Saturday, December 15, 2007

Why Real Estate Investors Don't Use Lease Options

I have been using lease options effectively for over 20 years and found there is little competition from my fellow investors. Why you ask? I believe it's a 2 fold reason.
First, with all the cable programs on flipping homes for huge profits ( which I question ), most investors are caught up in the moment. No, I don't doubt there is money to be made in flips, but along with it comes great risk. In fact, in my early days of investing I did a few myself for a nice profit, but at the end of the day the frustration and possible down side exposure was not worth it for me.

Which brings me to reason 2. Most investors do not have the proper information to do a successful lease option and mitigate their exposure, A.K.A. cross your t (s), and dot your I (s). Some believe all you have to do is read a book or listen to an audio presentation and your off to the races. Nothing could be further from the truth. What you need to perform a successful lease option or any other real estate transaction for that matter is : 1. Specialized Contracts ( never use generic contracts), 2. Iron Clad Disclosures (prevent regret and litigation ), 3. Someone who will take you by the hand and walk you through the first couple of deals to insure maximum profit and leverage!

Imagine a strategy that allows all the benefits of ownership without owning the property - what else could one ask for? Please explore lease options as a tool for your real estate investing arsenal. Until next time, may all your deals be profitable.