Lease option transactions are also known as rent to own, or rent to buy transactions. In a lease option, the landlord-seller leases the home to the tenant-buyer and the tenant-buyer has the option to purchase the home for a pre-determined price at any point prior to the end of the lease. The main components of a lease option transaction are the lease term, the purchase price, the down payment, and the rent credit.
Lease purchase transactions are similar to lease options; however, rather than granting the tenant-buyer the option to purchase the home, lease purchases contractually obligate the tenant-buyer to purchase the home.
Owner financing agreements and land contracts have similar payment schedules to that of lease options and lease purchases; however, these agreements enable the buyer to purchase the home and obtain title at the beginning of the transaction. The seller, instead of receiving a large cash payment at the time of
purchase, as he/she would in a conventional sale, serves as a lender for the remainder of the agreement, and collects monthly financing payments from the buyer. When the owner financing agreement or land contract expires, the buyer obtains third-party mortgage financing and fully repays the seller loan.