In general, nothing is a waste of time because you never know what person might say yes. Renting a vacant house is an option, but in my experience most sellers opt not to because it can negatively impact the sales process. In this market I think there are a couple things preventing sellers from doing a rent to own. The first is that most sellers are not in the kind of equity position that allows them to offer rent to own to buyers and the second is that if a buyer is credit worthy and has money to put down then most sellers think why doesn't this person just go to the bank and get the money. Typically, if a buyer falls behind on payments a seller has to foreclose on them just like a bank does and it can be quite a drawn-out process for the sellers. Any other questions just let me know.

I work in the Eau Claire area and I guess I would have a few questions first. Why are you interested in rental options from people selling their home? Why not just contact a company that deals primarily with rentals? We do occasionally have sellers who are interested in finding renters but for the most part do not want a renter because it could impede the sale of the home by creating a mess or making it not showable.

I would have to know why you are interested in this before I could accurately answer your question further.

Kris:
You bet! If the home is not occupied by the seller, they may very well consider rental, rent-to-own, option to buy, land contract, and other creative ways to help you eventually own their property. I suspect that there are brokers in the Eau Claire area that have the details on a variety of homes that might make sense for you. Check on line, or ask around. Your friends and co-workers may have names of reputable people that can get you started. Best wishes!

These types of properties are still out there and available. Your best bet would be to contact some of the larger brokers in your area and have them check thier resources to see what they can come up with. At our company we have an internal message board so that we can check company wide rather quickly. Another option for you may be to check your local Sunday newspaper. We usually have 2-3 ads per weekend with these types of options available. As in all cases use your best judgement and make sure to read all of the fine print. Sometimes a second pair of "eyes" is advisable. We have some local property management companies that will also do rent to own. Good Luck with your search!!