Not only am I a new investor but I am also at about that time to start looking at my own first home. Has anyone any experience with using a lease option to live in yourself and then eventually positioning the asset more as an investment property a few years down the road?
I think a lease option is a great way to get into a home as long as you can get your credit clean enough to be able to purchase it before the option expires. I would suggest working with a mortgage person to help you get on track to be able to purchase it.
The other thing is that you want it to be a good deal. Make sure you negotiate option fee, rent credit and option price.
Leasing with an option can be a great way to secure a home for yourself. The key, of course, are the terms. Time is golden, so a priority must be the length of lease. Shoot for 36 months or more. Eschew rent credits in favor of a negotiated price for the term.
And if you end up not wanting to live there, if the property has appreciated you are the beneficiary. Turn around and sell the property and profit on the closing.
One other thing, cherry pick for price with a somewhat motivated seller. The ads you see for lease options are mostly placed by investors, meaning they are making the profit, and you would be paying retail.
Seek out your own deal. You might as well start off in a profit mode.