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Have I lost my money?

Posted on: 05th Oct, 2009 02:49 pm
My husband & I have been renting to own for two years now. The renter has had a stroke & we are under more pressure about getting the house in our name. Since we've been paying on it for two years, would it be considered a first time buyer or refinancing? Neither of us have owned a home before. Does what we've paid already go toward that or is that money out the window?
Thanks,

Kristin Jarvis
Kristin, i sincerely hope your arrangement has been written down somewhere. even if not, you'd want to do so as soon as you are able now.

you'll definitely not be hampered as far as first-time homebuyer status is concerned. you are not the owners now, so as soon as that transaction is consummated, you'll be homeowners.

i certainly hope that the money you've spent won't be wasted - undoubtedly you have proof, right? receipts, for example, or canceled checks will help you document the arrangement.
Posted on: 05th Oct, 2009 03:35 pm
Yes we had a lease agreement for the first year. I also requested a letter of recomendation from our renter and proof of payments. So now what do we do?
Posted on: 06th Oct, 2009 09:23 am
well, back to you on this: are you ready to buy? is your credit sufficiently good to enable a lender to grant a loan for the purchase?

i just noticed i didn't address the money you've paid into the agreement. essentially, renting to own works in this way: if your rent is $1000 a month, and normal rents for a similar kind of property were $900 a month, then you'd get to count $100 per month as down payment money. if your rent is equivalent to what a typical rent would be then you'd not get credit for that amount towards the purchase.

in either event, do not let the information i just gave you discourage you from continuing. you'll definitely need for your landlord to provide you with evidence that a certain amount of your rent was being allocated towards the purchase, so that you can show that to your lender.

i hope you're ready, though a stroke ought not to incapacitate your landlord completely. nevertheless, get all your ducks in a row and move forward on your plan.
Posted on: 06th Oct, 2009 09:48 am
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