Legal Question in Real Estate Law in District of Columbia

Re: land installment contracts

Yes, so-called contracts for deed as far as I know can be done in any U.S. jurisdiction, including the District of Cplumbia. The unfortunate truth, however, is that the contract for deed method of buying property is not a good one since the buyer never becomes the actual owner of the property until the very last installment payment due under the contract has been paid to the seller and, if something should happen to the owner such as premature or accidental death before that final installment payment has been made, the seller's heirs will become the owners of the property and the would be buyer finds to his great chagrin that he's suddenly being evicted by the new owners from what he thought was his property and his many payments accounted for as merely "rent".