Alternatives to selling w/ a lease-option in Texas

[Harvie Arington]

I know that lease-options or rent-to-own in Texas are basically illegal (or at least strictly prohibited), but people are still advertising properties for sale on lease-option and rent-to-own in San Antonio. So I have two questions:

1. How are they getting away with it?
2. What other options are there? What are other investors in Texas doing to creatively sell their properties?

[Bill Gulley]

Hi, I'm not in Texas, but I love San Antonio, so I'll take a stab at it! LOL

They might be leasing the property and doing an unrecorded option agreement and with some smooth talking the Optionee (buyer) is probably holding an unsigned copy with some silly agreement that the deal is off if he makes the deal public. Just a guess. I have dealt with some seller financed types in and from Texas and they were all crooks, not saying that all are, just the ones I have had dealings with, I'm still lokking for the honest one, LOL.

Texas is a hard state for installment contracts, probably because those I dealt with made an impression on the TREC.

I'm not 100% sure on this, but I think you can do subject to deals with a deed. That's one way, maybe.

Another would be to transfer as a sale a one half undivided interest to your property hedl jointly with you and have a quit claim deed held conveying it back to you in the event of their default. You can do that part with the down payment. You might rent your undivided interest and after a certain period of time, allow your interest to be sold to your partner.

Another way would be to place the property in an LLC and admit the buyer as a partner in the company. His contributions to capital will eventually buy the company. The buyer after making his full contribution the buyer asks you to resign from the company and there he is, owning the company that owns the property. The company is closed with the property being transferred in his name.

Another way is to transfer the property to a non-profit housing organization and finance the deal to them. They can sell the property on other arrangements, I think a 501c3 is exempt.

There are some basic ways to do a deal without getting way out there....I'll leave room for someone else, maybe a Texan, LOL! Just kidding....good luck, Bill

"contract for deed and new HUD requirements"