“Hi Gary. I rented a place and the seller also gave me an option to buy it. He said I could buy it any time in the next 18 months. Do you have any advice?”
***ANSWER:
Yes. Get it in writing!
Ive got a sneaking suspicion that your option is verbal and likely not enforceable if the owner changes his mind. Ive know several people who thought they had an option to buy but actually had nothing.
A correct lease/option has 3 parts: 1) lease, 2) option, 3) purchase contract.
1. Of course, theres the lease.
2. The option gives you the right to buy the property at a certain price, within a certain time period.
3. To be safe, complete a purchase contract ahead of time to avoid dispute later. Otherwise, you have no agreement on who is paying what expense, such as pest control, closing fees, etc. Nor do you have any agreement on all the other seven pages of small print of the contract.
Ignore my advice at your peril. I know of several people who got in lawsuits for the reasons stated above.
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