Developers Offering Rent-to-Own Options

According to Celeste Busk in today's Chicago Sun-Times, cash-strapped home buyers have an option to rent-to-own at many Chicago condo developments. Highlights:

One popular reason for renting to own is that most agreements don't require a hefty down payment or upfront costs. Terms vary per property and oftentimes are specifically customized by the financial situation of the renter.

On the Near South Side, New West Realty has launched a rent-to-own program at Eastgate Village, a 300-unit development at 26th Street and Martin Luther King Drive. The 10-acre village features a mix of 3-story townhomes and walk-up condominium buildings.

The program calls for 75 percent of the prospective buyer's monthly rent to be held in escrow as down payment cash to purchase the residence at the end of the year.

The 1-bedroom, 2-bedroom and 3-bedroom condos are priced from the upper $200,000s to the $500,000 bracket. Eight walk-up condos are targeted for the program.

For example, the Adler 62A floor plan is priced at $279,900. Under the program, the buyer of the 2-bedroom condo would lease the unit for one year at a monthly rent of $1,650. With 75 percent of the rent -- $1,237.50 -- escrowed each month in the down-payment account, the buyer would have accumulated $14,850 in cash by the end of the year.

Details at (312) 683-0660 or eastgatevillagechicago.com.

Another lease-to-own program is run by Builders Center of Chicago, which has offices on the North and South Sides. Depending on the property, clients may pay a small upfront fee, and up to 47 percent of the rent will go toward ownership.

Builders Center has a variety of 1- to 3-bedroom condos and town houses priced from $155,000 to $400,000. One property is a 10-unit building at 4234 S. Ellis. Another is a 25-unit condo conversion at 1412 W. Arthur in Rogers Park.

Details at (773) 751-5151 or road2ownership.com.