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My wife and I moved to the Dallas/Ft. Worth area in Jun 2011. We were interested in buying a home but knew that our credit needed repair before any bank wold qualify us.
In July, we went with Leasing to Buy because they had a program that fit our needs. We signed a lease agreement with the homeowner/Leasing to Buy agent. In addition, we put almost $9, 000 down ($1, 000 earnest money) and 8, 000 is what they call "fees". Of course the money we put in was non-refundable should we cancel or not qualify within the allotted time. It also read that if we cancel, we are responsible for the rent until either they find a tenant or if the house sells. The house is rented "as is" meaning that all repair cost are covered by the tenant. Prior to moving in, we paid hundreds of dollars to get the A/C fixed and $200 more for a stopped sink. They take thousands of dollars, $4500 went to the homeowners and the other $4500 went towards the leasing agent.
We agreed because we didn't see ourselves leaving the program. We were set and hoping to become the home owner of the house we were leasing.
In April 2012, my wife was offered a VERY NICE job in CA . It would have been a mistake to turn it down. We gave 60 day notice of our move out date. When it came time to do the walk through, we were advised by the leasing to buy agent that we not only needed to pay the rent, but also maintain the utilities and laen care as if we were the actual homeowners. The homeowners threatened to file a judgement against us if we didn't adhere to the rental terms once we left.
My point...Why the hell are we being hounded for rent after all that money was put down. They should be using this towards rent until a homeowner/tenant is found.
DONT DEAL WITH THESE PEOPLE. THEY WILL TAKE YOUR MONEY, AND THREATEN JUDGEMENT IF YOU CANNOT PAY THEIR HOUSE PYMT AND MAINTAIN ALL UTILITIES IN ADDTION TO THE RENT IN YOUR NEW HOME.
I actually found these posts by accident, but wanted to respond. My name is John Jackson, and I founded Leasing to Buy in 2003 with the hopes of helping people. To date we have helped well over 500 people become home owners.
I want to first thank Jeff and Donna, whom I do not know..but I do know Joe, and he deeply cares about the people he works with.
To the first post, I know this family and they actually called me to apologize for blaming me for the situation of moving etc. and ended up moving back to TX, and purchased a home here. I still consider them friends and would gladly help them if they ever needed it. They are good people.
To the second post...Since I haven't had anyone call me with any issues in many years, I can only assume you have the wrong company. We focus on newer homes that are in impeccable condition. I'm not hard to find, so I take it you have the wrong company, which we have been confused for different companies before.
My wife and I could not obtain financing for a home until we found LeasingToBuy. Joe told us exactly what we needed to do in order to get a mortgage and in 9 months we were able to purchase our first home! Like what was said above, the house was being sold "as is" so we had it inspected first before we moved in. There were a few things that had to be addressed and the homeowner was willing to take care of them all before we actually moved in.
If you are just looking to rent a home and not serious about owning it, then this program is not for you and if you are going to move out because you found a new job then I don't feel that this should excuse you of your responsibilities to pay the rent like you agreed to. Thank you LeasingToBuy, without your help we would not be living in our OWN home today!
-Jeff & Donna from PA
We are also going through the same situation, we put 7000 down, and there was "previous" foundation problems and roofing problems. We spent several thousand dollars on this home, we were told we were "buying it" but the "landlord" keeps saying we are renting it, the neighborhood value has gone down and the house is literally sinking. The foundation should have been disclosed. I am PISSED, AND FEEL RIPPED OFF. DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY. YOU ARE BETTER OFF JUST "RENTING" SOMETHING THAT DOES NOT NEED UPGRADES AND REPAIR WITH THE AMOUNT OF "RENT" WE PAY. $1600 A MONTH...
SIGNED A PISSED OFF "RENTER"
THIS COMPANY IS A SCAM, AS WELL AS THE PEOPLE THAT LEASE THEIR HOMES OUT, PLUS WITH THE ECONOMY THE WAY IT IS, THE BANKS ARE NOT LENDING MONEY, ESPECIALLY WITH A HOUSE WITH FOUNDATION PROBLEMS.