2. Advantage: Typically for a seller to agree to a lease option, the buyer needs to agree to purchase the home in the future at the asking price or at a higher price. The seller is yielding up their future appreciation to the buyer by setting a permanent contract and should expect to get their asking price or more. The seller should also expect to get some money down to partially cover the risk of the person choosing not to exercise their option.

3. Advantage: Along with the favorable selling price, the seller will also receive monthly payments to cover the seller's monthly expenses and possibly more. How much more depends on the conditions in which the seller bought their home. If the interest rate is lower than the current rate or if there is equity in the home, the monthly payment the buyer would be expected to pay will be more than the monthly expense. The difference is income with virtually no work involved. There is probably not much hope for passive income if you have a high interest rate adjustable mortgage with negative equity, but in that situation, a short sale of your home may be a better option if available.

4. Advantage: Lease options are considered less risky than renting because of the down payment the buyer makes and the vested interest the buyer has in the home. I personally would not consider a lease option if the buyer did not offer a significant down payment because it would be too much like renting. Something that I find a little risky for my tastes. However, with a lease option, the buyer is expected to make a down payment to secure the advantages of the option, including access to future appreciation. In the lease option, the buyer has two very good reasons to keep the home: the down payment and the potential of equity growth. Unlike a rental, the home has been sold; it is just the transaction that will occur in the future. The buyer is now responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of the home, not the seller.

5. Disadvantage: One big disadvantage of a lease option is limited access to the home equity. When you offer a lease option, you must maintain your current mortgage and any other loans on the home or pay them off yourself. If you have thousands of dollars in equity in the home, that money will not be made available until the lease option is exercised. Sure, you could refinance your mortgage to get the equity out, but will incur the costs of the refinance and a higher interest rate, which is probably not worth it. As such, the rate of return on your money over the life of a lease option is dependent on how much equity is tied in your home. With little to no equity in a home, a lease option can result in a very high relative rate of return on your money. Even with a lot of equity, the option can be quite profitable.

6. Disadvantage: A lease option is an expressed intent by the buyer to purchase your home in the future. They pay you some money down, but have no obligations except to pay you a monthly payment until that time. However, there is a risk they do not pay you on time or at all. However, as far as your own mortgage is concerned, it must still be paid, and if the occupant has not given you the money to pay the mortgage, you must dig into your own pockets to find the money. Fortunately, you have the down payment to fall back on though only for a while. A lease option is a safer bet when you have enough income to afford that second mortgage payment.

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