Starting with the renter first?

[Jacoby Atako]

Has anyone ever bought a home because they had a renter in mind they wanted to work with?  Especially in this market houses are overpriced, as we all know.  But if you know of a renter with good history, was in their last house for 11 years and being forced to move because the landlord is retiring and kicking them out to move himself in as he sells his other properties, know their job history and income very well, and can potentially get them to sign a 5 year lease, etc, has anyone started with the renter before they had a house to rent to them?

I have actually started talking to them about the type of house they would want to rent and price point and even sending them some listings to gage what they would be looking to move into longterm.  Obviously this severely limits my ability to get a home under market, but in this case if the numbers work, would it be worth buying a home at market value?  Anyone done this before?  How did it work out?

Basic numbers: From what they want, the house would be about $400-450k. Putting 25% down, with PITI (possibly an HOA) I would be at about $1800-$2000 a month. They would be willing to rent for up to $3k a month. Possibly even talk to them about a lease with an option to buy in 5 years.