As more and more homes are falling into foreclosure, there will be millions of people displaced from their homes and looking to purchase again down the road.  Lease option deals can be one of the best deals around for real estate investors. 

As the sub-prime lending mess is unfolding currently here in the United States, people are loosing their homes to foreclosure at record levels.  Where are all these people going to live?  The quick answer is that they will most likely become renters.  However, a couple years down the road when the market has adjusted and interest rates drop again, many will look to purchase another home to live in.  And, one of the best ways they can do it is through a lease option purchase. 

A lease option purchase is one where you as the property owner find a high-quality, long-term tenant who is interested in the right to purchase your home down the road in a couple years.  Maybe today the tenant is strapped for cash, has bad credit, etc… but in just a couple years they will be able to qualify for traditional financing.  In this case when they want to buy, lease option is a good option for them to consider. 

When you set up your lease option purchase contract it is essential that you believe that the tenant will be able to obtain the necessary financing in the time specified in the contract.  Morally, you should not lease option to someone who you do not think will ever actually purchase the home.  While you may make some money on the deal, you will only be hurting their lives and not helping them out at all. 

In a lease option purchase, you can stipulate that the tenant is responsible for any repairs and changes to the property during the time they live there, in exchange for a higher credit each month towards their down payment on your property.  This removes you from being the “landlord” and places you in a position where each month you simply have to cash their check as a mortgage holder would.  And, at the same time, you are giving someone a chance to own a home in the near future which they simply cannot purchase at the present time. 

If you are in a lease option deal and the tenant is unable to obtain financing at the end of the contract and moves out, you retain full ownership of your property and owe them nothing.  This places you with a choice of doing another lease option, putting the property for sale, or simply renting it out.  What you ultimately choose to do should be up to you and what the market shows you to do at the time. 

You will find that there are all kinds of real estate investing strategies and all manner of people in the business. If you are the sort who has a genuine interesting in helping others, then you will find that real estate opens many doors allowing you to do just that.

We here are all kinds of great sayings about the power of the positive and paying it forward. The truth of the matter is that far too few of us actually employ those same practices in our businesses. Real estate investing is one field in which we have a very real opportunity to perform good deeds while making a profit. Not many people are that fortunate in their lines of work. If you are considering the field of real estate investing for a business and you want the opportunity to help others, what better way to help them by than helping them along the path to home ownership?

As long as you go about the process responsibly you can help families overcome mistakes and rough patches in the past and still manage to find their way to home ownership. One way this is possible is through offering a fair lease option. Of course you shouldn’t stop there. You should also put them in touch with the resources they will need in order to make good on the lease options rather than leaving them to their own devices to be swallowed up by sharks or predatory lenders in the future. With the collapse of the sub-prime real estate market and record numbers of foreclosures there are more people needing second chances when it comes to the American dream of home ownership than ever before.

In order to be a responsible landlord when it comes to offering fair lease options to your tenants you need to not only offer to get them credit counseling help that will put them in a better position to actually get the financing they need to purchase the property when the lease term expires but also help them get the education they need in order to avoid those deadly adjustable interest rate mortgages, which for many are the very reasons they are in their current financial positions.

The ability to help others while making a profit is one of the best reasons there is to enter the world of real estate investing. In the current market, there are many opportunities that exist to help those who have lost homes as the result of the recent hardships experienced by sub-prime lenders. In other words, you aren’t limited to only one style of real estate investing if your ultimate goal is to help others while making money.

Among the available choices is simply renting out safe homes in decent neighborhoods at affordable rents. Allowing people to have a safe haven to call home is still a big deal, especially when you can sleep peacefully at night because you are offering them a reasonable rate on that rental. This is a great real estate investment for those who aren’t yet interested in offering a lease option at this time or are easing into the land-lording process of real estate investing. Just remember that the important thing in this situation is that you remain responsible in your practices, you avoid getting greedy, and you remember that you actually want to help others live the American dream through your real estate investing.