Rent to Buy

Another effect of the credit crunch is the impact it has had on first time buyers. The lack of mortgages and stringent lending criteria as well as an increase in the levels of deposits required in order to obtain a mortgage has meant many of the would-be buyers are forced to rent.

At RPS, we have an ingenious scheme which allows would-be buyers the best of both worlds. In a nutshell, tenants are able to move into a property on a rental basis. However part of the rent also goes towards the purchase of the property. We therefore call these people tenant buyers. This scheme is ideal for those who think that renting is just 'dead money' as it contributes towards the overall purchase of the property.

The tenant buyer also has security within the property; as long as the original agreement is maintained, then they will not be evicted from the property. They also have the flexibility to decorate the house as they would like - something they cannot do with a traditional rental arrangement.

Another advantage to this type of tenant buyer arrangement is that in more cases, it is possible to fix the purchase price of the property on the moving-in date, so that they know exactly how much they will be paying for it. If the housing market rises, the Tenant Buyer gets the benefit of the gain in equity. If the market crashes, they tenant buyer can walk away without any obligation. This provides the ultimate in flexibility.

The rent-to-buy process can be tailor-made to the tenant buyers needs anywhere between 1-10 years, however most arrangements are between 2 and 5 years.

The scheme is ideal for:

• anyone who doesn’t yet have the full deposit required by the lender and needs time to save up

• Anyone expecting their income to increase over the next few years

• Those who want to ‘try before they buy’

• Aspiring homeowners who cannot yet get a mortgage due to the credit crunch.

• People who have a poor credit history and need time for it to improve

Contact us now for more details.