What Is A Lease Purchase Mortgage?

Definition of "What is a lease purchase mortgage?"

Wondering what is the best  lease purchase mortgage definition?

A lease purchase mortgage is a financing option that allows potential homebuyers to lease a property with the option to buy that very property at the end of the set term.

Rent-to-own properties come in two forms: a lease option and a lease purchase. While the former gives the Tenant the option but not the obligation to buy the home, a lease purchase mortgage can legally obligate you to buy the property at the end of the term, whether you have the money to do it or not.

With it, Tenants pay the monthly rent, which covers the owner's first mortgage payment plus an additional amount – typically deposited in an escrow account - as a savings deposit to accumulate cash for a down payment. Lease purchase mortgage typically last 2 to 3 years, after which the Tenant pays up the rest of the house and becomes the actual homeowner. Lease purchase mortgages are usually given to home buyers with poor credit score and/or to home buyers who are pending on the sale of their own home, so they need the time to collect the money and pass it forward.

The lease purchase mortgage is great for the home buyer but why would a home seller agree to a lease purchase mortgage?- you ask.

Well, if the housing market is saturated and they are having difficulty selling the property, this might be a way to attract home buyers that wouldn’t qualify for a regular mortgage. The home seller will still get the money in the end and in the meantime will, at least, have the rent income.

 

Real Estate Advice:

The legal terms can sometimes be tricky. Not to mention that certain aspects change from state to state. Have a local real estate agent review the contract when you sign your rent-to-own contract to make sure you are signing a lease option contract - if that’s the case - and not a purchase mortgage agreement.

image of a real estate dictionary page

Have a question or comment?

We're here to help.

*** Your email address will remain confidential.
 

 

Popular Mortgage Questions

Popular Mortgage Glossary Terms

A lenders requirements regarding how information about income and assets must be provided by the applicant and how it will be used by the lender. The following categories have evolved in ...

A Web site of an individual lender offering loans to consumers. Most Internet shoppers want a list of lenders in whom they can have confidence, who will provide them with the information ...

The amount of the original loan remaining to be paid. It is equal to the loan amount less the sum of all prior payments of principal. ...

A lender commitment to make a mortgage loan to a specified borrower, prior to the identification of the property that will be mortgaged. On a pre-approval, unlike a pre-qualification, the ...

The amount the borrower is obliged to pay each period, including interest, principal, and mortgage insurance, under the terms of the mortgage contract. Paying less than the scheduled ...

Acceleration Clause is a contractual provision inserted in a mortgage, a bond, a deed of trust or other credit vehicles, that gives the lender the right to demand repayment of the ...

The rate charged the borrower each period for the loan of money, by custom quoted on an annual basis. A mortgage interest rate is a rate on a loan secured by a specific property. ...

The interest rate used in calculating the initial mortgage payment in qualifying a borrower. The rate used in qualifying borrowers may or may not be the initial rate on the mortgage. On ...

A clause in the note that allows the lender to demand repayment of the balance in full. A demand clause is even better (for the lender) than an acceleration clause. An acceleration clause ...