{"id":29598,"date":"2026-03-10T02:00:26","date_gmt":"2026-03-10T09:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/?p=29598"},"modified":"2026-03-12T19:42:40","modified_gmt":"2026-03-13T02:42:40","slug":"buyer-are-rent-to-own-homes-real","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-are-rent-to-own-homes-real\/","title":{"rendered":"Are Rent to Own Homes Even Real? Here Are Stories From 5 People Who\u2019ve Done It"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you\u2019ve heard of rent-to-own homes but haven\u2019t given them much thought, you\u2019d be forgiven for assuming that there must be a huge catch<\/a> to make the whole thing work.<\/p>\n

Or, maybe the idea sounds so far-fetched you wonder if rent-to-own homes are even real in the first place \u2014 totally fair!<\/p>\n

But renting-to-own<\/a> is a real and valid path to homeownership, so we talked to five people who\u2019ve done it \u2014 either from the buying or selling side \u2014 to learn more. This includes perspective from Margaret Labus<\/a>, a real estate agent in the Lake Geneva<\/a>, Wisconsin, area, who has 22 years of industry experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

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Before we get into the stories, let\u2019s start with a brief primer on the business of renting-to-own (RTO).<\/p>\n

\n It\u2019s not terribly common to rent-to-own because most of the people who are in the rental situation are those who, for whatever reason, can\u2019t <\/span>get financing<\/span><\/a> the conventional way through a bank. But, it does open some possibilities with the right seller.<\/span><\/q>\n
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