At Blackbird Realty and Management, we often get calls from tenants and landlords who want to know how they can do a rent to own transaction on a property. Most people assume this is a possibility in Las Vegas. However, Nevada does not have a particular rent to own statute. The lack of a rent to own law is due to the way that the deed to a property is held in Nevada. There is no such thing as rent to own in this state, but there is something similar, which is called the lease option. In lease optioning, you are selling the tenant an option to purchase your house at a specified price within an established period of time.
Here’s an example. Let’s say a tenant agrees to buy your property for $200,000, and they agree to close the escrow on that house by June 1, 2014. In exchange for that option, the tenant will give you what is called option money. This might be a sum of $5,000 or $10,000 – whatever you and the tenant agree upon. You will get to keep this money regardless of whether the sale is closed on not. What the tenant is buying from you is the option to buy the home. Naturally, that option money will be applied towards the $200,000 option price. The tenant will continue to pay rent on the property until the sale is closed.
It is very important to have an attorney draw up your paperwork for a lease option. Otherwise, you will be putting yourself and your property in danger. You do not want a judge to think that the tenant has an equitable claim to the property if he stops paying rent during the option period. If your tenant does not pay rent, you may have to evict him the way you would evict any other non-paying tenant. You do not want a judge to think that your tenant is an owner of your home, and therefore unable to be evicted. Good legal representation is essential to lease option contracts.
If you have any questions about lease optioning, please visit our website or call us at Blackbird Realty, (702) 792-8077. We can steer you in the right direction when it comes to these matters. We work with a local Las Vegas attorney who takes care of all these legal matters anytime our tenants and owners decide to pursue a lease option. Thanks for visiting our blog, and we look forward to talking with you.