Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

First, I assume what you want is a lease with an option to purchase. There are related concepts like a "land contract" or "contract for deed" where you make a commitment to buy, rather than merely getting an option to buy during the lease term, or at the end.

If this is the case, the first thing that comes to mind is that the lease with purchase option, or a memorandum of its key terms, should be recorded with the county recorder of documents in the county where the home is located. This should prevent any sale or other disposition of the property contrary to your rights, or at least give you a remedy if that happens.

Next, the lease with purchase option should contain all the necessary terms, including but not limited to (1) an adequate legal description of the property; (2) identification of the parties, including the landlords/prospective sellers (see next paragraph); (3) a clear statement of the terms of the option, including when and how it may be exercised; and (4) a set of provisions for giving notices to the other party, which will prevent the prospective sellers from dropping out of sight then lawfully claiming that you failed to give them proper notice of your exercise of the option.

It seems to me that you need either a lawyer or at least a real-estate professional to assist you. Among other things, you will want to verify that the people you're dealing with are the sole owners and that you are at least aware of and prepared to handle any liens, etc. that would be superior to your interests at the time you exercise the option to buy.

Mr Whipple is right as usual. While most of the time realtors help with the contract, in this case I think you should stray from the norm and have an attorney review it.

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