How to Rent-to-Own Your Home & 12 Best Sites to Use

Do you want a rent-to-own home?

If yes, then this article will really help as it looks closely at the concept, how it works and how anyone can get started with renting to own their home.

This article also reveals the best companies you can use to get the right rent-to-own home!

So yes, the obvious question is…

Are you interested in renting a home?

If yes, there are many rental home options that real estate agents or companies will present to you.

One of these rental options is known as “Rent-To-Own”.

This is a home rental option in which you start renting a home and end up becoming the owner.

Yes, you will easily become the landlord of your home if you meet the detailed rent-to-own home agreement.

There are two main types of rent-to-own home agreements even as there are many companies you can use to find a rent-to-own home.

So, keep reading to get all the details of how the rent-to-own concept works and how you can get involved.

Also, the best companies you can use to find a rent-to-own home are discussed.

 

What is a Rent-to-Own Home?

Rent-to-Own also called a “lease-to-own-home”, is a home purchase through a rental agreement with a homeowner.

In this agreement or contract, a portion of your monthly payments will go towards the reduction of the sales price of the house during the time of your lease.

After that time is up then you’ll have an option to purchase the home.

Usually, a rent-to-own period could be from 1 to 5 years.

Or, put in simple terms, a rent-to-own is a rental agreement where the tenant rents the property with the option to buy it at the end of the lease term.

Landlords have reasons to want to offer rent-to-own options.

Meanwhile,  the best reasons include that the landlord may be having a hard time selling the rental property, or that the landlord is looking to rent or sell the old house.

 

Types of Lease-to-Own Homes

There are two major types of rent-to-own or lease-to-own agreements. These are:

 

1. A lease agreement with an option to purchase

This is the type of rent-to-own that allows the tenant to pay an “option fee” for the right to purchase a property at a later date.

In addition, the seller is required to sell the property to the tenant and apply the option fee to the purchase price.

If the renter chooses not to purchase the house, he will forfeit the option money.

In most cases, the option fee is a percentage of the price of the home.

It may be in the range of 2 to 7 percent of the purchase price. Physical assets like cars can be used as the option fee.

Also See: Differences Between Frugal Vs Cheap.

 

2. Lease agreement with a purchase agreement

This type of rent-to-own allows both parties to agree on a fixed purchase price.

The purchase price will be determined with a future appraisal, as well as the future closing date.

Once the expiration of the date, the renter pays up and becomes the owner.

The renter is legally obligated to buy the home by the end of the lease.

 

12 Best Sites To Find Rent-to-Own Homes

The following are some of the best companies you can use to find or list rent-to-own homes.

 

1. Zillow

Zillow is one of the best rental listing sites. It provides users with listings of homes for rent and sale.

This site was founded in 2006 and it operates in the United States.

This site has a database of more than 135 million homes and apartments for rent and sale.

Also, this company lists the current homes and apartments on the market.

Zillow provides some built-in tenant screening tools that allow landlords to get the best tenants.

You can use this site to find rent-to-own homes.

Renters can pay a $29 fee to apply to an unlimited number of participating rentals for 30 days.

Click here to check out Zillow to find rent-to-buy homes.

Also See: Secrets To Becoming Rich from Real Estate Investment.

 

2. Avail 

Avail is another company where you can sign up to get rent-to-own apartments.

This company was founded in 2012 serves tenants and landlords in every state of the U.S.

This site is best known for its screening process.

Yes, most landlords use this site because it provides an effective screening process that allows only qualified prospective tenants to find the home they want.

One of the most amazing features of this platform is that it provides tools that allow individuals to track property repairs, tenant expenses, and rent credits, etc.

So, if you are looking for a rent-to-own home apartment or any other type of home then you should consider this platform.

Click here to check out Avail.

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3. Apartments.com 

Apartments.com is a huge website where tenants, homeowners, and real estate agents utilize.

This platform syndicates the listing of many real estate-like platforms for the benefit of landlords and tenants.

If you are a tenant looking for a rent-to-own home, then you use this site.

Also, if you are a landlord wanting to sell or lease your home then  Apartments.com would come in handy.

