Rent to Own has long been a socially accepted way of owning your home without the need to take on debt. McDonalds hamburger stores gained their competitive advantage by using Rent to Own when they started to expand the number of their stores in the 1940's. These days many home buyers with blemished credit histories find Rent to Own as the answer to the constant rejections they receive from traditional home loan agencies when trying to buy a family home.

In 1999 the United States Federal Trade Commission (similar to the role the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission plays in Australia) released a survey on Rent to Own customers in the United States of America on their experience with Rent to Own. With inputs from over 500 Rent to Own customers, many facts were gathered about the general practices of Rent to Own agreements.

Rent to Own usage is comparatively high when compared to other countries with a usage rate of 2.3% throughout the United States population within the last 5 years. From this it was established that 73% of Rent to Own users had up to a high school education and 67% of Rent to Own households had children living in them. Rent to Own agreements were mainly prevalent in non-suburban areas and in the southern states of the U.S.

The survey results also indicated that 79% of Rent to Own customers were between the ages of 18 and 44 and that at 60% the purchase rate was high across a majority of demographic groups. Rent to Own agreements were generally in place for an average of 14 months before purchase, with 47% of Rent to Own customers purchasing in less than a year. Of Rent to Own agreements, 70%  were concluded with an end purchase by the customer. It was also found that it was rare for customers to lose a property through repossession after making large payments towards ownership. Of people entering into a Rent to Own agreement, 87% of people who intended to make an end purchase actually did.

It was also very clear from the survey results that Rent to Own users placed the of upmost importance on the certainty of the fees and payment schedules associated with the agreement before making any commitment to a Rent to Own opportunity.

While some Rent to Own deals were found to be subject to clauses relating to abusive practices in relation to overdue payments, these were found not to be widespread and most Rent to Own customers did not find this a problem with their particular situation. The United States Federal Trade Commission sees this as an indication that federal regulation of the industry in relation to debt retrieval  may be unnecessary with statistics showing that only 19% of Rent to Own customers were unhappy with their Rent to Own experience. Prices were cited as the main reason for dissatisfaction.

The overwhelming finding of the survey was that the majority of Rent to Own customers are happy with the rent to own transaction that they entered into, suggesting that there is no need for any more regulation of the Rent to Own industry as it already provides a product that satisfies and meets the demands of most customers. If you are interested in how the benefits of Rent to Own can be applied to your family’s situation why not contact us and we’ll see if we can get you into your Rent to Own home today.