RENT TO OWN WITH HOME PARTNERS OF AMERICA
PROGRAM SUMMARY
Are you close to being able to buy a home but aren’t quite ready? Did you just move to the Seattle Metro areas and aren’t sure where you want to live? Do you need to rent right now but really want to buy a home in a couple years? Home Partners’ Lease with a Right to Purchase Program may be right for you!
Home Partners of America is a great program for those looking to rent a single family home but are just not quite ready buy. Whether you need more time to qualify for a traditional mortgage or you like the idea of trying before you buy, this program has helped thousands of renters move into being Homeowners throughout the U.S! And one of the best things about this program is there is NO COMMITMENT TO PURCHASE. You can also treat this program just like a standard rental where at the end of your lease you get your security deposit back and move out. So if you end up not liking the home, you can simply use your rental period as time to find your perfect home. No penalties for not purchasing!
Renting a home is done in 5 easy steps: (More details on each below)
- Applying – you must apply and get qualified for a monthly rent amount.
- Searching – we set you up on e-alerts showing you all properties that meet your criteria
- Submitting – once you’ve chosen a home, we submit that property to Home Partners so they can submit a strong cash offer on the home. They do all the hard work for you! Once approved, you will receive the lease agreement and will owe the security deposit within 2 days.
- Transaction – This is more of a waiting game for you. They do need to purchase the home so you do need to wait for that transaction to complete and for them to make your home move-in ready. This process can take 5-6 weeks from when you submitted the home.
- Move-In – You will owe the first months rent 3 days prior to move in. The property management company will contact you to set the time for you to receive your keys!
APPLYING
The application is simple and you can perform at home, or I’d be more than happy to meet with you and walk you through the application process. There is a $75 non-refundable application fee, but the great thing is with Home Partners, is that you can then shop for homes without having to pay an application fee at every home you’re interested in!
Pre-Qualifying Criteria: In order to qualify, your applicants will need to show at least a 620 credit score, $40,000 in household income, and you must have the ability to put twice the monthly rent down as a refundable security deposit. However, Home Partners doesn’t focus exclusively on your credit score. The full credit profile of your entire household is taken into account when they review your application to the Home Partners program.
When you apply, you will need to provide proof of income for your application.
- If you are employed traditionally (hourly, salaried, commissioned), you will need to upload your two most recent pay stubs.
- If you are self employed, you will be required to upload your most recent tax return, and two most personal or business recent bank statements.
After you successfully apply for the program, Home Partners will notify you within 24 hours of your approval and give you your maximum monthly rent you qualify for. You can always use less than this amount, but you may not go over, so I do typically advise my clients to request more than needed. If you are not approved, you will need to contact Home Partners directly as I am not provided with that information.
FINDING A HOME
You have several ways to find a home:
1. As your agent, I will create a customized e-alert of the location and home criteria you’ve given me, and send you a daily email with properties. In today’s market homes go FAST! But they also come on the market fast, so my alerts will ensure you stay on top of the latest homes to hit the market! The first email will have every home currently on the market that meets your criteria. The following emails will update you on changes to those homes, and new properties that have come on the market since the previous email. These homes will not have a rental price, however I will give you an estimated list price amount you will likely qualify for, given the maximum rent amount given to you by Home Partners. For example, if you have qualified for $3000 per month of maximum rent by Home Partners, in the Denver metro area, you will likely be able to rent homes with a list price amount of $600,000! As you find homes, I always suggest you favorite them or send to me and I will then verify the rental amount for you.
2. You can also search Home Partners website directly at: www.homepartners.com/find-a-home. Through their website, you will be able to search by rent or list price amount, as well as the other typical home search criteria. You will also be able to favorite homes which will notify me of your interest. While this option is great as it shows you the rental price up-front, their website often is not updated fast enough for this market. So occasionally there will be homes listed there that are not available.
3. You are also free to search for homes on my website, which is connected to the local MLS, or use other websites to find a home yourself. If you find a property, you would then want to visit: www.homepartners.com/how-it-works/addressCheck where you can enter the property address and see if the home will qualify for the program.
LEASE AGREEMENT
Your initial lease is for one year, so your financial commitment is only for one year. Your lease is renewable every year for up to five, one?year periods, and you have the right to notify Home Partners if you don’t want to renew the lease. Your full security deposit will be returned if you decide to not renew your lease, and have been in full compliance with the lease terms.
RIGHT TO PURCHASE AGREEMENT
Your Right to Purchase Agreement gives you the right to purchase the home you selected from Home Partners at a predetermined price for every year of your lease, as long as you have been in compliance with the Lease Agreement and other documents. You are under no obligation to buy the home from Home Partners and there is no penalty for not purchasing.
ADVANTAGES
Unlike a standard lease agreement, you will have renewal options providing five years of rent certainty and the right to purchase price established at the time you enter the Right to Purchase Agreement. This locks in the price of rent and the purchase price, no matter what the market or future appraisal value shows! For example, if the first year purchase price is $400,000 for your home, but the home appreciates to $425k in that year, you will buy your home with $25k in instant equity!
You select your home that you want to live in from those eligible and available for sale in communities Home Partners serves – and lucky for you, their service area is MOST communities along the Front Range. This opens you up to potentially hundreds of more homes than are likely listed only for rent.
Another great advantage is having a property management company with experience. You do not need to worry about waking up the private landlord in the middle of the night, or a landlord that doesn’t respond for days, or a manager who takes vacations. The property management company will be there for you 24/7!
And you get my help throughout the process, at absolutely no cost to you! I am a licensed real estate agent, who will help you search for homes and guide you through the entire process. As soon as you apply I will be emailing you a list of all the properties that are for sale that meet your criteria. I typically suggest you choose from the 3-5 best homes you see, and then we go see them! You choose one and I will submit that to Home Partners for approval (which is typically less than 24 hours!). I will be there for you throughout this process to answer any questions on the home for you and update you along the way.
DISADVANTAGES
I wouldn’t be transparent if I didn’t mention what past clients have felt has been some of the disadvantages of the program. The key issue people have is that you will need to wait 5-6 weeks after we select the home before you are able to move in. Home Partners’ is buying the home, so we still have to go through the home purchase transaction which typically takes 4 weeks. They then need to make any repairs and make the home move-in ready for you which can take the additional 1-2 weeks.
You will also owe twice the monthly rent as a refundable security deposit. This is because Home Partners is making a cash offer on the home, so they would like to make sure their large investment is protected. As long as you satisfy all the terms of the lease, you will get the full security deposit back! Or, if you decide to purchase, the security deposit can also be rolled into the down payment for the home. The security deposit is due upon Home Partners submitting an offer on the home. This is to make sure you don’t back out, as they are then under contract to purchase the home. You will not owe your first months rent until roughly 5-6 weeks later, 3-days prior to moving in.
And lastly, Home Partners of America does have to go through the regular purchase transaction of buying the home you would like to rent. This means that there are chances the closing date, and thus your move-in date, could change due to unforeseen snags during the transaction. Or the deal can even fall through all together for various reasons, resulting in you not being able to move in to the home you’ve chosen. While these circumstances are not common, delays and terminations can happen, and therefor a plan should be in place to be able to extend your current living situation in the event this scenario does occur.
USEFUL HOME PARTNERS LINKS
FIND HOMES IN YOUR AREA
APPLY TO THE PROGRAM
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
HOW THE PROGRAM WORKS