|
Reading recent
articles about lease options reminded me of not only the lease option buying
that I have done over the years, but also of the tremendous advantages of selling
on a lease option. My income increased dramatically when I discovered
the benefits of selling on a lease option.
The two biggest benefits are:
1. Selling
without paying a sales commission
2.
Receiving a higher than market purchase price (than you
would if you sold conventionally)
First, by eliminating the need for
a Realtor you save 6% to 7% right off the top! On some properties this amount
could be your entire profit! "Cut out the middleman" (the Realtor)
and save substantially. Furthermore, when your tenant holds the option to
buy, he doesn't have to move after the closing.
What this means to you (the owner/optionor) is NO VACANCY during the
marketing period. Obviously, the smartest way to use a lease option is to
offer them to all of your tenants first.
I find that the caliber of tenant is much better. They tend to take better
care of the property because they feel like "homeowners." They pay
their rent more timely, and they pay for improvements out of their own
pockets.
Secondly, the purchase price I quote to prospective tenant/buyers is 10% to
15% higher than market value. I do this because at the end of a one-year
lease option, the property will probably be worth more than it is today. I
also do this as a "premium" charge for not paying me cash today.
I know that many people say don't lock in a price today and to make the
option price based upon the appraised value when the option expires. After
being married to an appraiser for twenty-five years, I disagree.
My wife tells me that, if an appraiser has a value to '"shoot for,"
it is much easier to appraise the property for what you want than if you just
ask the appraiser to "tell us what it is worth." I think we can all
read between the lines and figure out the advantage, right?
My experience tells me that only about 25% to 35% of the people who hold
lease options actually exercise those rights. So, if this is reality, set up
your lease options to benefit from this fact. I have a one-year extension
right built into my options that allows the tenant/buyer to extend our
one-year deal for another year.
What does it cost him? First, the option price is increased by 5%. Second,
the rent is increased by 7%. Why? Because I want to cover myself if property
values continue to increase in the second year of the option, and rents
always go up every year. Don't they?
I want the tenant/buyer to know that if he absolutely has to extend our deal,
he can. But there is a disincentive built in the option contract to make sure
that he doesn't extend "just for the fun of it."
Another benefit to having 65% to 75% of the tenant/buyers NOT exercising
their options is that they forfeit their option consideration. If you get
heavy into the business, this can add up to some big bucks. Last year, I
received $17,000 of forfeited option consideration (and I only do about five
or six per year).
The bottom line to this business is that you really don't care if they
exercise their option or not--you will make money either way!
|
|
