away from the title of a "creative real estate deal", and is becoming more of a mainstream option.

OK, website news: At your request, we have added the "Site Map" option back to the bottom of every page on our website. We apologize that is was removed, but it was only for a few days for some testing, and we thank those of you who notified us about this. Further, we are toying with the idea of mentioning some of the latest Rent to Own Home listings and Rent to Own Buyer listings in our Blog posts. Is that something that would interest you? Please let us know.

PROMOTIONAL NEWS:
Please remember that for any 3-Month (or longer) "Home Available" Ad (if you're Selling a Rent to Own Home) or "Home Wanted" Ad (if you're buying a Rent to Own Home), you will receive a free copy of "Secrets of Rent to Own", which is a great guidebook for anyone buying or selling a Rent to Own Home (More info on this book here: Click Here).

In order to take advantage of this promo:
If you are Selling a Rent to Own Home, Click Here, and,
If you are Buying a Rent to Own Home, Click Here.
After checking-out, the book will be available for download upon log in.


Have a great day, and Happy Rent-to-Owning !!!

June 14, 2010

Foreclosure Prevention, Improved Housing Markets, Social Media Blog Updates...

Good Morning to All,

Glad to have you back here with us today ! I don't know how the weather has been where you are, but the humidity has been sky-high here on the East Coast, and it's not even summer (officially) yet, and if this is any indication of how this summer will be, then I'm ready for the Fall !

Today, I wanted to share two interesting pieces that crossed my desk; Once is concerning foreclosures, and the other one is a little more positive, and is regarding some housing markets that are showing improvement.

Let's first begin with the sour apple of the two: "Avoid foreclosure-prevention scams: 3 tips" (Source located at this link). Without regurgitating the entire article, the three tips for whom to avoid are summarized as follows; Those who "Ask for a fee in advance, Tell you they can guarantee foreclosure will stop, and Urge you to stop paying your mortgage and pay them instead".

These are great pieces of advice, but there are a few more that we would like to add, namely, when someone tells you that they are a member of XYZ Corporation, don't just take their word for it...do your due diligence. Investigate the company. Ask for a corporate phone number. Make sure they are for real, since it is your home that is on the line.

One other thing that you want to do is to have them lay out a plan in writing and on their corporate letterhead (for a corporation that you have already done your homework on from our previous tip listed above). Have them put everything in writing and get them to notarize it. If they falter or give you a difficult time with any requests that you may have, a red flag should go up. There are many hunters out there looking for "prey", or people who are in a very bad economic situation and are highly susceptible to any offers, good or bad. Keep your eyes and ears open, and make sure that you don't lose your home and any additional money you have to a scammer.

As for the Housing Markets that are showing improvement (Source located at this link), the top 5 are: Denver, Boston, St.Louis, Pittsburgh, and San Jose, California. Some of the factors that were used in building this list were home prices and bids placed on homes. The complete list of 20 of the improving housing markets is located at this link. Do you live in one of these cities? Have you sold a home in one of these areas, or have you been trying to sell a home or to rent to own a home? Please weigh in on this and let us know what your thoughts are.

We are happy to say that we are now saturating over 50 Social Media Sites with our Blog posts, so if you prefer to read our posts on your favorite site, we are already on most of the major sites. If there is a site that you would like us to update, check with us and if we are not updating it already, we will be glad to add it.

Stick with us. This is going to be an exciting week !
Have a great week, and Happy Rent-to-Owning !!

June 11, 2010

May Residential Construction Numbers - Friend or Foe?


Hi Everyone,

Another Friday is upon us, and we are thankful for another very busy week. As a rule, I try to look back at each week to see what I am thankful for. Let me tell you - some weeks it is tough to find anything, aside from being thankful for my family! However, this past week, we not only received some fantastic media coverage (http://www.familygoesstrong.com/making-rent-own-real-estate-deals-work), but we also had a few other interviews for popular financial and real estate websites that are on the pipeline to be published as well. Additionally, we received some good karma (priceless), by hearing some very kind comments from people who have used our website. Karma, that's what it's really all about !

