We live in Brampton Ontario Canada. I have 4 kids, myself and my boyfriend living in my fathers 3 bedroom house. We need out! We have $1200/month after utilities to use for payments. I am currently not working (youngest child is 2 monthes old) but going to college for 8 monthes in september on OSAP, my boyfriend is working at the same place for 11 years now, and makes $40,000 a year. We both have low credit scores (under 580, with mine that before OSAP) and are trying to repair them, but dont have time to wait. We have no money for a down payment, and neither of us have a co-signer. My neighbour is selling her house, and my older brother owns his house, and a cottage that he rents out in the summer, and is looking to buy another to do the same with. I was remembering I had read somewhere about getting someone to rent to own to you with them overlooking your credit problems but dont know much about it. If anyone out there has any suggestions about rent to own, or mortgages we could get, please let me know. Thanks to all in advance,
Michelle

Lease Option - It is a property lease for a fixed time period, such as 12 or 24 months, with an option for you to buy the property at an agreed option price during the lease term. Could be a good option for you as little up-front cash is required. The amount of up-front cash required to acquire a home or other property on a Lease Option is usually small, often just a few thousand dollars for the first month's rent plus non-refundable option consideration. This option money is in lieu of a security deposit. You will need to plan if you can finance the home in 1-2 years or if the owner is a real nice person 3 or more years.

Do not confuse Lease Option with Lease Purchase as Lease Purchase obligates you to purchase the property at the end of the lease.

Be aware and very clear of the Lease Option Agreement. Most likely will paying above-market rent. How much of your lease payments will be credited toward your purchase installments? Typically, the rent credit is 10 to 100 percent of the monthly rent, depending on how motivated the seller is to sell. The higher the better it will be for you.

Most loans require 5 to 10% down for approval, especially with not so great credit. But I came across a program with private investors provide the down payment for your loan. I am still looking into that and once I get enough info I will inform you.

Regards,
Uche

As far as mortgages go, the majority of clients I work with need 100% financing, so I know most of the nitch programs out there. Now, Im a mortgage broker in Florida, so obviously financing is going to vary state to state, but I'm sure you can find something similar in your area. Most of my Subprime lenders (credit below 620) require a minimum of 600 for 100% financing, but I do have a few that will go as low as 580.

Check with a broker around you to see what kind of programs he can offer you. Another aspect to go along with this is a seller concession. most of my subprime lenders allow a 6% seller concession to non - reoccuring closing costs. Reoccuring costs are those such as Hazard insurance, taxes, etx (anything your going to repay after the first year). Examples of things that can be paid are the mortgage broker fee, admin fee, etc. Now, because we are currently in a sellers market its hard to get a sellers concession but its not impossible. You will normally find this with sellers who need to move ASAP or have just inherited a house they don't want to deal with. And again, this wont take care of ALL your closing costs, but it will take a big chuck out of them.

Now with that said, my suggestion would be to wait to purchase a home. 1) Get your credit up, the higher your credit the better an interest rate you can get plus your broker will have a wider range of lenders to shop with. Find a reputable credit repair company. Do your homework, get word of mouth. Make sure they can actually help you. Most services will just dispute wrongful blemishes on your credit, but they cant do anything to help you if your not making payments. 2)If you can, take the time and save up for a down payment. The more you can put down the lower the credit you need for financing. I can get 90% financing for clients with a 500 credit score. 3)Pick up a copy of a book called "The Richest Man In Babylon" by George S. Clason. I give a copy to every client I close a loan with. I wont go into detail, but its all about managing finaces. 4)

Thats about all I can think of now. If I can think of anything else I'll post again. Good luck!

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Marlon Wolfman
Licensed Mortgage Broker
Barnwell Inc.
(561) 236-7576
mwolfman@barnwellinc.com

Thanx for the advice! And we are looking forward to any future advice as well. One quick question. If my father were to go on title for us, what exactly does that mean. Is it possible since hes retired? Could my boyfriends older retired mother do it? If something were to happen and we couldnt make the payments, what would that mean to them?? Just trying to explore every possible idea here!