How rent to own works with Upswing
The whole program in one page: the two documents, the money, the 36 months, and both ways it can end.
Move in. Lock the price. Decide later.
You rent the home for 36 months at a fixed rent. A separate option agreement freezes the purchase price for the same 36 months. Rent doesn't go up. When you're ready, you buy it with any lender. If you'd rather not, you walk away, out the option fee and nothing more. In Spanish-speaking Tulsa this is dueño a dueño: you deal with the owner, not a bank, to get in the door.
The 30-second explainer, with voice
You sign a lease and an option. Never a promise to buy.
1. Residential lease (36 months)
A standard Oklahoma lease: rent, deposit, maintenance responsibilities, house rules. Rent is fixed for the full term. The term is 36 months whether you pay the option fee at signing or spread part of it over 24 months. A missed rent or option payment is a default that can end the lease and the option.
2. Option to purchase agreement
Gives you the exclusive right to buy this home at the purchase price on page one, any time in 36 months. States the option fee, how it's paid, and that it's non-refundable. Spells out how to exercise the option and what happens if you don't.
The price is the total cost. Here's what's inside it.
Every listing shows the total cost, the option fee, the purchase price and the rent. Nothing is hidden in a “credit.”
Total cost
The number on the listing. It's the option fee plus the purchase price. On 1821 W Archer St: $150,000 = $7,500 option fee + $142,500 purchase price.
Option fee
What you pay for the locked price and the right to buy. It counts toward your total. Put down as little as $2,000 at signing on most homes and pay the rest over 24 months alongside rent, or pay it all at signing. Non-refundable if you don't buy.
Rent
Fair rent for the home, comped against the market and fixed for 36 months. First month's rent is due at signing with the option fee. None of it is applied to the price.
Two-year extension
Built into every lease. If you need more than 36 months, extend for 24 more with an additional $5,000 option fee (up front or monthly). Your purchase price stays locked; only rent resets to market at that point.
Illustrative. Total cost = option fee + purchase price. First month's rent is due at signing (prorated mid-month). Your exact schedule is written in your option agreement.
Test-drive the house. Get lender-ready.
Live there
Learn the HVAC in July, the commute at 7:45am, the neighbors. Things a one-hour inspection never shows.
Pay on time
Rent and option payments on time, every month. That record is what a lender wants to see, and it's what keeps the lease alive.
Get pre-approved
Conventional, FHA, VA, ITIN, portfolio: any lender. Start early; we'll share your payment history on request.
Decide
Any time before month 36: exercise the option, or give notice and move. No penalty beyond the fee you already paid.
Buy it, or walk away
- You buy. Send written notice you're exercising the option. We open title, coordinate with your lender, and close. The seller on the deed is whoever owns the home, Upswing or an owner who listed with us, and Upswing handles the paperwork either way.
- You don't. Give the notice in your lease, move out at month's end, get your security deposit back per the lease. The option fee stays with the seller. You owe nothing else.
- You miss a payment. A missed rent or option payment is a default under the lease and the option agreement, and the option can end. We'll always talk first, but that's the rule, in writing, so nobody is surprised.
How the marketplace works
Upswing is the platform. Some homes are ours; many belong to owners who listed with us. Every one uses the same two documents and is managed by Upswing.
- You list: address, condition, asking price. We review within two business days.
- We market and screen: bilingual listing, professional photos, and we talk to every applicant before a showing.
- Everyone signs the same contract: no custom paperwork, no surprises for buyers.
- We manage: rent collection, option tracking, the tenant-buyer relationship, and the closing when the buyer exercises. The tenant-buyer handles routine maintenance under the standard lease.
- What it costs you: a flat $299 to post the home (covers marketing, screening, paperwork and the closing) and $25 a month while we manage it. No commission on the sale.
Questions people ask at this point
What if home prices drop?
You can walk away. The option is a right, not a promise. If the market falls below your locked price, you simply don't exercise it, give notice, and move out at the end of the month like any tenant. You lose the option fee and nothing else.
What if home prices rise?
Your price doesn't. Whatever the market does over 36 months, your number is the number on your option agreement.
How do I actually buy the house?
Any time during the term, once you've lined up financing (a conventional, FHA, VA, ITIN or portfolio loan, or cash), you exercise the option and close with a title company. Upswing handles the paperwork on our side and coordinates with your lender.
How do I apply, and what does it cost?
Applying is free and takes about three minutes: your name and phone, the home you like, what you can put toward the option fee at signing, and the monthly payment you're comfortable with. No documents to upload and no application fee. Doris calls or texts you back, usually the same business day, with the exact numbers on the home.
Do I need perfect credit? What about an ITIN?
You'll need to qualify for the lease like any tenant, and to buy at the end you'll need a mortgage or cash. We don't promise financing, and we'll never tell you a lease guarantees you a loan. What the 36 months give you is time to build the record a lender wants to see, while living in the house at a fixed price. ITIN holders are welcome to apply; several Tulsa lenders offer ITIN mortgages, and a clean payment history with us is exactly what they ask for.
Who owns the house while I'm renting?
The seller does. Sometimes that's us, sometimes another owner who listed with Upswing. Either way you sign the same Upswing lease and the same option agreement, and Upswing collects rent, tracks your option and handles the transaction when you buy.
See the homes
Total cost, rent and option fee are on every card.