With long-term, unconventional financing strategies, homeownership is within your reach.Rent to Ownshows you how to turn your rent money into a new home, whether you're a single professional, young family, and or are living on a budget, using lease options and other overlooked purchasing tactics.

Robert Irwin, one of America's leading experts in all areas of real estate, is the author of more than 50 books, including How to Get Started in Real Estate Investing and McGraw-Hill's bestselling Tips and Traps series. For more real estate wisdom, visit robertirwin.com.

Preface	p. ix
Why You Should Own Your Home	p. 1
Why Buy?	p. 2
Where's the Profit?	p. 3
The Ownership Advantage	p. 14
Ownership Drawbacks	p. 16
The Name of the Game	p. 17
But the Market's Uncertain	p. 17
Does It Ever Pay to Rent Instead of Buy?	p. 19
Calculating Whether It Makes More Sense to Own or to Rent	p. 20
What If You Still Can't Afford It?	p. 22
Do Market Conditions Really Count?	p. 23
Tomorrow's Market	p. 25
Can You Get Hurt?	p. 27
How Can House Prices Go Higher?	p. 27
Where Is the Market Now?	p. 28
Be Wary of Headlines	p. 30
But Can I Afford It?	p. 31
I Can't Buy because I Don't Have the Down Payment	p. 32
I Can't Buy because I Don't Have the Closing Costs	p. 37
I Can't Buy because My Credit Is Bad	p. 41
I Can't Buy because My Income Is Too Low and I Can't Afford the Payments	p. 45
Conclusion: You Can Afford a Mortgage	p. 53
Using Your Rent Money to Buy-the Lease-Option	p. 55
The Types of Buyers Who Should Get Lease-Options	p. 56
How Lease-Options Work	p. 57
Lease-Option Example	p. 60
Advantages of Lease-Options for Sellers	p. 62
Potential Problems with Lease-Options	p. 64
Finding Lease-Option Sellers	p. 75
Dealing with Agents	p. 78
Lease-Purchases	p. 82
Transferring Lease-Options	p. 83
Lease-Option Opportunities under Section 8	p. 84
The Bottom Line	p. 85
Contract-for-Sale or Subject-To Purchases	p. 86
Contract-for-Sale Purchases	p. 86
Subject-To Purchases	p. 95
Nothing Down and Lower Monthly Payments	p. 105
An ARM (but Not a Leg!) for Lower Payments	p. 106
Interest-Only Mortgages	p. 110
100 Percent Financing for Nothing Down	p. 112
FHA and VA Government Insured or Guaranteed Mortgages	p. 115
100 Percent Seller Financing	p. 116
Reducing Your Payments by Eliminating the PMI	p. 119
Absolutely Minimum Payments with the Option Mortgage	p. 122
Getting around the Closing Costs	p. 127
Getting Financing Even When Credit Is a Problem	p. 132
What Can Hurt a Borrower's Credit?	p. 132
What Is a Credit Score?	p. 134
How Does a Borrower Get a Credit Score?	p. 135
How Does a Lender Evaluate a Credit Score?	p. 136
What Is a Financial Profile?	p. 137
What If a Borrower Has a Poor Financial Profile?	p. 137
How Can a Borrower Improve a Credit Score?	p. 138
How Can a Borrower Fix Bad Credit?	p. 141
How Can a Borrower Correct a Credit Report Mistake?	p. 142
How Can a Borrower Establish Credit If He or She Has None	p. 143
Buying Foreclosures	p. 146
The Availability of Foreclosed Properties	p. 147
The Foreclosure Opportunity	p. 148
Lender-Owned Properties	p. 153
Bidding Low for Bargain Buys	p. 158
The Art of Lowballing	p. 159
The Effect of Market Conditions on Lowballing	p. 162
Deciding How Deep Your Lowball Offer Should Be	p. 164
Finding Out What May Be Motivating the Seller	p. 165
The Steps in the Lowballing Process	p. 166
What to Do If Your Agent Does Not Want to Convey Your Lowball Offer	p. 167
Appraisal Offers	p. 168
FSBOs and First-Time-Buyer Programs	p. 170
Making an Offer to a FSBO Seller	p. 171
Handling the Paperwork Involved in Purchasing a FSBO Property	p. 172
Negotiating Tips for Dealing Face-to-Face with the Seller	p. 174
The Importance of Getting the Purchase Agreement in Writing	p. 176
Finding FSBO Sellers	p. 177
Special First-Time-Buyer Programs	p. 177
Understanding Real Estate Tax Advantages	p. 179
Are Your Property Taxes Deductible?	p. 179
Is the Interest on Your Mortgage Deductible?	p. 180
Are the Points You Pay When You Buy a Home Deductible?	p. 181
How Valuable Is Mortgage Interest as a Tax Deduction?	p. 182
What about Interest Added to a Mortgage?	p. 183
What Are the Tax Consequences of Refinancing?	p. 183
What Are the Tax Consequences When you Sell?	p. 184
How Do You Qualify for the Tax Exclusion?	p. 185
What Are the New Tax Exclusion Rules?	p. 186
Are There Exceptions to the New Tax Exclusion Rules?	p. 188
How Important Is Record Keeping?	p. 190
Getting Started on a Budget-and over a Weekend!	p. 191
Make a Budget	p. 191
Get Preapproval	p. 193
Check the Timing	p. 194
Know Your Determination	p. 194
Get an Agent	p. 195
How to Choose an Agent	p. 196
Narrow the Search	p. 200
Make an Offer	p. 201
Close the Deal and Move In!	p. 202
What You Should Know about ARMs	p. 203
Low Initial Rate: The Teaser	p. 204
The Basics of an ARM	p. 206
Interest Rate Caps	p. 212
Mortgage Payment Caps	p. 213
Negative Amortization	p. 215
Prepayment Penalties	p. 217
ARMs with Caps on Both the Monthly Payment and Interest Rate	p. 218
Types of ARMs	p. 219
Convertible Option Mortgages	p. 219
Other Mortgages	p. 221
Index	p. 223
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