You talking Rent A Center type places?

Nope! Well sorta - rent to own for houses

I've heard of this and have seen listings but I don't know if they are legitimate or not.

[deleted]

EDIT: Deleted comment this belongs to was, they're usually scams, signed, a real estate attorney.

To elaborate:

https://www.propublica.org/article/rent-to-own-wall-streets-latest-housing-trick

Overpriced stuff, poor quality and exorbitant interest rates. Very bad deal for the consumer

not sure, but it would be very helpful to most people, especially kids in college.

In my experience, rent to own is predatory. I looked into it when I was desperate to move and buy and quickly found it was a shitty deal for buyers. Sellers want the cash and don’t want to release the title.

I think if you ask small landlords they will be all over this. Despite the general Reddit vibe, small landlords love win win situations.

Would you trust a Rhode Islander in a rent to own?

lol you’re going to get scammed my guy

if you could rent a home for X amount of money why would you sell it to someone that can’t qualify for a legitimate mortgage?

If you would like to buy a home in RI and may not be in the best position to grab traditional financing, check out the state*s new homeowner program. Rent to Own sucks for TVs and sofas, and it sucks for homes, especially.

https://www.rihousing.com/first-time-homebuyer-mortgage/

https://governor.ri.gov/press-releases/governor-mckee-announces-launch-statewide-program-help-first-time-homebuyers

Oh that, i've only seen that in extremely rural or shitty areas. Mainly for trailers or mobile homes. Never seen it here but who knows it may exist.

Just get a mortgage

Would make no sense for the landlord. All the responsibility and rent for renting an apartment, except you don’t get to keep the property after?? Why would anyone do that optionally?

👆This is the answer, for sure.

Unless it's for an absolute dog in Nowhere, Arkansas, what property owner would do this? There is no upside for them.

So, OP, if you ever were to find such an offer here in RI, it's telling you loud and clear that it's predatory or worse

For a home? Or for stuff?

I did rent to own but not through a program. Our home was offered to us by a family friend who knew we had a baby on the way and that we were not in a safe living situation. Be very careful in investing in anything without a contract. In our case everything worked out and our home is truly beautiful. It even came furnished with gorgeous high value furniture. But it’s uncommon. We had looked into it for a few years before being offered this. Nothing was ever legitimate. To be quite honest I would recommend just buying a house through the RI first time home owners program. We had to put $25k cash down with no assistance and we closed on the house in October. You’re better off financially to take advantage of the states program. Good luck to you. If you have any questions feel free to ask.

Thank you for the replies all!

A program is probably not a good option. However this may be the time to contact a seller directly. Agree upon this years market pricing and then have them hold the mortgage until an agreed upon time you can refinance under your name. A serious seller will want a down payment and you will still need an atty to hold the closing as well as be responsible for the cost of that up front vs rolling it to a mortgage. You will also be responsible for all repairs as well as taxes/fire taxes. It’s doable I bought my own home this way at the end of the last housing crisis. Was able to refinance it into a VA mortgage when our home in Virginia finally was sold. Unfortunately as a first time buyer this year you would miss out on the great grant program that’s available right now. Work with a local mortgage broker to see if they have something that works for you it may be an option.