Rent to Own Receipts
May 12, 2019 by Marty Orefice | Rent to Own
People aren't usually malicious, but they're very commonly forgetful.
If you don't pay your rent, your whole rent to own contract could be invalidated. While it might seem scary that a seller could accuse you of missing payments to invalidate your lease option and reclaim their home, that's unlikely. However, when you're making the same payments every month, a seller could forget that you made a payment one month, putting your contract at risk.
Even if the validity of your contract isn't at risk, a late payment could incur a late fee!
How can you prove that you've made your full payment on time?
Rent Receipts
Whether you're buying candy at a convenience store or booking a hotel, you always get a receipt for your payment. The same principles should hold true for your rent to own arrangement!
If you wrote a check or made a mobile payment, then you have some sort of proof that you've made your rent payment (i.e. the carbon copy from the check as well as the pull from your bank account or your notes in your monthly mobile app payment). However, if you're paying by cash, you have little proof that a payment was actually made.
Rent is likely one of your biggest expenses each month. It typically consumes a third of your income! If you insist on paying the seller by cash, talk to the seller about some sort of a receipt system that you can use as proof that a payment has been made; a system that requires acknowledgment from the payment sender and receiver.
Through this route, no one can question the timeliness of your payments!
If you didn't discuss payment receipts during the negotiations process of your rent to own arrangement, bring them up with the seller now!
The receipts don't just benefit the buyer. If the buyer misses a payment, the seller can prove that payment is owed to them because neither party has a receipt!
