Lease Options - Questions

[Saim Chaudhry]

I am copying/pasting questions from 2 BP users in an article regarding lease options. The questions were unanswered and they are excellent questions, would appreciate someone to shed some light on these

1. Do you tell the seller/landlord that you are an investor and will be “subletting” the lease-option to a buyer of yours? What percentage of sellers/leads will generally be okay with this type of transaction (assuming they are okay with the LO in the first place)?

2. How do you generally structure the option with the seller and your buyer? How long of an option time frame? How much option money do you pay to the seller (in option fee) and how much do you collect from the buyer? Etc…

3. Will you sign the lease-option with the seller before you have a buyer? Or do you like to have a buyer lined up first?

4. What happens if the buyer forfeits his option? Do you generally renew the option with the seller or just let it expire? Will you ever purchase the property and then flip it in these cases?

5. Who pays the home insurance during the lease option? Property tax?