GARYANDLANA

Most of us are very familiar with the term “rent to own”.  Places such as Prime Time and Rent A Center have built an empire with rent to own merchandise, although the buyer normally ends up paying double what the merchandise is actually worth.  While this may be great for those who have bad credit, most of us prefer to avoid going this route.  Homes are no exception, especially if you are buying a home on a rent to own basis.

Even though rent to own may be good for a short period of time, it proves to be an expensive way for someone to buy something they intend to keep.  Rent to own merchandise for example, may sound quite compelling at a few dollars a week.  The agreement is normally for around 15 – 20 months, which is where the company makes their money.  Although you may be paying just a few dollars a week, the total amount quickly adds up to nearly twice the cost of the item.

Along with paying rent, you’ll also have to pay applicable sales tax as well.  Like merchandise, rent to own real estate has it’s disadvantages.  Even though it can be great for those with not so great credit, you’ll normally end up paying back a lot more than you would with a mortgage.  You’ll still have to pay back your lender with a mortgage, although that amount won’t be nearly as high as it would if you decided to get a house on a rent to own basis.

In most cases, rent to own houses are put up on the market by the owner.  This way, you’ll deal directly with the owner.  It will start out as a traditional lease, then proceed to a rent to own basis if you decide you want to keep the home.  You and the owner will then work out an arrangement, which will normally be quite a few years.  Some owners are very flexible and will work with you just to get the price they want for their home, while others will charge you quite a bit more, in order to make a hefty profit.
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What is real estate value? It isn’t what you have into your house. It isn’t what you feel it is worth. It is what the market will pay. How do you figure out what the market will pay? For single family homes, the best way is by seeing what similar homes have sold for.

Figuring replacement cost isn’t very useful. It’s difficult to say what land is worth in a city center where none is left for sale, for example, and tough to gauge depreciation of the home itself. Valuation from replacement cost is used as a secondary method, and for unique homes that can’t be compared easily with others. However, the primary method of real estate appraisal used for homes is a market analysis using comparable sales.

Real Estate Value 101
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Real estate valuation for single family homes is typically done by using comparable sales. With income properties this just doesn’t work well. Imagine if you are looking at a 24-unit building. It would be difficult to find similar ones nearby that have recently sold.

It’s also not ideal to use replacement costs for income property appraisal. How do you figure replacement cost if there is no land for sale nearby with proper zoning? This is used as a secondary method, though, and can tell you if maybe you should be building instead of buying.

Real Estate Valuation By Cap Rate
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