Posted by eric on April 18, 2000 at 22:19:22:
huh? I’m confused. I am licensed, though inactive, and more of a dabbler than an investor. Nevertheless, I will hold myself out as being qualified to answer your question, because I am full of myself. Just kidding.
Agents are most definitely required to put deposits in escrow, if it’s someone else’s money, and they’re buying someone else’s house. But if I own the house, as an investor, then my being an agent is not relevant to that in a lease option situation, other than just disclosing the fact that I have a license.
If I don’t own the house, then it’s a sandwich lease - I am remarketing the property, but not as an agent - as an investor. My option (buyer’s side) enables me to market an equitable interest in the seller’s property - the same reason a non-licensee can market a house they don’t own, IF THEY HAVE A RECORDED OPTION CONTRACT. If the property is listed, then yes, it would be tough to do a sandwich lease, because the agent would have to take part of their commission in installments (good luck). I don’t know what Ron does, but I do know that a lot of times, investor require an option fee, for an option contract, and a security deposit, for a lease. This way, if the buyer chooses not to exercise the option, they still get some money back - making you look better in court, if they try to sue you for the option money back as well.