Rent to Own

An excellent primer on the subject can be found here. Some highlights:

You should treat a lease purchase property as if you are buying the home. It amazes me how some people will put down a lease option fee and enter into a 3 year contract having spent 10 minutes in the home.

A lease option is first and foremost a rental agreement. The key terms in any rental agreement are the rent and the term

It may seem odd to talk about financing since you won’t need a mortgage unless and until you decide to buy. But my recommendation is that you talk to a mortgage broker BEFORE entering into a lease option

The whole thing is well worth a read no matter what side of the transaction you are on.