It is easy to ask a seller if they would consider doing a Lease-Option or Lease-Purchase if they’ve already designated in their marketing to sell or rent the property that they would consider those or the more general descriptive phrase Rent-To-Own. But how do you ask a seller (we’ll cover How To Ask A Landlord To Rent-To-Own at another time) that has not otherwise said they would consider doing something flexible to consider renting the property to you with the intent of you to buy it in the future? How to ask when a seller has not outright said they would consider a Rent-To-Own is what we intend to cover here.

Before we get into the actual dialog, I want to point out that there are many variations to what I am about to explain to you (some are, in my opinion, questionable in their approach), but here is my preferred general description to consider.

Softening The Language and Asking A Seller To Rent-To-Own

First, I do not believe you should get into too much detail on the first phone call. The first call is really to see if the seller would even be open to considering something flexible and honestly, until you see the property, you don’t know the details yourself at this point. So, to open the conversation I typically start with something like this:

Hi Johnny… I see that you have a home for sale at 1234 Main St. Is it still available?

Great. I know that you have it advertised for sale, but I was wondering if you might consider selling it on a delayed closing or a lease purchase or even some short term owner financing since after talking to my lender, I need a little more time to get a good rate on a traditional loan. Is that something you might consider?

Depending on the seller, they may say any number of things to you after this:

• They may say no, they are not able, they are not willing or some other variation of no. In that case, you thank them very much and go on to the next seller.
• They may ask you how long you might need. In that case, tell them the time frame your lender gave you or the time frame you desire.
• They may tell you yes or a variation of yes. In that case, ask a bit more about the property and if it is something that sounds interesting to you, schedule an appointment to see it.
• They may ask for more information. In that case, rephrase what you said to explain it in general terms again and ask if they would even consider something like that. Be careful… you are not negotiating the entire deal at this point. You haven’t seen the property. You don’t know the seller or the seller’s situation. They don’t know you or your situation.

The key to asking a seller if they’d consider a Rent-To-Own, in my experience, is being open and general at first. You can get down to the details later when you decide you like the property and start talking about the mechanics of how it might work. Specifically do not talk about specific down payments, rent credits, exact purchase price, duration, repair agreements or any number of other contract points in the first call. In the first call you are sifting and sorting those that may be willing from those that have no interest, at this point, in doing it.