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 18, 2012

Real Estate Finance 101

Hi Folks,

   Hope you've been well, and I'm glad to be back here with you !

   For some of you reading this, you are Real Estate Gurus, and you can finance a home in your deepest sleep. For the others, you are obviously familiar with Real Estate on some level, so with today's post, I'm trying to hit on all levels of Real Estate Skills.

   Financing. Without it (in one form or another), Real Estate would not change hands. Financing is a very broad term, and when discussing Real Estate, it helps to break the topic into “Traditional” and “Non-Traditional“.

   In an article on the RealtyBizNews.com website, titled, "Real Estate Money Basics – 10 Ideas For Financing a Home", the author describes the traditional category as inclusive of "government insured loans like FHA, VA" and others. They mention the fact that since these loans are “insured”, that "they generally require the borrower to jump through a number of “hoops” in order to qualify.", and that they require, "better credit scores, documented income, a careful review of your bank statements and any other information the lender may happen to require", and in addition, they "generally offer the lowest down payment options".

   FHA, the best known, can be "applied to almost any home, in any location, as long as the home meets certain condition requirements and the buyer can meet the credit and income requirements", says the article. If you are a Veteran, you may be eligible for a Zero down payment VA loan.

   Since these loans are “government insured” to "protect lenders from a borrower default", they still will "allow" borrowers to "buy with a low down payment, and still avoid a higher interest rate", and in return, the lender can "make a “claim” for insurance if the property goes into foreclosure". RealtyBizNews.com says that these loans are "very expensive", and include funding fees” and other costs that are "rolled into the loan".

   Now, onto the “non-traditional” financing sector, which deals with the purchase of a home "without the hassles of qualifying for a traditional loan".

   Even though these options are "open to all buyers, they are not very well known to the general public", say the article on RealtyBizNews.com, and calls this "creative real estate finance” a group of strategies in which "real estate investors spend a great deal of time studying and practicing", and that most of these strategies "will not require good credit, and a few don’t even require the buyer to have any money of their own."

   Some examples, but we'll lead off with our personal favorite: "Lease with an Option to Buy" (or "Rent to Own")

   Lease with an Option To Buy, as described on RealtyBizNews.com, is a "popular strategy for buyers who don’t have good credit and don’t have money for a down payment", where the "tenant/buyer finds a property to rent, with a landlord who is willing to credit them with a portion of the rent towards a down payment". Over the course of the contract, "If the buyer pays their rent on time, and accumulates credit towards a down payment, they can then “exercise their option” and purchase the property at a price that was agreed upon when they rented the property.". This strategy is immensely popular with investors to sell their properties, and is a very good way to sell in a tough market, and a great way for a "tenant/buyer to accumulate credit towards a down payment." The caveat here, as always: "Buyers should have their lease and option agreement reviewed by a competent attorney to insure that the deal is structured properly.

   Some other ways include: “Subject-to the existing mortgage”, where the buyer takes over the payments on the sellers existing mortgage “Hard Money” loans, which are short-term (and expensive) loans made on a property in need of repairs. “Seller Financing”, which is preferable to a seller vs. renting, and works great when the seller has a lot of equity and is perhaps unable to sell.

   Some great financing ideas have been raised here for you. Perhaps you already know about them, but if they are new concepts for you, I hope that you can use them in your Real Estate Investing endeavors (of course, after you do your homework and have your attorney review your plans and contracts). Do you have any to add to this list?

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Have a Great Week, and Happy Rent-to-Owning !
Regards,
Rob Eisenstein
HomeRun Homes Blog: http://blogging.lease2buy.com
HomeRun Homes Websites: http://www.lease2buy.com and http://www.homerunhomes.com

TAGS: #RealEstateGuru #RealEstateInvesting #creativerealestate #financingahome #traditionalloan #FHA #VA #leaseoption #renttoown #subjectto #hardmoney #sellerfinance