Also See: Frugal Living Tips To Help Get Finances Under Control.

Apartments.com provides many features that allow renters to search for what they want and at the best rate.

The listings on this site include varieties of apartments, condos, houses, townhouses, rent-to-buy homes, and so on.

Renters can use the app to find what they are looking for on the go.

It should interest you to know that Apartments.com’s app allows applicants to pay $29.99 to access better homes and features.

Click here to check out Apartments.com.

Also See: How To Be Very Rich and Successful In Business.

 

4. Cozy 

Cozy is a company that lists homes and apartments for rentals and ownership.

The site was founded in 2012 and focuses on helping landlords list their properties with ease and simplicity.

Cozy operates in all the 50 states of the U.S. and also in Puerto Rico.

As at the time of writing this review, Cozy is making plans to join forces with Apartment.com – another awesome real estate company.

Both landlords and tenants can use this site to the advantage.

You will discover the listing of many types of houses on this site. The listing includes the latest rent-to-own homes.

If you are a landlord, you can use this site to list, lease, market, and manage your rent-to-own and other properties.

It would interest you to know that this platform is syndicated with other real estates sites like Doorsteps.com and Realtor.com.

Click here to check out Cozy as one of the best companies to use in finding or listing rent-to-own homes.

Also See: How and Where to Lease a Car With Bad Credit.

 

5. Zumper

Zumper is a company where an apartment hunter can browse through various listings.

They can place a reservation and take advantage of other important details.

This platform was founded in 2012 and has its headquarters in San Francisco.

It also hosts listings across different states.

For now, Zumper operates in 10 cities in the US and Canada.

These include San Francisco, New York, Chicago, Montreal, Los Angeles, and Denver.

It also operates in places like San Diego, Toronto, Vancouver, and Philadelphia.

Related: How to Get Paid to Live in a House and Get Paid to Stay in Haunted Houses.

Zumper is one of the best companies to use for rent-to-own homes.

Whether you are a landlord or a renter, this site comes in handy and makes the process of leasing a home easier for everyone.

One of the best features of using this is that it only provides a virtual tour process that makes it possible to lease an apartment without any human contact.

If you want to use this platform for rent-to-own home browsing, there are free tools to it.

However, renters will pay for their application, reservation, and screening fees when they find a property they want.

Landlords use this site to list, advertise, communicate and screen applicants who want to rent their rent-to-own homes and other property.

Click here to check out Zumper as one of the best companies to use for listing and renting rent-to-own homes.

Also See: Why Is Entrepreneurship and Making Money Important.

 

6. Rent.com

Rent.com is a popular online platform where renters and homeowners meet.

On this site are listings of various types of apartments for sale and rent.

It has different types of filters which can be used to find the exact type of apartments needed.

This company is one of the best places you can use to find rent-to-own homes.

Click here to check out Rent.com.

 

7. Realtor.com

Realtor.com is one of the best companies you can use to find Rent-to-own homes.

This company primarily focuses on homes for sale.

Also, you will find a great number of rental listings. Under the “Rent” categories you will find Rent-to-own options.

You can also find great resources about rentals on this platform.

It would interest you to know that this platform has a partnership with the National Association of Realtors(NAR).

Click here to check out Realtor.com to find Rent-to-Own homes.

Also: How To Get Paid To Rent Houses in New City, State or Country.

 

8. Trulia

Trulia is a site you can use to find properties for sale and rent.

You can use this company to find rent-to-own homes.

There are a variety of homes and apartments listed on this site

Both landlords and renters use this company and its features for rent-to-own homes.

Click here to check out Trulia.

Also See: How To Manifest Money and Financial Success.

 

Other companies you can check out and use for finding and listing rent-to-own homes include:

9. HotPads.com

10. MLS.com

11. PadMapper.com

12. Craigslist.org

 

Conclusion

As this article has shown, it’s indeed possible to get Rent-to-own homes.

Most rental listings sites have listings for renters to take advantage of to eventually own the homes they rent.

This article looked very closely at the whole rent-to-own-home concept, how it works and how anyone can get started with renting to own their home.

This article also revealed the best companies you can use to get the right rent-to-own home!