An option contract is an agreement that lets you pay for the right to buy certain property in the future. Buying an option does not require you to buy the property. But if you later choose to, you can follow the steps in your option contract to require the owner to sell you the property.
An option agreement often serves two main purposes:
You don’t have to exercise the option, but, if you don’t, you will ordinarily lose what you paid to buy the option.
| Example: If the property value goes below the price that is locked in, the option holder/buyer may choose not to exercise the option. If the property value is more than the price that is locked in, and the buyer can afford to do so, the buyer is likely to exercise the option. |
To decide whether to buy an option, it is important to know:
Potential tenants can obtain copies of a proposed lease. Maryland law requires landlords to provide a copy of a proposed lease if a potential tenant requests it in writing. This applies for any lease containing an option. Though the landlord does not have to provide the amount of rent they plan to charge, having a proposed lease may help you understand the terms of an option the landlord has offered currently or in the past.
Buying an option is risky and can be expensive. Options are most often used by commercial buyers in large real estate deals. A landlord renting residential property may charge you several thousand dollars for the option to buy the property in the future. The option contract may be part of the lease, or may be in a separate document.
If you are not able to borrow enough money to buy the property before the option expires, you generally lose the money you paid for the option. Lenders will deny a loan if they do not think you will be able to make mortgage payments over time. They might also deny a loan if they appraise the property and believe it is worth less than the purchase price set by the option.
You can lose the option to buy. Lease option agreements often provide that the slightest failure to follow the lease makes the option void.
The owner may agree, in the option contract or later, to let you pay the purchase price directly to the owner over time. That means you don’t have to get a separate loan. This can be helpful, but it can be risky too. Without a separate lender, there may be no one to make an informed, realistic assessment of the value of the property, or of your ability to make the ongoing payments. You may end up paying more than the property is worth, paying higher than normal interest, or paying more of your income than you can sustain.
Sometimes, after making an option agreement, tenants aren’t sure whether they are buying or renting the property, and landlords may demand that tenants make all repairs and pay taxes. A tenant who has not exercised an option is a tenant, not a buyer. Generally, unless the tenant exercises the option, the landlord must make repairs and pay taxes. Read the terms of the lease agreement carefully.
Md. Code, Real Property § 8-202 specifically addresses option agreements between residential landlords and tenants. It defines a lease option agreement as any clause in a lease agreement or separate document that gives the tenant some power, either qualified or unqualified, to purchase the landlord’s interest in the property.
A lease option agreement must include each of the following statements:
If the option agreement does not contain any one of the required statements above, the party that did not draft the agreement (often, the tenant) may declare the lease, or the option, or both, to be void.