Different Sellers.
Different Problems.
Different Ways Out.

Victor H. and his family were ready to move back to Puerto Rico and retire. The house was for sale by owner through a flat-fee MLS service, and after 180 days on the market the listing expired without a single good offer. We called him the day after it expired.

The listing had 16 photos taken on a phone, shot in poor light with rooms full of clutter. Buyers were scrolling past it. The house itself was fine.

We brought in professional photography with drone shots and video, corrected the pricing strategy, and added a 25 percent rent credit for the tenant-buyer applied to the first twelve months of rent. The credit was recorded as a seller concession at closing and only paid out if the tenant-buyer actually completed the purchase.

The tenant-buyer moved in with a 5 percent option fee paid up front and Victor collected rent for the term, then closed at his full asking price. His alternative was to hire an agent, start over, wait a few more months and pay a commission of 4 to 6 percent.

180

days on market

5%

cash up front

0%

commission

Harris J. bought the property in 2019 and had real equity in it. It sat empty and listed with his agent for 97 days. The mortgage, the utilities and the landscaping were all coming out of his personal account every month. He called a few weeks before the next payment came due.

He and his wife had rented the place out before and hated it. Their words were toilets and termites. They did not want tenants again, and they did not want to keep paying to hold an empty house.

They sold to us on seller financing. Instead of a bank collecting the interest, they did. No tenants, no repair calls, no landlord duties. Monthly payments to them, secured by the property, for a fixed term.

The property went from a monthly expense to monthly income. Over the 48-month term they collected interest every month, and at the end they cashed out $124,000 in equity on top of it.

$569,000

sale price

$2,765

per month

$124,000

cashed out

Lisandra P. bought a two-bedroom condo in South Miami in early 2025. A separation put her in financial trouble. The mortgage was $3,265 a month, the condo would only rent for about $2,800, and covering the $465 gap every month was not sustainable.

Selling was not an option either. There was roughly $12,000 of equity in the condo. Realtor fees and closing costs would have eaten more than that, so a normal sale would have left her owing money at the table.

Her lender told her a modification was not possible. After three months of non-payment she was served with preforeclosure documents. By then she had accepted she would lose the condo. What she had not expected was the damage to her personal credit, which was going to follow her into renting and job applications. That is when she called.

We met at the condo, reviewed her latest mortgage statement together and confirmed how far behind she was. A few days later we agreed to bring the loan fully current and take over the existing mortgage, plus cash toward her moving costs.

The foreclosure did not go through, her credit stopped deteriorating, and she moved into something she could actually afford.

4

payments behind

$14,000

brought current

$3,000

toward moving

The Alvarez family had accepted a job offer that required relocating to Katy, Texas within 60 days. They didn’t want to manage a rental from another state, and they knew a traditional sale was taking 90 to 120 days, plus another month or so to close. On top of the move itself, they didn’t want to carry two house payments for months.

A relative we had served in 2023 recommended they talk to us. After two phone calls and one visit to the house, we agreed a short-term lease purchase fit their situation best. We started marketing a week later and placed a qualified tenant-buyer in the home in 47 days.

The tenant-buyer paid an $11,250 non-refundable option fee before moving in, signed a 24-month lease purchase agreement at the full asking price of $375,000, and paid $2,700 a month in rent until their bank loan closed 24 months later.

The Alvarez family settled into Texas without worrying about the house. Maintenance and most repairs are the tenant-buyer’s responsibility during the term.

47

days to place a tenant-buyer

$375K

full asking price

$11,250

option fee up front

Mr. Thompson was tired of managing tenants and maintenance calls on his Hollywood townhouse, but he relied on the rent to supplement his retirement and couldn’t afford a vacancy. The property also had deferred maintenance: two outdated bathrooms, paint needed throughout, and original 1970s cast iron pipes that had rusted inside and already had a root intrusion. Spot repairs cost a few hundred dollars each time. Repiping the whole house would cost $18,000, which his retirement budget couldn’t absorb.

We realized the existing tenant could be the answer if the numbers worked. It was January and tax refunds would arrive in late February, so we sat down with Mr. Thompson and the tenant and asked whether she would consider a lease purchase. She said yes.

