Hello again Suzan, I would like to comment on Bruce's answer.

He is very correct that renting or buying are completely different transactions and most people benefit from doing one or the other. You certainly would be cheated if someone wanted a down payment without being willing to deed the house to you. I think all of those scams have been made illegal.

The times where it is possible are when an owner can rent you a home and agree to give you some portion of the rental expense toward your future purchase. Usually, those are individual owners who own the property free and clear. In some instances, a builder that is solid and has no encumberances on home is able to do the same.

Again, I encourage you to get representation. It costs you nothing - but - the value is priceless!

I personally don't like this idea. In my experience few people end up buying. This presents a problem as your contract normally obligates you to buy and puts your down payment at risk if you don't. If you want to rent --then do it, RENT. If you want to buy, then BUY, but don't mix the two. We've recently taken steps in Texas to prohibit these types of transactions. There are still people advertising such schemes and think they have a way around it, but the intent and content of the law is clear-NO RENT TO OWN. There's a reason for the law and that is that there were too many bad guys out there taking people's money in a lot of different ways. As a person wanting to rent you put yourself at some risk agreeing to these transactions.

Susan,
There ae a few builders that will at times rent to own in the Conroe area.
Margaret

Good morning Suzan, The property listed here on Trulia is a little inaccurate. It looks like the home is on Pine Forest, which is rather near the hospital on the east side of Conroe. The description mentions Woodhaven Forest which is very near the hospital, just south of Loop 336...almost the closest subdivision to the hospital. The Woodhaven Forest subdivision is almost all new homes.

Let's talk about your desire to rent with an eventual purchase. Can I assume that you want to do that because of concern about the ability to qualify for a loan? If that is the case, can you contact me outside this public forum so we can talk about your options. I am willing to discuss them here, but thought a direct conversation by phone or email would be more effective.

Most sellers need to get the equity out of their current home in order to sell. If they have no substantial equity, they still need to get rid of the obligation in order to get a new mortgage for the next residence. About the only kind of seller that will do rental that converts to a sale is an investor. In most cases, a transaction with this type of seller can be a little tricky. Many a tenant/buyer has been burned in an effort to do this type of transaction. If you seek to do a rent to own scenario it is critical that you work with someone you can trust to represent your best interests. In fact, it will cost you nothing to get an agent (perhaps me) to represent you AND get an attorney to review the documents before the transaction closes. Contact me to learn what I am talking about.

Kathi Frank, (936) 441-1314
Kathi@KathiFrank.com