Well, it's really pretty simple. It really comes down to only four steps!

Step 1: We just need to you to fill out the online submission form, so we have a little bit of info; name, email, phone, and some of the other things that it asks you.

Step 2: We're going to do a 10-20 minute phone call, and it's best if we can schedule it. We have a very handy calendar that you can choose the day and time, but we want to do a quick 10-20 minute phone call with you. We want to verify some of that information, and we have some questions for you. We're sure you have some questions for us as well! We'll talk about the various options, and what makes the most sense for you and your particular situation.

Step 3: If we're a fit for you and you're a fit for us, we would love to then meet with you face-to-face or via Zoom if possible. If not, we could definitely do a phone call. We like to meet with our folks when possible, and then from there, we're going to gather your income, asset and credit documentation. This is your "New Home Checklist". But don't worry, we are not a bank, so we're not looking for all the same thing a bank does. We're not looking for perfect credit. We're not looking for perfect job history. All of the things that you might have going on in your life right now is typically OK with us. But we just do need to verify and make sure we're putting you into the right home at the right payments and the right affordability where it's a great fit for you!

Step 4: After we review that information, we will let you know if you are "Approved" and what the terms look like. This whole process folks can take literally as fast as two to three days IF ALL the requirements are fulfilled and you're available to meet with us. So, it's really up to you , you're in the driver's seat on this. But you won't know unless we go through all the details of the program, and we make sure we're fit for each other.We look forward to hearing from you soon! Please set up a time with us and our team, and we will talk to you soon about your new home!

The great thing about the process is it's really in your control!

As quickly as we can meet with you either over the phone, or Zoom, or in person and get all of the answers to the questions that we need about you and your situation, we can then tell you to be a great fit for our program. And from that point, typically within two to three business days, we can tell you that you're pre-approved with us and ready to go looking at properties or we might even be able to ready to put an offer in on a property that you want right now!

The whole process can take anywhere as little as 5 to maybe 10 business days on the fast side, and as long as four to six weeks on the longer side. Most of this really depends on how quickly we can reach you and we can go through the information, and how fast you can get to us the information that we need to review for your file. That's it! So, schedule your Intro Call with us today and let's get you in your new home!

Anybody who wants to get a home right now and either doesn't have all of the money in cash, which is most people, or someone who can't go to a bank and get a mortgage right now. We're looking for someone who does have some money to put down on their new home and can afford normal monthly payments.

Now there's a lot of types of people that we've worked with in the past. Many are business owners. Either new business owners that just started a business in the last year or two, or even experienced business owners who've maybe had their business for years, but might "write off" a lot of expenses and they don't look like they make a lot of money according to the bank and on their taxes.

Some folks who just don't have great credit yet. We have a lot of clients that will come to us that don't have any credit at all. Another group of folks that we work with quite a bit are folks going through a divorce or perhaps who have just gone through a divorce, because that can be very challenging and very tough time as their lives and finances can definitely get effected by that. Folks who have maybe multiple part-time jobs or new jobs are also people we work with. All these are different reasons that you might want to work with us, or these are people that would be a good fit for our program and helping them get into a home of their own.

We're looking for people who are responsive, willing to take action and meet with us, get us some of the information needed to Approve your file, and will be honest and truthful. No worries! We've seen all sorts of situations and helped many people who didn't think homeownership was an option for them!

Essentially, if you want to get into a home and you can't get a mortgage right now, and you're sick of renting, we're a great fit for you. We'd love to see how we can help!

It's okay if we're not a fit for each other. It's all good. But someone who is not a good fit for us is somebody who isn't honest, someone who's not telling us everything, or someone who's trying to hide stuff from us. Someone who maybe can't verify things or not willing to provide verification. We have to take a look at certain things such as your credit reports, income and asset docs. Again, It doesn't matter how good it is or bad it is, but we have to see it still to make sure you can afford the payments on your new home.

