Remodeling, Repairing, and the Lease Option Agreement

It is wonderful to move into a new home that is to be yours forever. The feelings of excitement, awe, and freedom seem to take over as you first open the door as a new homeowner. But what happens when these feelings fade a little and you decide that you'd like the house better if you could modify it a bit? Can you perform light remodeling or minor repairing under a Lease Option Agreement (LOA)? You just might, the answer depends upon how your specific LOA is written.

Most sellers look at the house as theirs until the time that you exercise your option to purchase the home. After all, if you do a shoddy repair and decide to leave, the seller will have to fix your mess at his own expense. While you shouldn't try and replace the bathtub without contacting your seller, minor repairs such as replacing a light switch or filling in nail holes will be tolerated in most cases.

You will typically find that while not all owners will allow you to perform repairs or remodeling yourself, they may allow you to hire a contractor to perform the work for you if it is something they would like to have done to the house. Again, they owner is stuck with whatever gets done to the house should you jump ship, so make sure you remain in communication with your seller on any improvements you plan on doing.

Depending upon your contractual agreements, you may have to convince the seller as to why you need the job performed now, instead of after you own the home outright. For instance, you want to add a fireplace to increase the value of the home. The increase in value may help you out when it comes to acquiring a loan. Whereas installing a whirlpool tub in the living room in front of the television would probably not sit favorably with the seller.

Having a good relationship with the seller of your home while under an LOA is important. Having the proper trust in place prior to any work being done will greatly enhance your chances of performing whatever work you need done. If the seller knows that you will have the project completed satisfactorily and that you aren't going to bail out on him during the middle of it, you should have no problem getting your next project started. Now if your contract says that you treat the house as if it were your own, then you can do whatever you want with it.

If you have not yet set up an LOA, but believe that you may want to do some work on the property prior to ownership then you must bring this up during contract negotiation. Even if the owner is of the type to believe that no work should be done on your behalf until you officially own the home, you may be able to work in a specific project to be completed by a specific contractor. Following your agreement during this project will greatly enhance the sellers confidence in you should another project come up later on. And having the respect of the owner will go far in allowing you to treat your new home as your very own.