Real estate advice

[micheleq]

We are moving to Michigan this summer and want to rent for a year in our new area to get a feel for the place, schools, etc.

Does anyone have advice on making a lease offer on a house that is listed for sale? I ask because there are some houses that look great on the MLS, but we are reluctant to buy being so new to an area.

In a perfect world (LOL), we lease a home that we love so much, we offer to buy it at the end of the lease! I have a feeling that is pretty rare, but you never know?

 

[mimicat]

I would find a good real estate agent to work with. Good luck with your move. I just moved from Michigan last September.

 

[MommaSnowwhite]

Where in Michigan? I would contact a local realtor for advice,

 

[Soon2B4]

Like PP said, contact an agent. You need someone to talk to the seller to see if they are open to leasing. We sold our home a few years ago by owner and had people call to see if we were open to leasing.

 

[micheleq]

Thanks everyone! We do plan on working with a realtor (DH's relo advisor is searching for one in our desired area).

We are looking in Grosse Pointe (or The Pointes, rather). That community seems very similar to where we live now and DH got a good vibe when he was out there this week.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

What you are looking for would be a "Lease with option to purchase". Your rent would be higher than normal, but at least the excess amount would be applied as part of the down payment. And the price would be locked in.

 

[seashoreCM]

Many areas of Michigan have a glut of unoccupied homes. Find out what rents have been over the years and you might then be able to negotiate a rent on the low side, or a rent with option to buy that is not "higher" than normal.

You may want to stay away from neighborhoods that look run down or have lots of vacancies because such neighborhoods are more likely to have marauders and gangs about.

It is a good idea to engage an attorney in the area who knows real estate prior to signing any offers or other documents that may lead to the purchase of a home.

 

[micheleq]

What you are looking for would be a "Lease with option to purchase". Your rent would be higher than normal, but at least the excess amount would be applied as part of the down payment. And the price would be locked in.

Thanks! Do you have any idea about the terms of opting in or out could be? I'd hate to get into a situation where we get into the house and don't want to purchase.

We've bought and sold homes before, so we would certainly use an attorney very step along the way. My DH's cousin does this in the Boston area.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

If you don't want to purchase it at the end of the lease you do not have to. The premium, which goes toward the down payment, is a forfieture to the owner for keeping it off the market for the term of the lease if you do not buy it.

 

[Colleen27]

A good place to start is to find a few homes you are interested in and talk to the sellers' agents. You're going to find that right now in Michigan a LOT of what is on the market won't be available for lease, either because it is already bank owned or because the sellers are trying to get it sold to avoid falling into foreclosure, but the only way to know about any specific property is to contact the listing agent to find out if the owners are willing/able to work out a lease agreement.

The Pointes are a nice area, but I do think renting first is a good idea. You might find, depending on your job and family situation, that being on the east side doesn't work out well. Right now the east side is a tighter job market, which could make for a long commute, and most of the cultural/entertainment options in the area are on the opposite side of town.

 

[mistysue]

Mostly ditto what colleen said. There are some really nice spots in that area, wherever you think of- if you can't physically get to it- I would look it up on google earth and look at the neighborhood closely just to see what is around. Don't branch out too much because ending up in Detroit or Hamtramck (not a typo) could be bad.

Also, many "lease with option to buy" contracts will require a down payment. If you decide not to buy, you lose that money as well as paying a higher rent.