Rent to own helpppp!

Samantha, you being 18 is no reason not to buy. However, do you know what your future will bring? Will you remain in that area for over a decade? Will your job make you move elsewhere in time? Will you change jobs? Those answers are important in making this decision.

You should talk to a bank or credit union near you. Ask them how to establish credit. There are good ways to go about this. Buying rent to own is NOT one of the best options. There are many problems that can come from that method.

Buying a house is both expensive and limiting. Once you own the house you become responsible for everything that goes wrong with it. If the roof leaks, the furnace dies, or the plumbing breaks you must be able to afford to repair or replace it. Then if you want to move somewhere else there are very large costs involved with selling a house. Some say it costs about 10% of the sales price to sell.

You do need to save money for a down payment. This shows how.
"How do I get a down payment to buy a house? The ideas below worked well for me. They could help you also."

Take a look at this. It shows how to decide if renting or buying is best financially for you. Use your numbers to see which way wins.
"Does it make more sense to buy, or to rent? Here is the way to find out for sure."

This shows some very good reasons why renting can be a better choice. It is a very different way to look at this than you will normally find.
"Why rent if you could buy for less money? Valid reasons inside."

This is old. The buyers credit of $8,000 is now gone. As predicted house prices are still falling. The other reasons are still valid.
"10 valid reasons to wait to buy a house."

This shows what the housing bubble looked like. Take a look to see what is going on.
Do you know what the housing bubble really looks like? ... - Zillow Real Estate Advice

Many believe that house prices will fall further.
Peter Schiff: Here's Why Home Prices Have To Decline At Least 20% And Probably More

The Fallacy of a Pain-Free Path to a Healthy Housing Market - Economic Letter, December 2010 - FRB Dallas <-- the federal reserve. They print the money

Is it worth buying a house to live in forever? Yes it is. Just be aware of how the market is doing and what it costs to buy, live in, and sell a house. Once you know all of that and are able to buy you can make a better decision.

I expect it will be at least 2 more years before house prices stop dropping. It could even be longer.

Take a look at this to find out area trends.
http://www.zillow.com/local-info/WI-Town-of-Janesville/r_398123/

Knowing what is going on in your market can show you if it is a good time to buy or if waiting makes more sense. If you divide the sales last month by the total number of houses you can find months of inventory. 6 is considered a balanced market. Less months will see prices go up, higher months will see prices drop.

There are some features you need to know about "rent to own".

1.  A down payment is required, this is non-refundable under most contracts.   Often it is about 10% of the hosue price.

2.  The only amount that goes towards ownership is the amount above and beyond fair market rent.  This is also non-refundable.

3.  The purchase price is established when the contract is signed, so if housing prices drop (likely), it is very likely that the house will not appraise at a value where you can get a mortgage.

Rent to own is very very rarely a good choice for a buyer.   Why not spend a couple of years building up your credit and taking a step by step approach to being ready for home ownership.