OK, now on to the Real Estate market, our ailing friend ! The New Residential construction numbers will be released this week (on June 16th), and most importantly, these numbers will reflect the post-tax credit market, since they cover May 2010 (the tax credit ended on April 30th 2010). I, personally, am very curious to see these numbers, and I know a lot of real estate investors, economists, and builders, who are also interested in this. This could have a significant impact on the market. Could the numbers have dropped? Sure they could have...the major incentive expired...but the market has most probably discounted this information into the mix already. If the numbers pop upwards, that could have a dramatic effect on the market, and potentially, the Rent to Own Market, as well. For more information on these reports, please check here: http://www.census.gov/const/www/newresconstindex.html


We have a few infrastructure and marketing projects drawing closer to completion, and when they are finished, we will let you know. They involve ease of accessibility, traffic incentives, and an overall boost to site traffic to increase views to your Ads on our website.


Do you enjoy reading our Blog?

If so, we would love to hear from you in the comments section below. If you don't have time to read it and you would rather listen to it, we do 1-2 Podcasts per week, and you can download them in MP3 format in our Itunes Store, at: http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=373351426


Have a Great Weekend, and Happy Rent-to-Owning !!

June 9, 2010

Rent vs. Buy, Rent to Own, and Eight-Years Strong...

Good Morning Everyone,

It's Wednesday, and we are half-way there !

Quite often, when a prospective buyer or a seller is evaluating whether they should Rent, Buy, or Rent to Own, they need to gather all of the applicable numbers and "crunch" them. If they start out by looking into Renting, they need to tally up the monthly payments, fees, insurance, and any applicable rate increases.

Likewise, for the possibility of buying a home, they have to take into account pricing, down payment, loan amount, interest rate, term, insurance, taxes, maintenance, and potential appreciation. On top of all of this, they need to figure it out over multiple different lengths of time, tax brackets, tax implications, as well as inflation rates. It can be daunting. There is quite a handy little tool over at Trulia, called the "Rent vs. Buy" Calculator, and this free automated program spits out some pretty helpful results. Head on over there and take a look at it today !

Now, based on the results that you come up with, you might lean towards renting a home (or renting out your home), buying a home (or selling your home), or you might chose the hybrid, which is Rent to Own. Whatever you decide, this tool will save you time and help you make your decision.

Since we are on the topic of Rent to Own, and receiving help in the decision-making process, be sure to check out this great article, titled, "Making Rent-to-Own Real Estate Deals Work", by Susan Kuchinskas at FamilyGoesStrong.com. This was a multi-part series of articles on Rent to Own & Lease Options, and this last article discusses some good tips and information.

We were honored to be included in this article as a long-standing resource for Rent to Own Home Listings (They referred to us as , "an eight-year-old online marketplace for rent-to-own deals"). This is an accolade that we are very proud of. We have been around for a long time, and we plan on being around as long as people need a roof over their heads !

Have a Great Week, and Happy Rent-to-Owning !

June 7, 2010

Making Rent-to-Own Real Estate Deals Work...

Hi All,

This is an addendum to our earlier Blog Post, since we have just been provided with some fantastic media coverage in an article titled, "Making Rent-to-Own Real Estate Deals Work".

The excerpt that we are included in reads as follows:

"If you want to take a look at some of the deals on offer, go to Homerun Homes (www.Lease2Buy.com), an eight-year-old online marketplace for rent-to-own deals. Browsing its listings turns up some great offers, as well as some wildly unrealistic ones in which prospective buyers want below-market rents with no money down."


To read the full article, please visit the source at: http://www.familygoesstrong.com/making-rent-own-real-estate-deals-work and also, our Press page at http://www.lease2buy.com/press.php


Happy Rent-to-Owning !

Baby Boomers and Rent to Own...

Hi Everyone,

We hope you had a great summer-like pre-summer weekend, and welcome back !

There is an important topic that we wanted to touch on, and that is the topic of Baby Boomers, and whether they should Buy, Rent, or Rent to Own. The last two options might strike you as odd - Rent and Rent to Own - but we will explain here.

As the first group of Baby Boomers approaches 65 years of age, the youngest of the Baby Boomers is in their mid-upper 40's. Since we are trained to think about who would normally rent or rent to own a home, we think of people just starting out in life, and looking to either rent for a while before finding a home to buy, or renting to own a property and converting it to a purchase within a specified period of time. However, this can be faulty thinking for a number of reasons, and to make a long story short, the Economy has really blurred these lines. There are plenty of folks out there who were close to retirement, and then they have lost it all, only to start all over again. In these such cases, a Rent to Own would be ideal for them, since they can still pursue the home-ownership option that they lost due to unfortunate occurrences often beyond their control.

