BEWARE RENT TO BUY SCHEMES (scams???)

[sam.henderson]

My husband and I recently over from the UK, not able to show 2 years of financials in australia to buy a house, found a website on the internet for rent to buy houses. We were intrigued so we went to look at one of his houses in an outer suburb of perth and it was all we were wanting in a house with the exception that it was only half finished, apparently the owner had decided to go back to UK and couldn't finish it as an owner builder. The man that we thought of as the agent said because the house was in need of at least 40K -50K of work to get it habitable said we can have it at a lower rent and deposit, we agreed to this thinking that it will be our home anyway and we can make our own touches. We needed to put in showers,toilets, finish the kitchen,skirting boards, cornices,driveway,front and rear yard cupboards,walk in robes,sinks,laundry etc etc.. 2 months into our home we had the bank knocking at the door threatening to repossess due to the owners not paying the mortgage for several months my dreams were shattered. i immediately contacted the agent and he went into a scramble and said he had no idea. (because we were living in the property the bank couldn't repossess without a court order), not long after that we had the gas inspector come and tell us that it was an unsafe installation and he wanted the certificates... (what certificates i asked). it turns out that because it was an owner builder the house cant be sold for 3 years after all the certificates are in place and 7 years if there is no insurance... i was beside myself. we refused to pay anymore money to the agent because of the 30k+ that we had already put into the property and that was without the extra $580pw + fees and deposit. we were then told that we had a tenancy and we had to go to the court, well i saw red !! we are told by this agent that we are not in a rent to buy and its only an option and we have to keep paying this rather over inflated price for 4 years and there's nothing we can do about it. 4 court cases later in the magistrates court we find out that the so called agent didn't have the right to rent the property to us let alone sell it to us!! We have another court case tomorrow so the magistrate can determine if it's a residential matter or a civil matter for the supreme court. we have since moved out but have put a caveat on the property due to all the work we did on it. it's no consolation as we have lost our home.. i can't help but think that if the bank hadn't knocked on the door we would still be paying a rather inflated price on a house that when we were able to pay thru the bank in 12 months that we would be out of pocket because the man didn't have the right to sell it to us anyway.... beware anyone who is thinking about rent to buy options... (this is very condensed lol) please please please, if your thinking of a rent to buy contact me and i will tell you what to look out for.. i learnt it all the hard way, i also found that there is some scams known nationally that target both the buyer and the seller... so beware

[sam.henderson]

UPDATE: we went to court today and the magistrate ruled in our favor and that it WAS NOT a residential tenancy issue, it was an agreement to buy a house. So all of you people that have gone into a rent buy situation and find you dont want to continue you are not tied to a long lease going nowhere. If anyone has gone into a rent buy agreement could you please contact me as i am collating information and would really like to help people that may be stuck. As for me im off to the supreme court next, to get my money back my email address is sam.henderson@hotmail.com

[Vergulde Draeck]

.....thanks for the heads up on this 'rent-to-buy' scenario Sam. Certainly could be a trap for young players.

.....and good luck with your case in the Supreme Court! Let's know how it all goes.

[ban byb]

also wish you all the best. not a great welcome to aus i hope it gets better

[C.P.I]

Oh dear, your story is VERY sad!
BUT please dont tarnish all rent to buys, I sell thes homes often for others and my self..... NEVER EVER EVER has this happened to any one who has entered an agreement with me, One has to be savy when entering into a contract for anything with anyone,we arent all bad. I have many people that are full of thanks for making their dreams come true.
Im writing a book /course that isnt going to cost the going rate of $3500 on how to do this scheme for your self, setting up your own contract and finding your own Rent to Buy, therefore eliminating the potential BAD GUY in between, Does anyone see this as a step toward helping those who want a home and protecting people who can be vanurable