Is your home vacant and at risk of being damaged

Having a vacant property usually equals worry, money, time and bother for the owner. Maybe you have bought elsewhere and moved on but have not been able to sell this vacant property. Maybe you have inherited the property as a deceased estate. Maybe you are having trouble finding tenants to rent it due to faults with the property or area. Maybe the property is very run down and in need of repairs that you cannot afford. Maybe the property has already been damaged by vandals or has fire damage.

There are so many different reasons why having a vacant property is not much fun.

Maybe you are behind on repayments for this property (if this is the case and your bank or lender find out that the property is vacant, they can come in and change the locks and repossess the property without going through the court system. Banks and lenders lawyers call this process "self help").

Having a property with problems like these can be a never ending headache. No one living at the property just opens the door for trouble. These are common problems that can happen to anyone. A flexible terms sale can bring great answers to this type of property problem.

What if you could find a Rent to Buy buyer for this property who was happy to take the property in the condition that it is in right now? And they were able to move in right away once the Contracts were drawn up, no waiting for bank finance to be approved in 4 to 6 weeks time? And this Rent to Buy buyer was happy to pay the price that you were hoping/needing to get? And this Rent to Buy buyer was happy to do all repairs and maintenance to the property at their own expense?

There are plenty of renters out there who would be more than happy to do this with you if you were able to provide them with flexible terms to purchase the property.  By flexible terms we mean that instead of a straight sale occurring on the property, you were happy to sell the property under a flexible terms sale. Usually, this would mean that the tenant/buyer has circumstances preventing him/her from obtaining a bank loan at the moment and just needs a period of time to go by (usually between 2 to 7 years, though sometimes longer), to enable him/her to be ready to approach the bank and qualify for a loan.

All the terms agreed upon would be documented into the legal paperwork. This includes the sale price of the property. Each side would receive their own independent legal advice. Contracts would exchange but not settle until the end of the term (usually between 2 to 7 years down the track, sometimes longer). In a "traditional" house purchase, after exchange Contracts would settle in 4 - 6 weeks.

The new Rent to Buy buyers would cover part of, or all of your monthly mortgage repayments throughout the term, plus all expenses (council rates, insurances, etc). These Rent to Buy buyers would repair the property, do improvements, fix the gardens, paint, etc - whatever they could to help increase the value of what was before a run down, vacant home, all at their own cost. The equity that builds up over the period of the term is where the Rent to Buy buyer finds his/her deposit at the end of the term, when they refinance out of the deal into a bank loan.

The title of the property remains in the sellers name throughout the term, giving the seller security should anything go wrong. Any capital growth though that occurs in the property during the term becomes the buyers reward (remember, the agreed sales price was documented into the legal paperwork before exchange. This price is locked in and cannot be changed).

At the end of the day, both sides involved in this transaction win.

The seller sells his/her property for the price hoping for or needed, even in a state of disrepair. The headache of a vacant property costing money is now gone. There are no expenses at all on the property for the seller during the term (provided the Rent to Buy buyer is covering the full monthly mortgage repayments). No real estate agent commissions or fees are charged as no real estate agents are involved - the seller keeps all of his hard earned equity as he/she deals directly with the new Rent to Buy buyer.

The Rent to Buy buyer has found him/herself an opportunity into home ownership without needing to qualify into the banking criteria. Time will now work for this buyer as their friend. They are locked into a house purchase in today's market while fixing up whatever the issues are preventing them from obtaining a bank loan. Their "rent" money is now working for them, instead of being wasted with no return other than a roof over their head. The new Rent to Buy buyer has a golden opportunity to fix up a property that may have been in disrepair, to their liking, creating more capital growth.

A flexible terms sale is not traditional, it is flexible, allowing both the seller and the buyer room to move, turning what was a problem for both parties into an opportunity and an answer.

Our DIY Rent to Buy manual provides all the different Rent to Buy opportunities explained in an easy to understand way. You have nothing to lose from investigating a flexible terms sale but everything to gain!