Rent-To-Sell FAQ's
The questions we field the most... Answered!
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.
Q. What services does the "Rent-To-Sell" Program include?
A. We offer services for every step of the process. They include:
- 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
- Executing the sale
Q. How do you market our property?
A. We do this in many ways including:
- Listing your home 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 6,000+ active real estate agents in our area
- Listing on www.BDFRealty.com as a "Featured Home"
- Listings on 900+ sites we partner with (including Realtor.com, Google, Zillow, AOL, etc.)
- Exposure to large inventory of tenant-buyers that contact BDF Realty daily about rent-to-own homes
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" within 30 days and moved into within 45 days. Be ready to move!!
Q. What are the costs associated with this program?
- Upfront marketing fee of $150.00 (Normally $299.00-$149.00 discount!) 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 900+ other sites (Google, AOL, Zillow, etc.). Your home will get maximum exposure!
- There is NO COST to you for placing a rent-to-own tenant into your property. We retain some of the option fee (that the tenant provides) to pay for this service.
- Managing the property while working with the tenant to get them qualified to buy the home- $100 flat fee per month (all-inclusive!)
- 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. It will allow time for the real estate market to come back.
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. 6-36 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 we try to mitigate the risk on the front end. 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.