Or, Someone who has maybe unrealistic expectations. We're helping you get into a home. This process involves a lot of people and a lot of moving parts. This is not a good fit for someone who is looking for really inexpensive rent. It pains us to have to say that but unfortunately, we're not a good solution for folks who are looking for super cheap housing or have no money now to put towards their new home. Unfortunately, in America right now, the cost of housing is a big issue. Sadly, it's not something we can help with.

Our ideal clients are people who don't "tick all of the boxes" for the banks, but they can afford a monthly payment that's kind of the average rent or higher in that area. Another person who might not be a good fit for us is somebody who really just isn't willing to cooperate. If you're not willing to answer our calls, get back to us, provide us with the information we need. We have a lot of people that are reaching out to us every day and we do not have time to chase people.

So, if that's you, we wish you the best of luck with whatever options you have. But, if you are ready to talk with us, you're ready to work together, you're ready to take some action and get going and getting into a home of your own- we would love to work with you!

NO! You do not need good credit for this. That is one of the beauties of a program like ours. With our programs, you do not need great credit or even good credit to qualify for our program.

The more important thing is that we have basically a roadmap to get you from when the banks won't say 'Yes' and give you a mortgage to when they will give you a loan. So, we do want to see your credit (even if it's bad or there's no credit at all) and we have to of course see what you have as far as liabilities and debts, and your income the way a bank does, but your credit score itself does not matter.

We do not have a minimum score and you do not need to have good credit to work with us and our program.

We're not actually giving you money to go buy a home. With our program, we (The Whalley Group or one of our many Investor Partners) are actually purchasing the property, for you, on your behalf. Then you are purchasing the property from us. We're either doing a lease-to-own or a contract-for-deed depending on lots of different variables in the situation. But either way we're buying the property and then you're agreeing to purchase that property from us in the future at a predetermined date and price.

You'll be putting some money down up front and that will go towards your purchase of the home, and part of your payment every month is going towards your house, not out the window like rent does!So again, we're not giving you money for the house. We're actually buying the house that you want that you're not able to get and then you are buying it from us on a Contract for Deed or Leasing to Own it.

We'll help you, along with your Loan Officer or any other advisors you have, to create a "Mortgage Roadmap" to be able to pay off the Investor/Seller of the home in the next 1-5 years or as soon as you're able to!

We are a great bridge to home ownership! You get the home you want now instead of someone else getting it. You don't have to move multiple times. You can make it "your own" while living in it. And it's NOT like renting where all your money goes out the window on someone else's property!

Even though we're not a bank and we're not giving you money to get your home, we still need to see a lot of the same information that a bank is going to ask. Because we're a bridge to home ownership and we want to make sure that during your lease-to-own or contract period with us, which is typically anywhere from a year to maybe five years at the most, you're doing all the things you need to do to get mortgage-ready.

Then you can go to a bank and get that kind of normal traditional 30-year fixed mortgage and pay us off. There may be a number of things that you might need to work on and it's important to know that you can afford the house no problem. We don't want to put you in a tricky situation or put you into a spot where the payments aren't comfortable. We need to make sure we're doing everything possible that you'll have the best chance of success and getting future financing down the road.

The other part of this is for our Investor Partners to fully assess the risk. We are ONLY buying this property that you are picking out because you intend on purchasing or refinancing with us to fully own it and get a bank loan in the near future. We fully understand everyone's situation may have some negative aspects to it but we just need to fully understand the hows and whys and make sure we're setting you up for success!

The very cool and unique thing about our program is we actually let you choose whatever home you like that's on the market! You get to look at any home that is on the market or off-market. You get to choose your home. We don't make you choose from a list of like five or ten houses that some other companies make you do.

Obviously, we do want to make sure that the home is safe, liveable and in great condition for you to move into, so we do ultimately have the say in purchasing the property. But we work with lots of different situations and lots of different properties and are super flexible so you can choose whatever home you like most of the time!

So, if you have a home in mind right now, let us know about it. And if you don't we are ready to get out and start showing you potential places as soon as you've gone through our 4-Step Process!

