Original post here:
https://www.reddit.com/RealEstate/comments/6txvv4/is_this_a_good_deal_rent_to_own_opportunity/ First up-date here:
https://www.reddit.com/RealEstate/comments/6u5k1c/update_is_this_a_good_deal_rent_to_own_opportunity/ I kindly ask that you don't judge me on this.
I called the agent the next day, as stated in my last up-date. She said that the property owner would like to rent it to us as opposed to doing the rent-to-own. I was kinda surprised by this but decided to go ahead and see what happens. I didn't plan on signing anything.
So my wife, my kids, and a neighbor friend of ours (who is very handy and has experience in repairing rent properties) go over to the house to take a look. Wife likes the house, the kids kinda like it. My neighbor says it looks good, that is nothing that stands out; the roof looked newer, the furnace is not nearly as old as I first thought, and that everything looked to be in good shape. Aside from minor work here and there, he said it was good to go.
So I'm thinking, "okay, this is a great price for this area. They're willing to do a rental with us, with none of that 5k down-payment crap. Maybe I should keep looking into this."
The owners live in Central Ohio, and we live in NE Ohio. I call them up, talk to the owner. He comes off as very friendly and there are no red flags that go up. Basically, he owns three houses. The one we're interested in, another one in the same neighborhood that he is about to sell, and then one they live in now. He's not a real estate person at all. He's just got to start making money on that house that we're interested in.
I lay down what I'd like:
- basic repairs to be done
- that, if he's in Central Ohio, then we need EVERYTHING in writing when it comes to vendors and repairs so that I'm not stuck waiting a week in the event of an emergency
- that we be allowed to move in after the first of the year
He's down for that. It's looking good. We also agree to do a walk through together before agreeing to terms and signing any paperwork.
A few days later, I'm at work chatting with a friend. I mention that I'm looking at renting the house and that things were moving slowly but surely. She pipes up, says she's been to a house on that street, and lo and behold, it's the same house! She worked with the property owners years ago, had a lot of really nice things to say about them.
So I'm feeling good. The owner is receptive to my concerns. The rent is good for the size of the house and the area. The owner is by both my own and my friend's account, a decent dude. I'm thinking "reddit is wrong, this is gonna work out!"
A few weeks go by. We had agreed that we'd do the final walk-through in October. I e-mailed him at the beginning of the month, looking to set something up. I work a lot of OT on the weekends and my Dad wanted to come with me to do the walk-through, so the more advanced notice I have the better.
He e-mails me back.
Hi pm_me_ur_pregbelly. I'm so sorry, i forgot to reach out to you, but we had a buyer make an offer this week and we have accepted. They are able to do the rent to own and move in shortly, so we couldn't pass it up. Again, I apologize for not reaching out but it happened unexpectedly and quickly. Owner dude
At no point did he say that he was still considering other offers. He didn't even bother to communicate to me that we aren't going forward. I wrote him back a curt e-mail, telling him that I was "upset and disappointed" and that he should have been up front with me regarding taking other offers.
I contacted the agent. I wasn't mean, but told her that I was really upset and she should have been up front with me as well.
tl;dr - you were all right. It was too good to be true. Now some other family is getting screwed over by this asshole instead of me.