Questions and answers
How buying this way works.
Most people who buy a home this way have been turned down by a bank at least once. That is what this is for. Here is exactly how it works, including the parts that are not in your favour.
You buy the home directly from the person who owns it, and you pay them over time instead of borrowing from a bank.
Landén Haus markets these homes on behalf of the people who own them. We are not the seller, we are not a bank, and we are not a property manager. The terms of any agreement are between you and the seller — we will tell you what we know about a home, put you in front of it, and hand you to the paperwork honestly. More about how we work.
Common questions
Answers, in plain language.
It is a sale where the owner lets you pay them over time instead of you borrowing from a bank. You move in and make monthly payments to the seller. Until the contract is satisfied the seller holds legal title and you hold what is called equitable title — a real ownership interest, but not the deed itself. When you have met the terms, the deed transfers into your name and the home is yours outright. It is not a lease: you are buying, on a payment plan, from the person who owns the home.
Not to tour a home. We ask how ready your down payment is so we can point you at homes that fit, and there is no credit pull for that. What happens at contract stage is the seller's decision, not ours, and it varies from seller to seller — some ask for nothing, some ask for a look at your income. We will tell you what a particular seller expects before you spend money, and we will not promise you there are never any checks, because that is not ours to promise.
It is set per home by the person selling it, and it is printed on the listing along with the monthly payment. If a listing does not show a figure, it means we have not been given one yet — we leave it blank rather than estimating, because you would plan around an estimate. Ask us and we will find out.
You get a text. It carries a private link where you photograph the front of your ID with your phone — it uploads straight into restricted storage that only our team can open, and it never sits in a text thread. Once that clears, we text you the door code, the tour terms, and what we know about the home's condition. Then you go and look at the house. The whole path is designed so you are never waiting on someone to get back to you.
Yes, and you should. Every home on this site is available for a self-tour: you get the code and you walk through it on your own schedule, with nobody standing behind you. Take somebody with you. Go back a second time if you want. Nothing is owed for touring a home and there is no payment at that stage.
They are sold as-is — whatever condition a home is in when you tour it is the condition you are buying, and nobody is fixing the roof or the furnace before you move in unless that is written into your contract. Our condition notes are what we were told and what we observed; they are not a survey and they are not a guarantee. Verify it yourself before you commit. Bring someone who knows houses, get an inspection, walk it with a contractor — especially on a contractor special. And read the deposit disclosure below this section before you pay anyone anything: deposits on these sales are non-refundable.
Renting buys you the use of a house for a month at a time; you build nothing and you leave with nothing. Rent-to-own generally means you rent first and get an option to buy later, so you do not own anything until you exercise that option — and if you never do, the extra you paid usually stays with the landlord. A contract for deed is a purchase from day one: you hold an ownership interest under the contract immediately, your payments go toward owning, the upkeep and the improvements are yours, and the deed transfers when the contract is satisfied. That last part cuts both ways — the responsibility arrives on day one too.
About the deposit — read this before you pay anyone
When you decide to move forward on a home, the seller will ask for a deposit. Two things about it that you should know before you hand over any money:
The home is sold as-is. Whatever condition it is in when you tour it is the condition you are buying. Nobody is going to fix the roof, the furnace, or the kitchen before you move in unless it is written into your contract. Bring someone who knows houses, and read the condition notes on the listing.
The deposit is non-refundable. If you change your mind after paying it, you do not get it back. If you are not certain, do not pay it yet — take another day, tour it again, ask us more questions.
We do not collect payments on this website, and we never will. Anyone asking you to enter card or bank details on a Landén Haus page is not us.
After you commit
The seller’s paperwork is prepared and you sign a contract for deed. In some states this is notarised, and remote notarisation is often available so you do not have to take a day off work.
Read the contract. Take it away and read it again. If you want a lawyer to look at it, that is a reasonable thing to want, and a seller who objects to it is telling you something.
Ask what happens if you miss a payment, and make sure the answer is written into the contract rather than promised out loud. It varies by state and by seller, and it is the single most important term in the document.
Ready to look at a home?
Pick one you like and request a self-tour. There is no obligation and no payment at this stage.