I know these amounts can vary and are up to the seller, but there must be a traditional percentage (or amount) used in my area to follow. I have a condo in the L.A. area that typically rents from 00-2500. It’s listed at 9k. What do you recommend the deposit (option money) to be and how much additional should the rent be? Also, in addition to the option money deposit, what are reasonable rental deposits? First and last months rent? Cleaning fee? Key deposit?
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Lease options to purchase generally work like this:
Someone wants to purchase the property at your asking price but is unable to. You and they feel that possibly they will be able to make the purchase within 12 months. You give them a 12 month lease option to purchase at a certain price. If the period ends and they have not purchased, they may renew, but the price is once again negotiable.
Reasonable rental deposits are always 1 and 1/2 months security plus 1 months rent. For the lease option generally, the tenant will give a certain percentage of the purchase price. This range is anywhere from 2% – 20%. This money is held by you until they are able to buy or the lease option expires. If they are able to purchase, this deposit is transferred to the down payment for the purchase. Normally if you take the lease option down payment, you do not receive security because the down payment is almost always more than any security you can legally collect. Cleaning fee and key deposit are pointless. They are small compared to the money you will take as a down payment. Do yourself a favor and get at least 1% down and the first month up front for rent. Hope all that helps.
-Ed