As much as this sounds like a good idea, be aware of a rent-to-buy scheme that is going around the real estate industry.
Under the program, buyers hand over $10-15,000 in an upfront fee and then pay rent, with an additional fee of a few hundred dollars per week, which they are told will be taken off the final purchase price of the home.
Buyers are locked in to a few years contract and are promised that at the end of it the deposit and additional fees will be taken off the price of the home which they will be purchasing.
Actually, the “sellers” do not hold real estate licences and the money paid by the buyers is not being directed into a trust account. Besides, there is no guarantee the buyer could obtain a home loan at the end of the contract period.
Both parties agree on the price of the home at the start of the contract. During the contract, the house cannot be sold nor the assets liquidated. Buyers who can't get financing to buy the property at the end of the period lose all the money that was initially going towards the purchase.
How to avoid: don’t get involved in such a deal unless you are absolutely sure the company is legitimate. Ask them for references, talk to owners who bought their houses already. You can’t afford not to do an extensive research on these guys. Just because they own nice offices and websites doesn’t mean they are legal.