What is a Lease with Option to Purchase?

 

Video Summary

A lease is a landlord-tenant relationship wherein the tenant takes occupancy of the property and agrees to pay a designated monthly amount for a set period of time. In the case of a lease with option purchase, the seller agrees to sell the property to the buyer for a fixed purchase price during the term of the lease. Generally, a certain amount of the monthly rental payments can be applied toward the purchase price. The “option” refers to the buyer’s right to choose whether to purchase the property.

The advantage of a lease with option to purchase is that if the tenant fails to make payments, the buyer may pursue the eviction process rather than the foreclosure process, which takes much less time. In the case of owner financing, a lease with option to purchase is advisable if the buyer does not have a substantial amount of money for a down payment.

If you’re interested in arranging for owner financing as the buyer or seller of a property, please give us a call at (727) 847-2288.

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What is a Land Contract?

 

Video Summary

Land contracts are not used in the State of Florida. A Land Contract is written in such a way that if the buyer of a property fails to pay, the contract is terminated and the sale is ended. This eliminates the need for the foreclosure process. Florida, however, is a Judicial Foreclosure state so land contracts cannot be used.

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How Will a Short Sale Affect my Credit?

 

Video Summary

A short sale itself will not have as much of an effect on your credit as will the period leading up to the short sale. Every late payment on your mortgage will have a detrimental effect on your credit score. A higher credit score will drop more quickly.

Currently, lenders are not inclined to begin negotiating a short sale until the borrower is at least two months late. The short sale process takes 3 to 4 months or longer to complete, so by the time it is complete you will likely have at least 5 or 6 instances of 30-day late payments which will hurt your credit score.

When a short sale is completed, the loan may show “paid as agreed” or “paid off.” Waller & Mitchell is not qualified to advise you as to the effect on your credit score at that time. Another factor affecting your credit is whether you are paying your other debts in a timely fashion.

After selling your house by short sale, you will be unable to obtain a mortgage from a federally insured lending institution for at least two years. In some cases, it may take as long as 4 years. However, if the property is foreclosed rather than sold in a short sale, the minimum time before you may be able to obtain a mortgage from a federally insured lending institution is 4 years.

If you have questions about short selling your house, please call us at (727) 847-2288.

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Do I Need a Lawyer to Buy a House?

 

Video Summary

A board-certified real estate attorney will be able to represent your interests as the purchaser of a house. Your attorney can advise you in the purchase of the house, checking the title, and some of the non-legal matters involved, such as inspections, checking the title, history of possible sinkholes, existence of open permits, land surveys, etc. The attorney can also help you understand the terms of the Title Commitment.

If you are interested in legal representation to buy a house, please call us at (727) 847-2288.

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What is a Short Sale?

 

Video Summary

A short sale occurs when the buyer of a property gets behind on payments and, rather than enter the foreclosure process, he attempts to sell the property for less than the amount owed. “Short” refers to the difference between the sale price and the amount owed on the mortgage(s). Many properties are being sold as short sales now because of the recent dip in home values. MLS listings usually indicate when a property is a short sale. The lender must agree to the sale price of the property and agree to negotiate with the original buyer as to whether the debt will be given or there will still be a debt. The process can take a very long time to negotiate a sale price and terms that the lender, the borrower, and the new buyer can agree on.

 

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