Lease Option vs Seller Financing

[Account Closed]

Hi!  I am a newbie and I've yet to get my first deal.  I am excited to be entertaining one, but I want to make sure I get a good deal.  My goal is to buy and hold in order to generate cashflow.  The property I have in my mind is currently held by a private motivated seller who just wants out of the game.  I don't have the cash to purchase the property, so I asked if he'd consider seller financing.  He came back with a lease option strategy (?).  The way I understand a lease option is I would have to pay him an amount monthly, with the option to buy after whatever term we agree on.  My question is why not entertain the idea of seller financing when theres no mortgage on the property and you'd still be getting the payments (potentially the same amount as a lease option), but you're giving me the option to drop the property back on you when you want out of the game now??

I tried running the numbers using the BP Rental Property Calculator and added in the lease option payment as an "additional expense" (considering this a "cash" deal), but Im not sure if I can trust the results because I feel like Im missing something??  I not experienced at all, but I just don't see how a lease option is the best strategy in this case... for either party.  Can someone help me understand what I am missing or shed some light here?  Please let me know if you need more info to help me sort this out.  Thanks in advance.