Hello LH, you need to definetely sit down with a Realtor and crunch the numbers for your current property in Capitol Heights to see what makes sense. If you can sell without losing any money after paying all selling expenses then you should sell the house first. Otherwise, it may be better to rent it out, just make sure your rent is reasonable enough to get a rental client and still pay the mortgage and expenses. (You may end up taking a loss, but talk to a CPA too.) Then you can worry about something near the college. Silver Spring (very commutable) has a lot of properties for sale which you might be able to rent. Look for homes that have been on the market for a long time, those sellers might be willing to rent to buy. However, be careful you are not getting into a property going into foreclosure. You could end up being without anywhere to live in the end. You will need a good contract to protect your interest as well as the seller's. Good luck! If you need more info, please contact me. Many thanks, Cher

Hello LH, Begin by interviewing at least 3 Realtors who specialize in buying/selling homes in your area.

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Thanks for your question, it was a good one.

Sell the townhouse first (if you're able to). That way, you won't be facing the possibility of making two payments--one on the Capitol Heights townhouse and the other near the University of Maryland.

I love lease-options, but: Are you sure it's the right thing for you? It's just that you're not providing enough information about why you need one, and why you need to sell the townhouse. For instance, if you're able to rent the townhouse for enough to cover your monthly expenses, it might make more sense financially to rent the townhouse out. Similarly, are you sure you need a rent-to-own, versus either a straight rental or a straight purchase?

You first ought to discuss all this with an accountant who understands real estate. Also, there are tax implications in selling the townhome that you need to take into consideration.

There are plenty of ways to find rent-to-owns. (I was at a real estate meeting last Thursday, and was talking to someone who was doing lease-options right off the campus at the University of Maryland.) Plenty of ways to find them; I (and others) have provided a lot of suggestions in our past answers.

Real briefly, a few will be listed on the MLS. You can also have your Realtor search for vacant rental properties. And properties for sale by out-of-town owners, and properties for sale with a lot of equity (those bought, say, before 1990). Look for properties listed both as rentals and for sales, even if they don't mention rent-to-own.

There's a whole thriving market of lease-options not on the MLS--those being offered by investors.

Also--though you have to be very careful--check Craigslist.

There are dozens of other ways, too.

But first, make sure that your strategy (selling, then doing a rent-to-own) really is the best strategy for you.

Hope that helps.