After a Divorce and Bankruptcy, I was looking for a method to buy a home with the market being low. I was told that doing a Rent to Own would be a great option to fix my credit, build a downpayment, and get the home I wanted.
I researched OwnerWiz and thought they looked legit. When I first visited their website it showed that they were registered with the Better Business Bureau which I mistakenly did not further investigate. First visit to the website redirected me to check my Credit Score for $1.00 which I did, but then promptly cancelled the service. The advertised that good or bad credit did not matter they would work with you to find a home and correct your credit issues.
When I spoke to OwnerWiz and signed up I was told I needed to pay $110.00 to join the program, which I did. I was told that I would need a downpayment of at least $2500 which I did not have to give them but did have to provide proof of funds. Once signed up I was asked how much a month I wished to pay and how much down payment I had. I told them I had $2500 and that I was looking to pay between $800 and $900 a month. At this point OwnerWiz told me to only look for homes that cost between $50,000 and $110,000 to stay in that monthly range. They provided me access to ListingsWiz.com and said I could also submit addresses of homes I was interested in via e-mail. I was told that I would need to find 10 - 15 homes I was interested in, then visit the homes and get that list shrunk to 3 - 5 homes I would want. They then said once that was done, they would have the investor get one of the homes. So this is what I was told and what I did. I started this process in late May so I could move by Sept.
Once I provided a list of homes and proof of the $2500, OwnerWiz then asked me to sign and notarize a document that stated I would pay $110 quarterly for the duration of the lease I signed and that until this was submitted to them, they could not connect me with one of the agents or investors they had in my area ready to work with me. The letter also stated that if I left their program before the end of the lease I would have to pay them $250 early termination charge. I submitted the letter and then was contacted by Brittany who said she was my agent and that she was working to find me an investor that the process would take 2 - 4 weeks. So I waited. After 2 weeks, I was told that she found someone and was waiting on paperwork to be sent back to her to get things moving. This was early July. After another 2 or 3 weeks, I was called by LaTanya who said she was my agent and that she was looking for an agent or investor for me and that it would take 2 - 4 weeks to complete, this was now mid to late July. LaTanya said she was not aware of the previous agent and my account had no notes saying an investor or agent was found. So the search started again, which took 4 weeks and in early to mid Aug they connected me with a Chicago Real Estate agent that started sending me listings of rental homes, not rent to owns.
It is now the end of September, I do not have a Rent To Own home and will be renewing with my apartment for another year. Do not do business with ownerwiz. They do absolutely nothing but charge you and the Real Estate agents or Investors they find (double dipping) to basically pass on phone number. Not to mention the kickbacks they must be getting from Lexington Law who they refer you to in order to fix your credit.
Oh... I also found out that the BBB (Better Business Bureau never authorized OwnerWiz to use their logo (which has been removed from the OwnerWiz website) and currently has them rated D.
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