Wilting real estate market makes rent-to-own an option

Investor's Business Dailyreports that "Across the country, particularly in overbuilt or struggling housing markets, a growing number of luxury residential units once up for sale now are being made available to renters."

The rough housing market is giving a lot of homeowners trouble in selling -- especially those who bought near the peak and don't have the equity built up to get out without a short sale. New books like The Accidental Landlord advise homeowners on renting their homes when they had never dreamed of becoming landlords.

But with pent-up demand for housing on the part of buyers who don't have the credit scores or down payments to buy in this tight credit market, rent to own may also be an option. Toll Brothers has recently begun offering some of its hard-to-sell luxury condominiums on a rent to own basis.

If you think that renting to own might be a viable option for you -- either for a home you already own and would like to get rid of or for own you'd like to rent and maybe buy -- check out this great piece from WalletPOP's Geoff Williams on FrontDoor.com.

Lease-options have often been frowned upon as the stuff of late night infomercial hucksters, but if you do the research, they might just have a place in your life.