“Lease options might be the worst idea ever. Who would ever be a party to one? I tried one once and it was a complete disaster! I mean, I’m not a lawyer- there’s just so much that can go wrong; I don’t have firsthand knowledge of this mind you, but I’ve heard lots and lots of stories.” (Traditional Realtor)
“Combine two innocuous substances and “Walla!” A homemade bomb.” (Al Qaeda training manual quoting a MacGyver episode)
Americans love driving their cars; there are more than 1.5 cars for every adult in the United States! Driving is a major “driver” of our economy as it helps people get to work and transport goods. It also allows a higher degree of personal freedom- who hasn’t felt the thrill of the open road? People vote with their feet, and almost all adult Americans go and get their driver’s licenses as soon as they are of age. Despite thousands of vehicular accidents every year, driving is considered a good thing (usually).
In this economy, though I haven’t seen any firm statistics, I imagine drinking alcohol has become a more popular pastime. This, in itself, isn’t a bad thing. Adults tend to enjoy a cold beer after a tough day, a salted margarita when on a tropical island, and a glass of wine at a romantic dinner. When alcohol was banned in the US during Prohibition, this was extremely unpopular and people went underground to get their moonshine. Despite the well-known dangers of being “over-served”, drinking alcohol is considered a good thing by many people (usually).
But when you mix these two “good” things together, drinking and driving, they become an awful thing. It’s like bringing in the third, previously-unknown pregnant mistress on stage during the taping of the “Jerry Springer Show.” It’s dangerous, incendiary, and potentially lethal. Almost everyone would agree that drinking and driving is a very bad practice and something that should never be done.
As a property manager in Charlotte, I write a lot of rental leases. I’m pretty familiar with them; I’m sure you are too. I remember going to college out in AZ and renting a place off-campus with some friends. Man, that was fun! We had a four-bedroom house that had a full-size pool, 6-person hot tub, a horse shoe pitch, and lime and lemon trees in the backyard. It was 15 minutes from campus and cost us $900 total a month. I remember paying a little extra in my share to have the master bedroom ($250 total). It was a good life!
I don’t remember any big rental contract issues. We signed a lease, paid the rent, and moved out when we graduated. I understand that this is done routinely on Earth (usually without incident) everyday. Leasing places is considered to be good (usually).
Do you know that billions of dollars of options (of the financial variety) are traded everyday? Without options, companies would be much more risky and would be forced to be much more conservative. The steady prices of most goods we enjoy? A lot of this is due to options. Where does the ability of financial companies to manage your investment portfolio risk come from? Much of this is due to options. On the other hand, some of the bank issues our country faces are due to the misuse of some types of options. However, there have never been discussions to eliminate them. Options are largely considered great things that have exponentially increased the ability of economies to grow and prosper (usually).
So, to recap, drinking and driving individually are okay (usually); so are leasing and options individually (usually). But when you put them together, disaster awaits. Is that right? I understand how drinking could impair your physical reactions and make driving more dangerous; I get this part of it. But how does leasing impair your ability to use options? Or vice-versa? It just doesn’t make any sense!
What does make sense is that the real issue is not that leases, options, and lease options are dangerous. Used properly, these are extremely valuable tools that are used everyday, in every industry, everywhere in the world to help people and companies! However, like anything, if you don’t know how to use something properly, you are likely to get hurt.
If you don’t know how to drive, you shouldn’t be on the road, regardless of your age; chances are, you’re going to hurt yourself and whoever is with you.
And don’t think about blaming the car (usually)!
Brett Furniss is the President & Owner of BDF Realty (“Charlotte’s Most Innovative Property Management & Investment Company”), and Rent-To-Sell Realty (“When You Need a New Solution to Sell Your Home”) which specialize in rent-to-own (lease options) and rent-to-sell homes. You can contact him directly at Brett@BDFRealty.com.
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