So your homeproperty has been up for sale for months, and you can’t afford to make mortgage payments on both your old and new houses. You’re serious to sell but don’t want to lose money. Today may be time to think about making your old home a rent-to-own property.

Before entering into an agreement, sellers have to decide the sale price and rent they’ll charge for the house. Both amounts are subject to negotiation, just as a regular sale would be. But sellers and buyers need to remember that once they sign an agreement, the sale price of the house is locked in until the end of their rental term, between one and five years. Even if other housing prices rise or fall during that time, the original agreed-upon sale price is final.

Renters also have to pay an rent to own fee and then a rent premium. The option fee is a set sum that the renter pays the seller. If, at the end of the rental period, the renter buys the house, the option fee becomes part of the down payment. If the tenant doesn’t buy the house, the option fee becomes income for the seller. Rent premiums are an amount slightly above the typical rent, with a portion of that money going toward a down payment.

Rent To Own Home Example

Here’s a normal example: The house is worth $200,000, and normal rent would be $1,000 a month. Someone who’s renting to own might pay $1,200 a month in rent and then receive a $400 rent credit each month. Add the option fee, in this case $5,000. On a three-year lease, the renter would realize $14,400 in rent credits. Adding the made rental credits to the option fee, the renter has accumulated $19,400 for a down payment.

This is a valuable alternative for buyers who otherwise wouldn’t have the credit score  or money saved to purchase their own home. And the sellers, eager to relieve themselves of the weight of the old home, earn this money whether or not the house sells once the leasing period expires. If, at the end of the contract the renter can’t or chooses not to buy the home, the seller holds all of the money.

As with any business contract, there are common risks and disadvantages involved for both parties. What if somebody else wants to purchase the house for a higher price than earlier negotiated? Who’s responsible for fixing the leaky roof in the middle of the night? All these terms can be addressed up front in a rent to own agreement.