Lease-to-own agreements can help sell a hard-to-sell property during a sluggish housing market. Here’s how they work:

A seller agrees to rent a property to an interested buyer for a set period of time, usually one to three years. At the end of the lease, the buyer has the option to purchase the home at a preset price.
A portion of the monthly rent paid during the lease is usually counted toward the down payment. To cover that, the seller charges a rent increment or monthly premium of $200 to $300 compared to comparable rentals.
Many owners also charge an option fee for taking the property off the market, usually 1 percent to 2 percent of the sale price. This may be applied toward the purchase.
Sellers have no guarantee that renters will buy at the end of the term, but if they don’t, they keep the option fee and the amount of the rent that would have gone toward the down payment.

Source: Orlando Sentinel (03/09/08)

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