Press Release - December 1, 2008

 “Too Many Buyers, Not Enough Homes!”

This is a rare problem in today’s market, but not for this Sacramento based company with a waiting list of over 8,000 buyers.  OptionPlus Homes, Inc. is on the cutting edge of a trend that is offering hope to sellers who are frustrated by the real estate market slump.
“Most of our homes are moving in days or weeks, not months,” Says company President, Craig Sherman.

So what is this company doing differently than the thousands of sellers whose homes are languishing on the market?  OptionPlus Homes is the leading provider of rent-to-own housing in Northern California, and has also opened offices in Southern California and Portland, OR.  According to the company’s website, www.optionplushomes.com, rent-to-own is like an extended escrow period during which time the buyer helps pay a portion of the seller's mortgage payments in exchange for being allowed to live in the home until the sale closes.  They treat the home as if it's their own, because some day it probably will be.  The typical buyer has stable income and rental payment history, but has some credit issues to work out or needs time to save up for a larger down payment.

Linda Hayashi lives and works in the San Francisco Bay Area, but like many others caught up in the housing boom, she purchased an investment property in Elk Grove, CA.  When the market took a turn for the worse, she phoned OptionPlus Homes for help.  Within two weeks, a tenant/buyer was found, screened and placed in the property.  Two months after that, the buyer obtained a loan and purchased the home. “I had the home listed with a real estate agent before calling OptionPlus Homes, but I received no offers after months on the market.  I also didn’t have enough equity in the home to cover the agent’s commissions.  By using a no-fee company, I was able to put money in the bank when the home was purchased.”  Linda recently placed another one of her homes in the program and it was filled in 2 weeks.

“When the market was hot, sellers were calling us to sell their homes for top dollar while eliminating commissions and closing costs.  Lately, sellers are calling because of how quickly we get tenant/buyers into homes despite the slow market,” says Craig Sherman.  “If you want to move your home quickly, you can’t compete head-to-head with the scores of homes on the market.  By offering flexible purchase terms, you tap into a huge pool of buyers who have been shut out by the recent tightening of mortgage credit standards.  We also cater to families who need to relocate for their jobs, but can’t qualify for the purchase of a home until their old home sells.”

Buyers benefit from the rent-to-own program by locking in a price and accumulating credits towards their down payment.  Ron lives in an OptionPlus Homes property in the San Francisco Bay Area: “My wife and I are both Registered Nurses and make good money, but we needed a year or two to clean up our credit to obtain a loan.  This program allowed us to move in almost immediately without having to rush into a dangerous sub-prime mortgage.”

Unlike flat-fee MLS providers, The OptionPlus Homes rent-to-own program eliminates both the buyer and seller real estate commissions, so this might be the least expensive way to sell your home.  OptionPlus Homes, Inc. can be reached at 916-201-5909.

About OptionPlus Homes, Inc.
OptionPlus Homes, Inc. was formed 3 years ago because it was a concept whose time had come. Sellers and landlords had only two options: They could hire a real estate agent, but high commissions cut deeply into net proceeds at the time of sale. Some chose to handle the transaction themselves to save the fees, but it was time consuming and costly mistakes were common. The OptionPlus Lease with option to buy program uses a proven system to fill properties with a qualified buyer at no cost to the homeowner. We currently have over 8,000 families on our waiting list.