The purchase price is determined at the start of the lease. We guarantee the price even if there is a great appreciation in the market and your home and property are appraised higher at the end of the term.

The lease term is determined by your needs, to help you restore or establish credit. The lease is often based on 1-5 year term. You are permitted to purchase the property any time during the lease term.

There is an initial option fee required when you sign the lease that is credited back to you at the time of purchase. You will also receive a portion of each months lease payment as a credit at the time of purchase. You are able to build equity quickly with this plan. We work with you and a mortgage broker to help prepare for a successful purchase at the end of the lease term.

Included in your monthly lease payments are:

• Building Insurance
• Property Taxes
• Strata Fees
• Rent Payments
• Lease Option Credits

You only need to pay for:

• Content Insurance
• Utilities such as Hydro & Gas
• Cable TV, Telephone, and Internet if you wish to have them

Q: Where do you Buy homes for Rent-to-Owns? Do you have houses available in the Interior or on Vancouver Island?
A: For our residential Rent-to-Own program, we primarily service only Vancouver lower mainland and the Fraser Valley

Q: What will happen to our initial deposit and rent credits if we can’t complete the transaction?
A: It is our intention at Tuza to do whatever it takes to help you take ownership. With our association with leading mortgage brokerage firms we will look at all avenues to help you complete. Our associated mortgage brokers work with several banks, trust companies, life insurance lenders, credit unions and private investors. If required, Tuza may help you with secondary mortgage financing.

If however, after all possible avenues have been looked at and you’re still not in a position to qualify for whatever reason. We may consider an extension of the contract for an additional term that we all agree on. If this also fails to work you would lose all of your deposit and monthly rent credits you have built up.

If you wanted out of the contract early and we are given few months notice and if the property is returned to us in the same condition or better as when you received it or if you find someone to take your place we would be very accommodating and will help you to recover some or all of your investment.

Q: When is the purchase price set?
A: At time of negotiations before you move in. The purchase price of your home is set today for future purchase. The term of the Rent-to-Own agreement is also determined at this same time.

Q: Why Rent to Own instead of waiting until I can qualify for a mortgage?
A: That is a decision you have to make. Some analysts have suggested that the long term trend especially here in the Vancouver Lower Mainland is for a higher price level considering that by 2025 it is estimated to be another 1 million residents living here.

There may be several reasons why you don’t qualify for a mortgage at the present time. Many of our clients have been renting for years and can never find a way to get themselves off the renting treadmill. With our creative financing techniques, you accumulate your required down payment. You also have the professional consultation of the Tuza staff to put yourself in a strategic financial position. In association with our team member of a leading mortgage brokerage firm, you can develop a mortgage strategy that will work for you.

Some of the questions to be asked is how can we improve your credit rating? Do you need to apply for an RRSP loan to further establish credit and take advantage of tax benefits? Does your outstanding credit have to be refinanced? What about your job and your employment income? What further action can be taken to increase your down payment if possible? These are just some of the issues to be looked at.

Q: How long will my Rent-to-Own agreement last?
A: Rent-to-Own agreements are based on your financing needs, but anywhere from 1 to 5 years. We structure our agreements so that you can complete the purchase at any time during the term by simply advising us. We will do the rest to complete our agreement with you as quickly as you want us to do it.

Q: What if we can’t qualify for a mortgage at the end of the term?
A: Our goal is for you to buy the home. We do not want to get the house back. We will do our best to extend the Rent-to-Own Agreement or work out an alternative solution to meet your needs. However, if you feel that you may not be able to qualify in the number of years allotted, then Rent-to-Own may not be the solution for you.

Q: No one I know has ever heard of this before, is this legal or what?
A: During the last 10 years or so, Rent-to-Own has become very popular in the residential real estate market. Rent-to-Own is now an agreement used all across Canada including the Lower Mainland here in British Columbia. As for Tuza, we are part of a Team of people who specialize in creative real estate solutions for Buyers and Sellers alike. Tuza has been doing Rent-to-Own agreements since 2007.

Q: Does making a larger monthly payments help me?
A: The more equity that you have in your new home, the better chance that you have in obtaining a conventional mortgage from a bank or other lending institutions and at preferred interest rates. The higher payment you make in excess of your “Base Payment”, the greater down payment credits you will accumulate towards purchase of your home.

Q: What if I want to pay down a lump sum, can I do that?
A: There are no penalties or additional fees if you want to make a balloon or lump sum payment at any time during the Rent-to-Own Agreement. You may do so and it will go directly to your equity.

Q: Can I take ownership of the property before the end of the term?
A: YES! If you are ready to qualify for a mortgage during the term of your Rent-to-Own contract, you can exercise the option to purchase and take title to the property. In some cases, some of our clients have paid full in cash due to an unexpected inheritance or other goodwill ie. bonus from work, investment, lottery winnings.

Notice of Assessments (NOA’s) from Revenue Canada are the single most important document required by lenders when applying for a mortgage especially if you are self employed or if need to include overtime and/or bonuses for income qualification purposes.

NOA’s are annual statements sent by Revenue Canada to you once you have filed your tax return detailing the amount of income tax you owe. It includes the amount of income earned, tax refund, tax credit and tax already paid.

While it is important to keep all NOA’s received from Revenue Canada, it is important to keep on file your (2) most recent years when qualifying for a mortgage.

Self employed borrowers:

For self employed clients using stated income programs, the lender looks to ensure no taxes are owed to Revenue Canada. Typically, only the two most recent years NOA’s will be required.

If you are self employed and income qualifying, lenders will look at both the average of Line 150 of your NOA’s for the last 2 years and that you owe no tax to Revenue Canada. Self employed borrowers that are income qualifying are also eligible to gross up their Line 150 by 15%.

Salaried/Hourly employees:

If you are employed and get paid salary or hourly and you want to include additional income such as overtime, bonuses or even part time income, lenders will require your (2) most recent years of NOA’s. Your income will also be qualified using a (2) year average.

Effective March 18, 2011, the following changes will be in effect:

1. Maximum Amortization on mortgages higher than 80% Loan to Value will be 30 years (currently 35yrs)
2. Maximum Amount an existing home owner can refinance to will be 85% (currently 90%)
3. CMHC will no longer insure Secured Lines of Credits (Effective April 18, 2011)

How Does This Impact Home Buyers and Owners Monthly Payments?

Scenario:

Mortgage Amount: $300,000
Interest Rate: 3.79%
Monthly Payment with 35 year: $1285.56
Monthly Payment with 30 year: $1391.12
Difference: $105.56 higher payment with new rules

Examples of what effect the NEW Mortgage Rule Changes will have on borrower qualification

Leah Coss, a mortgage planner with the Mortgage Centre, explains what “Lease to Own” is and who is a good candidate. The complete transcript of this video is available on Leah’s website

Leah Coss, a mortgage planner with the Mortgage Centre, explains that bankruptcy is not the end of the world. even though you may have filed for bankruptcy. If you want to get into a home today, getting into a lease to own home with a 2 to 3 year lease can give you enough time to get your credit back on track.

The complete transcript of this video is available on Leah’s website.

Leah Coss, a mortgage planner with the Mortgage Centre, talks about buying a home to lease out as a trendy strategy for real estate investment.

The full transcript of the video is available on Leah Coss’ website.

Leah Coss, a mortgage planner with the Mortgage Centre, talks about real estate investment options and information including lease to own.

The full transcript of the video is available on Leah Coss’ website.