Bill Gulley It is a great post about the legal perspective and the loan origination perspective of lease options with market rent and rent credits.There is another perspective of lease options that is missed many times, it the IRS tax court.I will post here what my CPA has said to me over the years.STRATEGIES TO AVOID RECHARACTERIZATION OF A SALE:Where the parties want to avoid having the lease/option recharacterized as a sale, the overall planning strategy is to avoid or minimize the above indicators of a deemed sale as follows:1.

There are limitless legal issues you must dance with and consider.

If they haven't given you the keys and officially notified you that they have moved out and there is more than $500 worth of stuff in the unit then you'll have to evict them and get a writ of possession in order to legally remove any of their property.

Where do I go to find out if it is legal for me to list a property I have under contract on the MLS?

Owner finance (similar to contract for deed if that is legal in your state) is a good way to get out of your situation, with the possibility of making some money on the deal.Ask for at least 10% down and figure out what interest rate you would like to charge (depends upon their credit, I suggest nothing less than 8% even with impeccable credit.)You can use a mortgage loan calculator online to get the amortization table, and there are companies out there that will 3rd party service the loan and report to the credit bureaus for you.I suggest finding a real estate attorney in your area that has done these to structure it correctly for you.

If they lack the capacity to enter into a binding contract, the contract is void and they have no rights to the lease and if they have the mental capacity to enter into a binding contract there shouldn't be any legal issue with evicting them using whatever legal means (sheriff) are necessary.

or is the legal area so grey, that its not on their radar screen at all?)

Seek legal advice from an experience Estate attorney.

Is this legal here?

My problem is that if the IRS were to audit such a situation, what is the burden of proof necessary to provide to them so that everything is legal.