Thursday, February 18, 2010

If i am buying a house on a land contract can i use that to mortgage the house?

I want to buy the house i currently live in off the landlord on a land contract. Now if the landlord gives me the land contract can i take that to the bank or loan officer could I use it to mortgage my house to pay the landlord off for a cheaper monthly payment?

I would use the money to make major and minor home improvements to the house that the landlord has not done. New furnace new doors new windows new siding and new roof.


I'm not sure what you mean by a "land contract" but I will assume you are talking about a "contract for deed" since I think that "land contract" might be another name for a contract for deed. If you enter into a contract for deed with your landlord you should know that a contract for deed is essentially nothing more than a lease. You will not own the property when you execute the contract for deed. The landlord will retain title to the property until you have satisfied the terms of the contract and have paid him off fully. Only then will you obtain title to the property. If you default, by missing even a single payment, the landlord will most likely be able to evict you from the property and all of the payments you have made up to that point will be considered as rent. You will get none of it back. Furthermore, you will not be able to take this contract for deed to a bank or other lending institution in order to obtain a mortgage note since you don't actually own the property. The contract for deed is, in reality, a form of long term lease.

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