HERE ARE THE PROGRAMS I OFFER

PROGRAM 1 - RENTAL

This is obviously the most common form in America.  The good thing is you do not have to have any credit, you do not have to worry about repairs on the house, and with no money down, you can just move in.   The bad things are, you do not build any equity by paying rent, and you do not build up your credit and the rent is not tax deductible.  But for many people renting is perfect and I have many rental houses in prime areas in Louisville, Kentucky.  I always keep my houses in good condition and I am available for repairs 24 hours a day, I promise!  I also accept pets, short term and no/bad credit and section 8 sometimes. Look on my "Property for Rent" page for my current houses for rent.

PROGRAM 2 - LEASE/OPTION

This program is great if you want to rent, but you think you might want to buy the house in the future, because you can rent the house and a portion of your rent is applied to buying it when you want to buy it.  So your rent is helping build equity.  Most of the lease/options I do require a small amount down at the beginning (like $2,500).  This is your option.  When you give me that option, I will rent the house to you and give you a contract to buy the house at a later date.  Now you just live in the house and pay me rent every month.  If you pay $900. a month then some of that will be credited toward the purchase of the house.  Say $200 a month for example.  So if the contract says you will buy the house in 24 months then you will have ($200 x 24 months = $4,800) credit off the purchase price.  Plus your option of $2,500, you gave me at the beginning.  So if you are on contract to buy the house for $100,000.00 then you actually only will owe me $92,700 at closing.  And the monthly payments during the lease are tax deductible.  And you wwill not be responsible for maintenance and repairs during the contract.  The bad thing is, if you do not or cannot buy the house from me by the end of the lease/option contract, you will lose your option money!  I have never had that actually happen though!  I have done a few of these and they have all worked well.  In most cases I help you get a loan so you can buy the house from me well before the expiration of the lease/option contract.  See my "Property for Lease Option" page for my current Lease/option houses.

PROGRAM 3 - LAND CONTRACTS

This is my personal recommendation as an alternative to renting and buying.  Essentially you are renting to own. You must have at least some credit (bankruptcy is ok).  You must have some money to put down.  First we find you a home that you like.  Then, I will buy the house from the seller and let you move in.  Then I do something different than most investors who just do "lease/options" NOTE: LAND CONTRACTS ARE DIFFERENT FROM LEASE/OPTIONS. What I do differently is that I record the deed on the house in your name, at the county courthouse.  So, now you own the house.  I am just the lien holder.  Now you just live in the house and pay me every month.  At sometime during the contract with me, we will go to a conventional bank (like Bank of America) and try to get you a "real" 30 year loan on the house.  The bank will not require any more money down, or particularly good credit, since you already own the house.  You are really just refinancing the loan that you have with me.  Remember I will walk you through each step in this process.  And rest assured, I have already done several of these with great success.  The most important things are; keep your credit good while you are living in your new house, always pay me on time each month, always keep records of all payments you make, and keep your house in good condition so when you apply for your new loan it will appraise for enough.  In some cases I have even had people lease on land contract from me for only a year and then get a loan with a bank, and when they did the house was re-appraised and we noticed it had appreciated so much that they were able to pay me off and still walk away with cash.   This was amazing for me and for them!  For land contracts, you select the house that you want to buy, just like a typical home buyer.  I am a realtor/agent in Louisville, so I have all the tools to help you find the house you want to buy.  Once we find a house that will work we are done.  The main thing is you.  If you qualify for the land contract, then the rest is easy!

I can also assist anyone with buying or selling any real property. Although lately I have been specializing in the land contracts.  I also can help you invest in real estate and rental property, since I have done so much of it, I can show you how to do it, etc.

Call me any time ...I want to help as many people as I can!  Yes, I make money too, so it works for everyone.  The main thing is getting in touch with me.  I help people from any where in America, but so far I have only bought property in Kentucky and Florida.  If you need an alternative source for financing, call/email/fax me anytime!

Mike Howard

Direct Line (24hours) 502-777-5246

Fax 502-228-3587

Email zcd723@gmail.com

Market Update – Early 2010

The question everyone in the USA wants to know is…”when will the economy REALLY get better?”  It seems like every other day we hear that we have reached the worst point. Than more bad news comes in and we feel like it will never end!   The truth is, some reforms are taking place that will prevent this type of recession from ever happening again.  But in the meantime, we just have to wait this one out.  The government is passing new laws each and every day, with the intention of cleaning up the credit mess.  For instance, the entire credit scoring system will be overhauled, banks will not be able to charge you for 30 lates on your accounts anymore unless they show proof they attempted to work with you and credit lending fees cannot be raised without prior notification to the borrower, etc.   All of these new laws will take time to show results, but they will help to rebuild the millions of Americans who’s credit score has been destroyed in the last few years. 

Who do we blame?  The banks who lent the money or the people who borrowed too much money?  In my opinion the answer is, like most things, somewhere in the middle.  In the Louisville Kentucky area we have noticed that rents are going up because so many people can’t get loans.  There is now a huge backlog of renters in the area.  These are good people, making good money, who just have some credit issues.  To make matters worse, the criteria for getting a mortgage has been raised so high that almost NO ONE can get a loan!  At RENT2OWNLOUISVILLE  we have assisted record numbers of people in renting and renting to own in the last few months.   Our programs are in huge demand now because of the lending situation.                     

The housing market is still very bad.  Although it seems to be getting better in some areas, the problem remains the same….banks are NOT lending money.  The TARP money that Obamba “donated” to the banks was a hopeful effort at stimulating the economy.  Instead it turned out to be a bailout of the largest banks in the USA, like CITIBANK, BANK OF AMERICA, CHASE, WELLS FARGO.  The problem is, these banks took the government bailout money and used it to buy up smaller banks and improve their balance sheets so they would appear more profitable.  While this might have raised their stock values and helped out some American’s mutual funds that have stock in these banks, it did absolutely nothing to help the housing market’s main problem…lack of funding for homebuyers!   At RENT2OWNLOUISVILLE we have seen a dramatic rise in clients seeking alternative funding methods, so they can buy a property without having to get a loan right away.  Our goal is to help people get into the house they want to buy and begin building up equity right away….WITHOUT A BANK!   Our LAND CONTRACT programs and our LEASE OPTION programs are more popular than ever because of the banking situation today.   We expect this to be a record year for us.  Thanks to all of our clients, past and present, for letting us help you! 

 If you have any questions about any of our programs feel free to email us at zcd723@gmail.com or call 502-777-5246.