Rent to own – tips from Daniel Fisher at ZipRealty.

There are 8 such homes (2 are doublewides) and no condos in all of Gaston Co. as of 4/1/09.

Many/most rent to own properties require that you have a good credit score and rental history. If your score is good, purchasing is often a better long-term strategy for personal financial health. With a rent to own home, you may have to lease for a year. You pay a slightly inflated rent with the hope that in the future some part of it will be returned to you and applied to your down payment. Many current clients have found that when they go to make the purchase they realize that the house needs lots of repairs or is priced by their landlord so that it is not a good deal.

If you have not owned a home in the last 3 years, there are a LOT of financing options available to you. Plus you can get an $8,000 tax rebate from the IRS through November 2009 and a 20% buyers commission from Zip Realty when you purchase a home over $100M.

My suggestion is to speak to a lender and see what they are willing to do for you. I know of a few that are not credit score driven. If there are things on your credit report that need cleaning up, they can help you with this process, especially clearing up any items that are not yours. Also, if you want or need to get your score up to get a better interest rate, they can tell you what amounts to pay on what debts to maximize the positive impact on your score. If you want/need to rent, find an apartment with a 3 to 6 month lease, look while you are working on your credit and by the Fall, you will be ready to purchase.

Details on the above via my profile.