YES, every single month a portion of your payment will be credited towards your new home. Unlike rent where when you rent literally every penny you pay every single month kind of goes out the window or to your landlord's pocket!

With a lease-to-own or a contract-for-deed, you will have a part of your payment every single month going towards your new home as long as you fulfill all the terms of your agreement.

It's way, way better than renting all day long!

A lot of folks think that with a lease-to-own or contract-for-deed, you don't really need any money down. And unfortunately, that is not true. You see, we're actually going out and purchasing a home for you when a bank won't give you the money. So, there's a little bit of risk involved of course for that and we need to have a little bit of "skin in the game" from you.

So, for our main program we want to see at least 10% of the purchase price as a down payment upfront. All of that does go towards your home as long as you purchase the home or refinance the home on time and follow all the terms and conditions of your agreement.

Now, if you don't have 10% down, don't worry, we do have a couple of other options that might be able to still allow you to get into a new home today that you can purchase own the road with us. That starts at just two months' rent.

So, we will say typically three to four thousand dollars bare minimum that you're going to need to have if you want to get into a home quickly. But if you want the most benefits then our main program is the program to shoot for and it starts at 10% down and up.

*It IS important to know, you will typically get a lower monthly payment and a better overall purchase price when you put more down. So, if you want the best payment and price on your home, 15%-20 down or more will help you get there!

YES! Your down payment or option fee is credited to the purchase price of your home as long as you purchase the property or refinance the property on time before the deadline and follow all the terms and conditions of your deal. That's a great thing because you don't have to sit and save up money a second time and wait to save more down the road. You've already taken care of it right up front so you don't have to worry about it anymore.

Depending on how and when the home appraises in the future and depending on additional closing costs, you may need to save a little bit during your rent-to-own or contract-for-deed period to cover those costs or any difference in equity balance vs. agreed upon price.

But again, no sweat! All the money you're putting down up front as long as you decide to exercise your option to purchase it or refinance that contract-for-deed does go towards your new property.

Depending on which program you go with the money that you put down up front (sometimes called your down payment on a contract-for-deed and option fee on a lease-to-own), it may or may not be refundable. It is always credited towards the purchase of your home as long as you purchase the home on time by the deadline and you follow all the terms and conditions.

You don't have to sit and save up money again, but if you choose to walk away from the home or you don't purchase it, and we did our best and all efforts to work with you as much as possible, but you just aren't going to purchase the property, it may not be refundable. It's important to definitely discuss with us which options we're looking at, which program is best for you, and which options you have with us. And of course, you're always advised to speak with your Realtor or an attorney and go through all of this with them and our group and our team as well. We want to make sure that everything is 100% crystal clear and transparent in the process.

ALL terms and agreements are discussed, agreed upon in writing and fully reviewed and "ok'd" by all parties upfront so you have all questions answered and are 100% aware of the details.

One of the benefits of working with the group like us is we have multiple solutions for your real estate challenges right now. So, the answer to this question is, it depends on the type of arrangement that you have with us and what type of program you chose to do with us.

You're always free to discuss this 100% with anyone that's working with you or with an attorney. We want to make sure that everything is crystal clear and you have no questions or concerns at all when choosing to move forward with our team to help you get your new home.

If you just want to "kick the tires" and are not sure about whether this is truly a home you want to purchase/keep, then our another of our programs might be a better fit for you!

In most situations, we have a set period of time when you move into the home and then you're working on getting mortgage ready. And while you're working on getting more good credit, whether that's a year, two years, three years, maybe five years, there is a deadline. When that deadline comes, it is the goal that you'll be purchasing or refinancing depending on the program that you chose before the deadline is up. If you absolutely cannot get it done by the deadline, then that is up for discussion at that time with your seller.

