If you have made this cry, you are not alone!  In fact, with unemployment high and lending guidelines tighter than ever, more people are having a difficult time with their credit.  Even people with great income are finding it difficult to get a mortgage.

This, combined with the challenges that the real estate market is experiencing has many people searching for rent to own homes listings as an alternative to getting a mortgage. Is this a good idea?  Well, like many things in life the answer is…It depends!

If you are serious about owning a home and willing to do what it takes to get yourself in position to qualify for a mortgage loan, then this can be a great idea.  But, you need to understand that chances are it is going to take you a lot of work.  You may even need to develop a second stream of income in order to generate enough cash to pay off debt.

If you do decide to take the plunge, there are several things you need to understand.  First, make sure that your contract term is long enough to actually give you the time to qualify for a mortgage.  There are many investors out there who target people with bad credit.

They get them into lease option or rent to own contracts and charge an upfront option fee.  They then purposely structure the contract term to be so short that the individual is unable to get a loan because their credit has not improved enough.  Their goal? To collect another option fee next year!

Another thing you need to make sure of is that the mortgage on the home is current.  You may feel shy about asking this, but don’t be!  The last thing you want to do is move into your dream home and find out that the home is in foreclosure and your landlord (and your money) is nowhere to be found!