I tried not to rant much on this, but we have seen so many people who have been hurt so badly by this economy, that it is absolutely heartbreaking. When you hear a 60 year old couple crying over how they lost their life savings and their home, and they have come to our website looking for a Rent to Own home, it is just painful. It is something that you literally want to cry over. It's days like that where we know that our site is there for people who are in need of finding or selling a Rent to Own Home, and we know that people are finding what they need so they can regain their dignity, pick up the pieces, and carry on with their lives again.


On a much lighter note, we are proud to announce that we have just surpassed 1100 Friends on our Facebook Page (http://www.facebook.com/homerunhomes), 217 Fans on our new Facebook Fan Page (http://www.facebook.com/lease2buy), and are we are now well over 900 Followers on our Twitter Page (http://twitter.com/homerunhomes). We would love to have you as Friends, Fans, and Followers on all of our pages, so be sure to check them out. Please note that our Blog Posts update those sites automatically soon after they are posted.


Have a great week, and Happy Rent-to-Owning !!

June 4, 2010

Mortgage Horror Story...

Hi Everyone,

Friday is upon us, and it's another sizzling one, depending on where you are geographically!

Today, I'd like to share a mortgage horror story with you. When I purchased an investment home with some partners a couple of years back, we were assured an interest rate on an interest-only/balloon mortgage. However, once we got to the closing table, the rate showed up in the documents as higher by 1/4 point. Needless to say, we were all quite furious, and the fact that the mortgage broker was not at the closing didn't help the situation(he was on vacation), so we called him on his mobile phone to voice our disapproval over this rate discrepancy. There was quite an exchange of words, however, it was kept on a professional level and just short of using expletives.

Ultimately, it was a mistake on his part, and he made good on the difference with a check to us for the difference calculated out over an agreed upon period of the loan. In order to avoid delaying the closing to have new papers drawn up, we moved forward, and accepted the above-mentioned check from his closing associate to cover a majority of our "losses". The moral of the story: Make sure everything is in writing, whether it be an E-mail from the mortgage company, or physical documents, you just cannot argue with hard copy. In this case, we had done previous closings with this broker, so we know it was an error and not malicious. Either way, "in writing" is the key. May this little story and this tip save you tons of aggravation !

Economic News related to the Real Estate Housing market is quiet next week, but as we all know, any and all economic news that is released will affect the housing market directly or indirectly. Always keep your eyes and ears open!

We have additional items/upgrades and more new features rolling out next week, so be sure to check in on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and any other days in between for breaking news and updates. What would even be easier for you? You can subscribe to this Blog feed or you can subscribe for Blog updates via E-mail. These options are both located on top of the column on the right-hand side of this page where it says, "Subscribe To Posts" and "Subscribe by E-mail". Also remember to check out our Podcasts for Free Download in our ITunes Store at http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=373351426


We hope you stay cool, and have a great weekend!
Happy Rent-to-Owning !

June 2, 2010

Caribbean Islands, Architects, Builders, Construction, Pending Homes Sales Up...

Hi Everyone,

Hope your week is going great so far. We have a few new and exciting features that we wanted to inform you of today.

For starters, we have been receiving a lot of comments and requests for a new section for Jamaica, the Bahamas, Trinidad, etc. The amount of requests alone would not warrant a section for each of these countries, however, we have created a broader category for the Caribbean Islands.

The new section for the Caribbean Island Homes Wanted is located at: http://www.lease2buy.com/homes_wanted_listing.php?state=Caribbean+Islands

The new section for the Caribbean Island Homes Available is located at: http://www.lease2buy.com/homes_available_listing.php?state=Caribbean+Islands

Please note that these are freshly created sections, and therefore, they are not populated yet, so you may now begin posting your Rent to Own Homes as well as your requests for Rent to Own Homes.

The next features that we have added are in the Home Services section, and the new services that we have added are "Architects" (See it Here)and "Builders & Construction" (See it Here), which covers the full process from the design of a home, all the way on up through building the home. Additionally, we have added an "Announcements" Section (See it Here), which is ideal for announcing Real Estate Investor Meetings ! If you need to add your services to any of these sections, you can do so via this link: http://www.lease2buy.com/homeservicesinfo.php


The final new feature we have included is a "Share This Property" button, which is included on the page of every "Homes Available" Ad. This button will let you share the link to your home with all of the popular Social Bookmarking Websites (for example, Digg, Delicious, etc.). The goal: Putting your property in front of as many eyeballs as you can !

For some other news, Pending Home Sales hit a 6-month high in April. This is good news as we are now headed into the summer months.


Being the bearer of all of this good news is fantastic! I wish I could bring news like this every day...maybe I can?


Have a Great Week, and Happy Rent-to-Owning !