Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Massachusetts

Re: Rent To Own

I would strongly suggest you retain an attorney to protect your interests. It sounds like you may have some concerns that your cousin will not act in good faith. I would suggest that you try to purchase the house outright if this is possible. The problem with "rent to own" is that it is more like a landlord/tenant arrangement than the sale of property. What are the reasons why you would not purchase outright? If you cannot come up with the downpayment, perhaps your cousin would agree to accept a promissory note to assist with the downpayment. The other option is to enter into a lease with an option to purchase where you would have the option to buy the house at a pre-determined price during at a specified time during the lease. This will contractually bind the seller to sell you the property at some point in the future. Whether or not the rent you paid would be deducted from the sales price would be part of you negotiations. Again, I would strongly suggest you hire an attorney to assess the risks involved in this type of arrangement. The only sure way to protect yourself is have the seller transfer title to you in exchange for purhcase price.