My real estate agent called this afternoon with an idea. She said that the last lady she showed the house to wanted it. She went to apply for a loan (don't ask me why she didn't do that BEFORE she started looking.) and it seems that her credit score is 5 pts too low to get the loan. My agent talked to the banker and he said he had instructed the lady on how to bring it up those few points and said she could do it in 3 months. The lady called my agent to tell her she still wanted to be kept in the loop on my house so that if it was still available when she got the loan she could try to buy it then.
THE IDEA my agent had was to see if we'd be willing to allow this single mother (school teacher) of 3 to lease the house for the 3 months she needs to improve her score. At that point she could purchase the house. My agent says that if we draw up the contract NOW we have a little more protection than if we were to wait till the 3 months was done.
MY FEAR is that at the end of 3 months she will then decide she doesn't want the house and bail on us. Leaving us to start all over again with the selling process. I do not want to be a landlord. I do not want to be the one cleaning up any messes and damage that they may cause to this property if they go.
UPSIDE is that we don't pay the house note for the next 3 months and we have a buyer on the line. (IF all goes as planned.)
I think before we commit to this idea we need to put some fear in the Chinese fellow's heart. I think it should be made clear to him that the contract is up and that we have only allowed him to continue out of courtesy, we are not obligated to him any longer. If he wants the house he needs to move and move fast. Let him know that we have other offers on the table.
So what I am asking here is what is your take? I have never rented a place to anyone else. My dad has and I remember having to go in and clean and paint and fix stuff each time. Have any of you done something like this? Either side renter or landlord? I need some objective views. I know that home sellers are starting to take some more unconventional steps in this economy and while I was hoping we'd sneak through it may not be that way. I welcome your advice.
5 comments:
The only person eligible to give you sound advice is an attorney. When you take on a landlord/tenant relationship you have a whole new ball of wax with different rules.
Well Misty, this is a hard call...We have had renters and in all but one case they did not take care of the house.... We had to go in and paint, clean or replace carpet and hope that we were able to collect our rent every month....The house is all paid off now and my daughter and SIL live there now, but I don't know if I would rent it out again....
You need to pray on this one, lady bug.
I was a conscientious renter for 30 years---never left a house in worse shape than I took it. But I may be an aberration.
Maybe you could offer her a bonus of some kind if she bought after the 3 month lease---throw in some of that furniture you painted, or give her back half a month's rent. and maybe you shouldn't listen to me. I would never be a landlord, but that's because I know my flaws and back-up points.
I've been a owner/landlord of rental property 3 times. 2 bad experiences and 1 good experience.
First and foremost - Research eviction legalities and time frames. (in some states) evicting a dead beat can be a long, drawn out nightmare (like 6 months to a year).
Ask for contact info so you can get a reference from her current landlord.
Maybe even visit her current residence to see how well she takes care of her house.
Neither request should be too unreasonable unless she has something to hide.
re: Chinese fellow - time for him to 'put up or shut up', even if you don't decide to rent to the single mom/school teacher.
My 1st impulse was...do it...check her out then if all is well, rent to the teacher...home sales will continue to be slow for a bit.
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