Frequently Asked Questions

Our Lease/Option to Homeownership Program has a simple three step process for you to make one of the homes yours!

Step 1: Visit the home in person.

If you want to own your own home and are considering making one of our houses a home for you and your family, don’t you think it would be a good idea to visit the house in person? If the home is vacant, after looking at the photos, go stop by the property and walk around the outside, look through the windows, walk or drive the neighborhood and talk to neighbors! If you are going to be living in your new home for years to come, you want to make sure it is the right fit and feels like home!

PLEASE DO NOT VISIT HOMES WITH RESIDENTS STILL LIVING THERE!

Step 2: Complete the application

Go to the “Listings” tab on the website ("insert link to listings tab") and submit your application, ensuring to READ & FOLLOW ALL DIRECTIONS.

Step 3: Meet us at the home!

After we have reached out to you and notified you of your approval, you will schedule a convenient time to meet us at the home or homes you are interested in. At this meeting, you will take as much or as little time as you need to decide if this is the home for you. Once you decide on your new home, we will complete the paperwork, you will switch utilities, and you will get the lockbox code to move into your new home!

To move in, you'll need to pay the Lease Option Fee, First Month's Rent, and Security Deposit upfront and in full. Additional fees, such as pet or administrative fees, may apply depending on your situation and will be clearly disclosed before you sign the agreement.

Yes! We understand that bad credit or no credit does NOT necessarily mean you shouldn’t qualify to own your own home. We look at a variety of factors, and encourage you to complete one of our applications to get approved – It’s free!

Any potential residents who are interested in a home must fully complete an application as there are often multiple applicants interested in a home and we offer all our homes on a first come, first serve basis to approved applicants.

After we have reached out to you and notified you of your approval, you will schedule a time to meet us at the home or homes you are interested in. At this meeting, you will take as much or as little time as you need to decide if this is the home for you. Once you decide on your new home, we will complete the paperwork, you will switch utilities, and you will get the lockbox code to move into your new home!

All potential residents must meet or exceed the minimum acceptable criteria. We look at a variety of different factors including income and credit history, but we understand that a number on a piece of paper does not necessarily mean someone is or is not qualified to own their own home. For this reason, we believe that the “story” is far more important than a credit score on a piece of paper.

We do require that your gross monthly income (before taxes) be at least three times the payment amount.

Our mission at Calder is to help you achieve the American Dream of home ownership! Unlike other lease agreements or traditional lease-to-own’s, our innovative Lease/Option to Homeownership Program grants you specific responsibilities in return for the potential future opportunity of home ownership.

Each home requires a minimum option fee of $4,900 and a monthly payment amount that varies based on the particular home you select. This $4,900 fee (or more) that you pay gives you the exclusive option (not obligation) to go to the financial institution of your choosing at any time within the next 10 years and obtain permanent financing on your new home. Until this point, you have a year-to-year lease that is very similar to a standard rental lease, with the exception that all responsibilities of the home are yours during this time.

Our residents tell us they love that they can treat the home as their own and make upgrades to their home at any time within the 10 years, and are happy to take on take on full responsibility for the home for this.

We want to set people up for success, and we have found the best way to do so is to make the process as similar to traditional home ownership as possible from day 1!

All our homes are on a “first-come, first-serve” basis for the first approved applicant(s) that have the full move-in amount and decide they want the home. We are unable to hold any of our homes until you are approved, have the full move in amount, and complete the paperwork.s. Our Homes are filled on a first come, first serve basis. We require the FULL move in amount upfront.

Yes, all our homes are conveyed in clean, livable, as-is condition. Some people may choose to make minor cosmetic updates or changes to the homes, but it all depends on your preferences!

Any utility bills are ultimately your responsibility. Lienable bills like water or sewage may be kept in our name to ensure their prompt payment, and in those instances the bills will be uploaded to your account for you to reimburse us.

We do have any properties to rent, in addition to homes for people who want to own their own home. If you are just looking to rent a property for a year or two, we have alternative options.

The most common forms of documentation people provide for income verification are:

• The 3 most recent pay stubs
• The 2 most recent bank statements
• A tax return from within the last 2 years

Additionally, under rare but certain circumstances we can accept letters of employment, investment or cryptocurrency account statements, and other documents showing proof of income or assets.

We want the residents to care for the home as if it were their own, because we hope that down the road they will own it. Thus, all minor repairs and fixes will be the responsibility of the resident.

If there are any damages that are too severe, please let us know and we may have a contractor that we can recommend.

No, there are no refunds for any reason whatsoever.