Buying on a lease option

When it comes to buying on a lease option you need to find motivated sellers. What makes a motivated seller?

A variety of circumstances and situations in people’s lives can make them need to sell their home. These can include a job transfer, bankruptcy, foreclosure, upgrading to a bigger home, or a number of other reasons. For real estate investors buying on a lease option it is crucial to buy homes from truly motivated sellers - sellers who have an extra urgency, usually financial. You can’t get a good deal from an unmotivated seller who has no pressing reason to negotiate or give in on any part of a transaction.

There are different degrees of motivation and different reasons people need to sell their homes, but overall there are two basic categories of motivated sellers:

1. Desperate and distressed (bad debt) - someone in trouble financially, behind on on payments, going in a bad direction, lost their job, foreclosure, etc.

2. Not desperate or distressed (good debt) - someone not in trouble financially, not behind on payments but motivated for other reasons: two house payments, inherited a home, burned-out landlord, job transfer and so on.

When it comes to bad debt you want to consider subject to investing, these types of motivated sellers are good fits for subject to investing. However, when you are buying on a lease option you want to focus on the sellers with good debt.