What are your experiences in converting renters in the park to rent-to-own?
I’m concerned that they won’t take care of the home. They are paying the same amount as when they rented and they haven’t put any money down. So they won’t they have the same attitude as when they rented and not take care of the place? I question whether they will put their money into repairs. I will get stuck with a trailer needing a lot of refirbishing when they move. What do you do when the house needs a repair and the owners don’t do it?
My experience has been nothing but positive when converting rentals to lease options. All of a sudden the tenant starts taking care of the home as they are in a different mindset. We have taken back about 5 homes out of 20 this year for various reasons but each one has been left in outstanding shape! All we had to do was touch up the paint in a couple places and clean carpets.
When we bought a park last year we had about 15 rentals that we had to deal with. About 10 homes were vacant and were absolute disasters. The remaining 5 homes we converted the people over to lease option without an issue. We even were fortunate to increase their monthly payment by about $100 because the rental rate was so low.
When converting a rental into a lease option I think it is all about how you approach it. Many people like the idea of “home ownership” especially if you can keep the same monthly payment.