We have been doing this for over a decade and have helped hundreds of clients get home ownership. And so we've seen a lot of different situations and just you know that we absolutely want to work with everyone as much as possible, but this is definitely a two-way street, and we need you to be taking care of the home and your end of the bargain as well. We want to do our best to always make it work and but there are timelines and deadlines involved in the process as well, so its super important to take the necessary steps in getting mortgage-ready while you're in the transition period.

With our programs, we have multiple solutions for your real estate needs. We offer BOTH Lease-to-Own and a Contract-for-Deed.

Lease-to-Own, sometimes known as Lease Purchase, or Rent to Own, is a very common option a lot of folks have heard of.

Contract for Deed, aka Land Contract or Agreement for Deed, is also something we do a lot of.

Now, not everyone's an expert on these types of transactions. But this is what we do. That's our background and our expertise. This is all we do frankly so you're working with the right people! Be wary of people who have little to no experience with these types of deals. Most agents and investors do cookie-cutter real estate and/or have no mortgage background. Not us though... that's our expertise!

With Lease-to-Own or a Contract-for-Deed, you're really getting much of the same benefits:

1. You're getting to pick out the home that you want to get today that you can't get unless you can go to a bank and get a mortgage or you have the cash to buy it. We're gonna help you get that today still!

2. The price is agreed upon up front. We are buying it at "today's price" and you are agreeing to buy it at "tomorrow's price", since really, it's not fully your home until a future date.

3. There's a Down Payment or Option Fee required upfront. That "down payment" on a contract-for-deed is part of your money down. On lease-to-own, it's called an "option fee", and you're paying for the right and the privilege to be able to buy the house down the road if you want to.

4. Part of your money every single month is gonna go towards your new home.But, there's certainly more to it than this and some pro's and con's too for each one.

Way too much for one little FAQ spot like this.

Watch the video below for more info and it's best to meet with our team to help determine which options you have and we can explain all the differences in person or over the phone or zoom. And of course, we always recommend speaking with a knowledgable and experienced real estate agent or attorney as well if not us.

YES! If you have a house in mind right now, just let our team know what the address is and we can start doing some research on it and running numbers on it for you right away.

We prefer homes between $200,000 and $500,000 but there are case-by-case situations when we may go outside of these parameters.Just let us know and we want to work with you however we can!

Between our three different programs we are able to purchase properties all over Georgia and even throughout the nation. But it does depend upon certain variables. We like to be usually within around 90 minutes of the Savannah area, but that's not to say we won't go outside of that.

We may require a larger down payment though or we may be a little bit pickier on the condition of the property. But the beautiful thing with our system is we have a lot of different options to help people get different properties in a lot of different areas.

YES! At The Whalley Group, we're not just looking to just help more people get home ownership. We're looking to help investors get more investment properties as well!

We've had a lot of investors come to us and say they are just a little short of qualifying right now. Perhaps their credit scores are a little too low or they don't have all of the money down that the bankers require (typically 20%-30% down). Or perhaps a new job or a new business. Maybe they write off too much on their taxes or a whole lot of different reasons. Perhaps the property itself is not great shape or condition.

The cool thing is through our programs and partners, we want to help you grow your investing business or get started through our program even if you can't go get regular bank financing right now.The best thing is once you've worked with us one time, you know how simple and easy and transparent the process is and we can help you get even more properties through our program with less money down!

We've helped investors go from "renting" to "investor in a duplex", buy short term rentals or even a 14-unit apartment building!

YES, this is a great option for you! If you have a new business, or if you're just a business owner who takes advantages of a lot of the write-offs that you can and you don't look great on paper, then, yes, it's a great fit for our program. Absolutely!

Part of the review process is verifying that you have income, verifying your credit scores and your debts. It doesn't matter what your credit score is, but we do need to verify income and the rest of the information. And if we can't verify your income and we can't prove that you have the ability to pay each month then, unfortunately, this might not be a fit for you.

But hopefully, if there's some alternative ways that we can show the income that you have coming in, and how you're making payments, and how you can afford to comfortably live and have no problems making your monthly housing payment, then let's try to make it happen!

