When they meet to finalize the deal, they sign the Lease Agreement, the Option Agreement and the Sales Contract. Because the home was built after 1978, the home will not have lead in the paint. They must still sign a Lead Based Paint Disclosure (this is Federal law), as well as the Seller’s Disclosure form (property condition) as mandated in their state. Additionally, as part of a smart practice for rentals, they complete a Property Inventory/Check-in Check-out form (unit condition form), which simply details any issues or problems with the home at time of possession.

      Here is a breakdown of the money that John and Joan need to bring the day of the paperwork signing:

      Option Fee - $4,200

      Security Deposit - $500

      First Month’s Rent - $1,400

      For a total of = $6,100

      From this total, any deposit already paid at the time of initial offer in the form of earnest money would be deducted.

      Once John and Joan sign the paperwork and give the money to Alan and Ashley, they can move in immediately, only 2 weeks after they reached an agreement!

      During the rental period, John and Joan take steps to improve their credit score. They didn’t have enough money left to buy a new refrigerator, but were able to get financing on one. They were very careful to make all of the payments when due and pay it off in one year. In addition, they paid off two smaller credit cards. They diligently made all utility and other payments on time.

      After 15 months in the home, John and Joan notify Alan and Ashley that they want to purchase the house. From the day they moved in, they took steps toward improving their credit and to work with their loan officer and apply for a mortgage. By making on-time payments and paying off debts, their loan officer is able to get them approved for the mortgage amount they need to buy this home. Home ownership is now within their reach.

      How to Get Started

      In the next section we’ll talk about finding your new home. Reading this book is a great start in the right direction. But you’ve got to get moving. Unfortunately, reading this book isn’t enough. You’ll have to actually take the steps to get things going.

      We are going to go over lots of things in this book, and you won’t be able to do it all at once. I recommend taking it one step at a time, that’s the best way. Choose one step to put into action and do it. After you’ve done that one, choose another and do that. You’ll find it’s very easy to convert reading this book into action if you break it into small and manageable steps.