Some sellers shy away from selling by lease option, but it can be a good way to get the best of both worlds: you get a tenant for your house that is motivated to stay and to keep the house nicer than would be the case with a renter. On the other side of the coin, the buyer eventually gets to own the home if they continue to keep up their part of the bargain.

If you're nervous about selling by way of lease option, here are a few ideas on how to do it successfully. The first is to make sure that as many people know about the home as possible. In all your advertising, you want to include these important words: "rent to own." This phrase will bring a fairly large number of prospects to your door. In order to screen prospective buyers, record a message on your answering machine that outlines what you want for terms. Also in your message, ask them to tell you how much they can put down in order to "win" the chance at obtaining your home. This will allow you to call only those people who have indicated that they can put down a sizeable down payment.

Once you've gotten your list of best candidates, you can save your time and create a feeling of immediacy in buyers' minds by setting up a time to show the home to all prospective buyers at the same time.

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This situation will create a competitive atmosphere that is likely to sell your home on the spot. Sometimes for more money than you expected, if the bidding begins to get hot!

Once you've decided upon your home's "winner," you can increase your chances of nailing down your sale by having that person fill out the papers on the spot. That way, you won't have to start the entire process over if they back out. Have the applicants pay $20.00 or so to fill out the application, to be used to do a credit check.

It's possible that you won't be able to decide on the spot between several different applicants. If that's the case, have them ALL fill out the applications and pay their $20.00, and then tell them that you'll let them know who has "won" the house.

Using this process can greatly increase your chances of successfully selling your home using the lease option method--in an amazingly short time.

Copyright © 2006 Jeanette J. Fisher

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