Posted by Vic on May 07, 2000 at 24:54:49:
Otis,
One of the differences between the 2 is in the protection to you.
Ex. If you l/o a home from a seller & that seller goes bankrupt or gets sued, you could end up losing your l/o.
Another thing is tax liens - if the seller doesn’t pay the taxes, the county will put a tax lien on property & that will come before your lease & if you decide to buy, someone will have to pay off that lien. If the lien is worth more than the house, then you’ve got a problem.
Same thing with the IRS - if the guy gets in trouble with the IRS, then the guy might not be able to sell, cuz of the IRS lien.
I’m sure there’s a way around some of this & I would ask B.L Renfrow. He’s very knowledgeable in this area.
But overall, you have less protection with a l/o vs. a land contract. In my state of Louisian, it makes much more sense to buy on an escrow agmt. (land contract) & sell on an escrow, with a balloon. I’m sure folks in other states will have other opinions though.
Vic
Vic