Financial uncertainty
It has been said that there are only two certainties; death and taxes. In modern times, you could add to that list, financial uncertainty. Ironic is it not? In these days, many people need a place to store a few things until the economy settles down, and the downsizing is over. The sad part is that many folks may be entering this sad new situation with less than perfect credit.
Financial uncertainty is a fact of life in today’s economy, and unlike the perfect world sometimes offered by on screen entertainment, most people do not have perfect credit. There are a lot of reasons why. In a perfect world, we wouldn’t have credit rating problems, but in a perfect world, we wouldn’t need credit to begin with. the world is not perfect.
What can be done?
So, what can we do when the need arises for a fairly large purchase, and our creditors say no? We could always save our money until we have enough cash to purchase the product, but it takes a while to save a few thousand, and time can be our enemy, especially if we need the product for the purpose of making and saving money.
Financing options
There are always options like loan companies, who can eat your financial lunch when it comes to interest, and you have to be careful when it comes to the way the interest is structured. In some cases, the interest may be as costly as the purchase, and there may be no way of paying it down ahead of time. Similar problems may exist with credit card purchases.
There is another option. Rent to own. In the rent to own system, you are paying for rent and ownership. You are not paying interest.
Storage rent to own
I had someone call me the other day about rent to own. The person on the line had heard that rent to own was, well, she couldn’t make herself put it bluntly, so I finished the statement for her: “You are wanting to know if it is a scam?” I asked politely. “Yes!” She said, in a way that showed an element of embarrassment and surprise!
Wrong information
There is apparently some bad information floating around on the subject, so I thought I would address that here. No. Rent to own is not some kind of scam. It is a perfectly viable way of renting or buying. I can’t speak for everyone, but the programs with which I am familiar are good programs.
Rent to own and interest
First of all, there is no interest on rent to own. you are paying rent for a building, and part of that rent, usually about half of it, goes toward the purchase of the building. Rent to own payments are very similar to what you would be paying for renting an equivalent amount of storage space from one of those self storage, or mini storage public storage facilities. The major difference is, that when you complete your contract on rent to own, you actually own the building, and it is setting on your property!
Early pay off
Many people choose to pay off the building early with income tax return money, or some windfall. This will save quite a bit on rental payments, since you would be paying for the building and not the rent if you pay it off. There is no penalty for early pay off. There is no credit check, and no credit damage for default. Since you are renting the building, you can call the company and have them pick it up, and your credit will not be hurt.
Bottom line
If you are paying 75.00 or 100.00 per month for storage, you can find an equivalent amount of storage space in a portable storage unit, and rent to own for about the same price. The big advantage is that you will be paying for something that will belong to you, and you won’t be throwing those dollars away! Throwing away dollars makes no sense! Neither does driving all over the country to get something that you need from storage, when you can just walk into your back yard to do the same thing.