When we say bad credit, sometimes people think one number, sometimes they think a different number. But don't worry, we've seen it all. So to us, what's really more important is the story and the situation: what led to where you're at now and how do we fix it? And how long is it going to take and what steps will it take to fix it? That's really what we're more concerned with. So don't sweat your credit or your credit score!

Talk to us and let's see if this is still a fit regardless of whatever numbers that you're looking at. It's just temporary anyways, and it will change.

Through our program, you're not actually getting a loan or a mortgage. We're not giving you money. We are going out and actually purchasing the home for you today at today's price, and then you're agreeing to buy that home from us in the future at the future price.

There's a number of variables that go into this but at the end of the day, it's a super fair and transparent process based upon the overall risk of the situation.

We've had dozens and dozens of our clients that have walked away with thousands of dollars or even tens of thousands of dollars of equity upon purchasing or refinancing their home with us. Of course, we can never make any guarantees of that. We can't predict the future and we don't know what's going to happen, but ultimately, our goal is to set everyone up to win and succeed!

We look forward to chatting with you more about it and explaining how everything works and if you got a property mind, we could tell you right now!

Your monthly payments are based upon few different factors, such as the purchase price of the home, how much money you're putting down up front, and how long of a term it is that you're in the agreement for. We're also taking a look at the property; how much work does it need, is there additional risk factors, and things of that nature.

Of course, it all starts with your budget. We're really making sure that we're only looking at properties that fit your budget and based on what you tell us what you're comfortable with, and also what our team review is. We want to make sure that you're going to be able to afford that in the future when you go to get financing and when you go to get a mortgage. Whether it's just a year from now or three years from now, we want to have a very good idea that you're able to qualify based on those payments.

But before we're signing any paperwork and committing to buying anything, we want to make sure that we are all on the same page regarding what the payments will be, the payment range, and everyone agreeing to any of that.

There is no need to be embarrassed about your situation at all. We can tell you we seen everything. Between our team and our partners, we've been doing this for over a dozen years and have helped hundreds of clients get into a home!

Don't be embarrassed. The more you can tell us, the more honesty that you can provide, the better it is for everybody. We're here to help!

Our team has over combined 30 years experience with and have helped hundreds of clients get into the home they wanted and didn't think they could get. They are able to get it a without having to move multiple times or waste money on rent. We have three decades of combined real estate and mortgage and credit background and experience.

Most folks who have heard of or experienced horror stories of rent-to-own and owner financing, usually is because they worked with somebody who didn't know what they were doing. Maybe they weren't licensed professionals or maybe they didn't have the necessary experience. This is our specialty, and our team and our partners have been doing it for decades. We've helped a ton of people, and we look forward to helping you with your situation.

Taxes and insurance work differently depending on which program you're on. If you're on a lease-to-own program with us, you don't need to worry about paying property taxes at all, until you purchase the home, and you don't need to worry about an expensive insurance policy. All you need to worry about is an internal coverage policy.

If you're working with us on our main tenant-buyer program, and you're doing a contract-for-deed where you're buying the home on an installment sale, then you will be paying the taxes and homeowners insurance policy yourself or directly to the investor who's buying the home on your behalf and selling it to you.

This is all something we will discuss during the process and before we close. You'll know before you sign anything about how property taxes and homeowners' insurance are getting handled.

With our programs, we give you the option of being able to improve and update the properties. We've had many clients get into a home and update it and improve it make it how they want it. Here's the cool thing - you don't have to wait two or three years before you get to do it. You get to do it as soon as you move into the property.

We will tell you what you're able to do with the property and we're pretty flexible as long as it's an improvement that adds value to the home. With our programs at The Whalley Group, you're actually able to start improving and making your home better, while you're in the lease-to-own or owner financing period.

In addition to the money that you have to put down upfront, you may have some closing costs associated with the home. It depends on which program of ours you go with.