A week later we proposed a $281,000 purchase price. The house was worth about $325,000 in good shape but needed roughly $18,000 for repiping, $4,000 for paint and $22,000 for both bathrooms. Terms were a $14,000 non-refundable option fee ($10,000 up front and $4,000 six months later), $2,350 monthly rent and a 3-year term.

We also raised her rent by $100 with a matching $100 monthly rent credit, so $3,600 would be credited toward her closing costs. Mr. Thompson wanted her well positioned to close. He kept his monthly income without the landlord work, she painted the house with her family over time, and the occasional pipe repair became her responsibility until she chose to repipe.

$281K

price, repairs factored in

$14K

option fee

3 years

to get mortgage-ready

The Reyes family was relocating and knew homes were sitting three to four months, usually with a price cut or two, before selling. They didn’t want two house payments for months and a large realtor fee at the end, so they were open to a small concession.

Their 3-bedroom, 2-bath house would rent for about $3,300, while their mortgage was only $2,770 thanks to a low rate. Local realtors valued it around $493,000, well above what they paid in 2021. High equity and a low payment gave them room to be flexible.

They liked the lease purchase idea but didn’t want even a month of vacancy. So I lease-purchased the house from them directly and right away: $2,800 a month in rent and a $467,000 purchase price after 24 months. Then I found a tenant-buyer who pays me $3,200 a month with a $490,000 purchase price after 18 months. This is called a sandwich lease purchase.

I paid almost $5,000 in rent out of pocket before the tenant-buyer moved in. It was worth it for me: I recovered that amount and earn $400 a month on the rent plus $23,000 on the purchase price.

0

months of vacancy

$467K

locked purchase price

$2,800

rent from day one

After a medical emergency, Ms. Carter fell behind on her mortgage and was two months from a foreclosure filing. She was retired on a tight fixed income and needed out from under the loan fast, with no time for a listing or a bank-qualified buyer. Her daughter, 30 minutes away near Coral Springs, had room for her. But she couldn’t just let the house go: she had built $79,000 in equity.

We took over the mortgage, paid $14,700 in arrears to bring the loan current, and began making the monthly payments directly to the lender. Closing took 11 days. We paid all closing costs and gave Ms. Carter $3,000 at closing, plus $200 a month until the 60-month term ends.

At the end of the term she receives $45,000 in cash. She agreed to that payout from her $79,000 in equity, which leaves us $34,000 plus the monthly rental earnings for resolving her situation. Foreclosure was avoided and her credit was protected.

11

days to close

$14,700

arrears paid by us

$45K

cash to her at end of term

Roman K. owned his Plantation home free and clear and didn’t need a lump sum at closing. He wanted his equity to produce steady monthly income secured by the house, without a large capital gains bill in a single year.

After a couple of discovery calls and a visit to the house, which was in good shape, we offered a seller-financed purchase: $440,000 price, $13,000 down, $2,292 a month in interest, a 10-year term, and a $347,168 balloon payoff in year 10.

Roman now has a predictable $2,292 a month in passive income, spreads his tax liability over 10 years instead of one, and will collect $195,400 in interest he would not have earned from a lump-sum sale.

$2,292

per month in interest

10 years

agreed term

$195,400

total interest income

Jose H. is a Realtor. His seller’s house in Westchester was coming up on 120 days on the MLS with no serious buyer in sight. The few offers that came in were well under asking, and the seller turned them down. With the fourth month approaching, the only options on the table were a price cut or more than $10,000 of new flooring, which would take time and guarantee nothing.

At a monthly meetup where agents trade ideas, Jose heard about lease purchase for the first time. He had never done one, but he saw how it could help and took it to his seller, who was open to whichever route brought a buyer first. Jose reached out to us, and we agreed to work the house together.

Jose kept the house on the MLS for a traditional buyer, and we marketed it to tenant-buyers on the rental side of the big real estate sites. That put the house in front of buyers and renters at the same time. In about seven weeks we found a family: 5 percent up front, $3,900 a month in rent, and a 24-month term before they buy.

The family runs a mobile pet grooming business. Lenders wanted two full years of clean books and tax returns before giving them a mortgage, and the lease gives them that time in the house they plan to own. The seller locked in his $699,000 asking price with cash up front, and Jose stayed on the deal and was paid for his part.

$699K

asking price, locked in

5%

cash up front

7 weeks

to find a tenant-buyer