Q.  What exactly is "Rent-To-Sell" Property Management?

A.  We place rental or rent-to-own tenants into your home, manage the property, work with the tenants to get them "mortgage-ready", and then coordinate the sale.  We also actively market your properties to our investors who are looking to buy tenant-occupied homes for their investment portfolios.

Q.  I've seen other companies that offer a similar "Rent-To-Sell" program.  Why should I pick yours?

A.  We are obviously biased, but most of the other programs that I've seen out there would make me nervous as a home owner for several reasons:

1.  They do not utilize the "Realtor Network" of the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) simply because they are not Realtors.  As soon as you list with us, we post your home to MLS which gives the 9,000+ active Charlotte Realtors the opportunity to present your home to their clients for rental or lease purchase.

2.  Most keep all of the up front option fee after they place the tenant in your property.  There is no security deposit required which puts you on the hook for the complete financial responsibility if the tenant does not pay or destroys your home.

3.  They have no vested interest in selling your home (because they typically do not work with the tenant to make them mortgage-ready and have no vested interest in the sale of your home).  If they only get their fee from the option fee when the tenant is placed, there is no incentive to make sure the tenant is a good one that sticks around to actually buy the home.  We are as vested as you are because besides placing the tenant, we manage the home and earn a Realtor fee when your home sells.  Our financial interests are in sync with yours, and I don't know of any other "Rent-To-Sell" companies that can claim this.  We enjoy being your teammate!

Q.  How do I buy another home if my old home hasn't sold?  I can't afford 2 homes and the bank probably knows this.

A.  I would encourage you to talk to your lender.  We have NEVER run into a problem with this if you can present a signed lease to your lender, which we will provide to them.  In fact, clients and Realtors have called us because they have a home they want to buy but need a signed lease quickly so their sale will go through.  The lender just wants to make sure that you have proof that someone else will be making payments on your old home, so the burden is not on you if your income will not support it.  We take care of that so it's not an issue.

Q.  What services does the "Rent-To-Sell" Program include?

We cover everything in the process.  This includes:

• Coordinating with contractors to make the necessary repairs to your home to get it market ready
• Giving you ideas on how to improve the "showability" of your property
• Marketing your property
• Facilitating the showing of your property
• Screening tenants
• Doing all of the necessary paperwork
• Managing the property
• Working with the tenant to get them financially qualified
• Actively marketing your home to investors looking to buy tenant-occupied homes in Charlotte
• Executing the sale

Q.  How do you market our property?

A.  We do this in many ways including:

• Listing your home "For Sale" as a lease purchase in the Charlotte-Area Multiple Listing Service (the internet site where all Charlotte real estate agents post their home listings for other agents to sell to their clients)- this gives your home visibility to the 9,000 active real estate agents in our area
• Listing on BDF Realty's website, www.BDFRealty.com
• Listings on other sites we partner with (including www.Realtor.com)
• Exposure to large inventory of tenant-buyers we have waiting for a rent-to-own home in our database (also growing every month)

• Send it to a list of investors we work with that are looking to buy homes that have tenants in them

These include some of our marketing efforts.  Bottom line, we will get your home exposure. 

Q.  What is the average time to fill properties you list?

A.  That's a tough thing to answer because it really depends on your house.  However, this has happened as quickly as 2 days.  90% of our homes are "Under Contract" in 30 days and moved into within 45.  Be ready to move!! 

Q. What are the costs associated with this program?

A.  There are 4 parts of this program:

a.  Upfront marketing fee of $99.00 to maximize your success for fast tenant-buyer placement.  We use this to place your home on the Charlotte Region MLS, Rentals.com, Realtor.com, BDFRealty.com, and many other sites.  Your home will get maximum exposure!

b.  Placing the rent-to-own tenant in your property-we retain 2/3 of the upfront option fee for this service and pass on the other 1/3 to you to spend or keep as a security deposit.  Or for procuring a rental tenant, we retain 1/2 of the first month's rent

c.  Managing the property while working with the tenant to get them qualified to buy the home- $100 flat fee per month (deducted from the rent we receive on your behalf) for our Basic Service Package, and $125 for our Platinum Service Package

d.  For coordinating the sale of your home with the tenant- 5% of the purchase price

Q.  How often do the Rent-To-Own tenants actually buy?

A.  Roughly 30%

Q.  I understand that the rent-to-own tenants you place in our homes are not contractually obligated to buy them.  What happens if they don't?

A.  That's what we call a good problem for our clients.  Tenants typically sign 12-24 month leases which means that they are paying off your home every month.  Do you contribute to a 401K or IRA?  That's what this is like- the tenant is paying off your investment and basically making a contribution to you every month. 

Besides. who knows what will happen in 12-24 months?  The housing market in your area could tighten up and people may be forming in line to buy your home then.  Home values typically appreciate every year, so your home will have risen in value and your mortgage expense has fallen.  Not a bad situation.

If the tenant informs us that they do not plan to buy the home, we will contact you prior to the lease expiring.  Then you can decide what you would like to do.

Q.  What is the typical length of the lease that is signed with the tenants?

A.  12, 18, or 24 months, depending on their credit situation.

Q.  What happens if the rent-to-own tenant does not pay?

A.  We have a stringent tenant screening process, so this should not happen.  However, we obviously cannot guarantee this.  To combat this, we collect an up front option payment or a minimum of 1-month's security deposit before they move in.  If they violate the lease, they forfeit the option money or security deposit and are evicted.  We have found that most tenant-buyers are serious about improving their credit and owning a home; plus, it doesn't make any sense for them to stop paying rent and forfeit their money.

Q. Sounds great!!  How do I get the ball rolling?

A.  Simply fill out our Rent-To-Sell Form and one of our associates will call you to discuss our program.  It's that easy!!

Q.  I still have questions.  Who should I contact for further information?

A.  Please call us at (704) 370-6419 or Contact Us.