Through our main program, if you're doing a contract-for-deed, aka, land contract or agreement for deed, you're going to be closing with an attorney and there's going to be some closing costs. Those closing costs might be recording fees, title insurance or the attorney's fees that they're charging you. That's how they make money. They're doing a lot of paperwork and research behind the scenes. But here's the cool thing, instead of going through the bank right and paying all those plus the extra bank fees, which can really add up and can get really expensive, it's typically much less to do it this way now.

You may also choose to purchase a home inspection. These are not mandatory but highly suggested. They typically run $500-$900 depending on the company and scope of the work.

If you're doing a lease-to-own with us, then you're simply putting down your option fee upfront, but no other fees or closing costs. You will be paying a prorated rent amount based upon when in the month you move in. So, if you move in halfway through the month, you're going to pay half a month of rent, but you're not paying any other fees.

It really just depends on which program you go with. We'll walk you through all of this up front, and make sure that we're going with the best options that make the most sense moving forward.

How long you have to buy the property (on a lease-to-own) or refinance the property (on a contract-for-deed) really depends upon you and your specific situation. Because you're not just another number and we don't want to put you in a box, like the way most of the banks do, we tailor our programs and our solutions to you, the client.

If you only need a year to be able to go back to the banks at that point and get financing, we want to give you extra time, so we're probably going to give you two years. If we think you need two years, we're going to give you three years. We always want to give you extra cushion and time. Most of the time, our clients need anywhere from 1-5 years to be "bank ready" to pay us off but the average is 2-3 years.

As always, you can talk with your full advisory council: your lender that you have, or an attorney to make sure that you feel great about all of this before we move forward with the process, and before you sign anything and move in.

YES, one of the big advantages of working with our team is we are local! You can meet with our Realtor, drop off documents, or we can come to you as well! We love to meet with our clients face-to-face and honestly, we typically find that the smoothest and best transactions are when we meet people in person because it's just friendlier and more relaxed.

But no worries, if you're very busy or maybe the hours that you work just are not conducive to meeting with us face-to-face, you certainly don't have to! We can do things via video chat or Google Meet! We love to do virtual, or good ol' fashioned telephone works as well!

If you work odd hours or your schedule just is not conducive for talking or meeting during the daytime, no worries! We gotcha! We're happy to do things virtually, and we have a lot of different ways that we can work with you. We can work with you electronically, or virtually and you don't have to worry about coming to the office if it's not a fit for you.

The most important thing is to schedule your intro meeting with our team asap and then work on your "New Home Checklist" so we can get you officially "pre-approved" with our team and get you out looking at houses right away!

The reason for that is we're sort of doing almost all of the work a bank does, PLUS more. The reason for that is because a bank is telling you "No" and to come back later and they can't help you right now. We're doing that amount of work, because we're taking a look at the situation and see what we need to do to go from a "no" to a "yes", or what do we need to fix in the next year or two or three, so we can go back to those banks, and they can say you're ready to go get your financing... that you're all set!

It's very important that we're doing everything we can upfront to make sure that you've got no issues affording the property and making payments on time every month. It's crucial to us and you that we're not putting you in a bad spot and we're giving you the best chance of success in getting a loan in the future.

All of that really just means we need to know a lot of stuff up front. We need to know your income, and we need to know your debts. We need to know money going out, money coming in, and make sure that everything is being looked at the way that the professionals look at it, and that this is a good fit for you. That's why we have to go see a lot of that information upfront, and we do a lot of due diligence and work to make sure we're really putting you in a great situation and doing the best we can for you. We're here to help you both now and as well as in the future.

Our team is comprised of licensed real estate agents and mortgage professionals, who understand credit, guidelines, underwriting, the rules and affordability, and how to get you "bank ready" in the future. We are also real estate investors. Our team is filled with these unique and various roles to serve you better.... not just someone who's got some money who's out buying houses.

We are licensed professionals, licensed real estate agents, loan officers, and investors. So, our team has every angle of this whole business covered, and tons of experience to help you get the right place on the right terms.