Residents

Custom Rent to Own

Instead of picking from the homes we have open, or waiting for one we are fixing up, you get approved first and then go find a house you want inside our buying area.

Where we buy

Strong Blocks buys inside one area of Milwaukee, and nowhere else. It is the same area for everybody who applies.

If the home you have your heart set on is outside these four streets, this program cannot get you that home. There is no exception and there is no case by case. We would rather you know that now than after you have paid $25.

Once you are approved you can make the search smaller. If you only want a few specific blocks, tell us and we will set it up that way. You cannot make it bigger.

We do not tell any family where they should live. We only tell you where Strong Blocks buys.

The area where Strong Blocks buys Strong Blocks buys homes inside this area only, and nowhere else. The area is a rectangle on Milwaukee's near north side, bounded by West Capitol Drive on the north, West Highland Boulevard on the south, North Holton Street on the east and North 60th Street on the west. It is about four miles across and three miles from north to south. Downtown Milwaukee sits just off its south east corner and Lake Michigan is about a mile east of it. If a home is outside these four streets, Strong Blocks cannot buy it. LAKE MICHIGAN WE BUY INSIDE THIS AREA ONLY and nowhere else Downtown Milwaukee W CAPITOL DRIVE W HIGHLAND BOULEVARD N 60TH STREET N HOLTON STREET N

The four streets: Capitol Drive north, Highland Boulevard south, Holton Street east, 60th Street west. Anything inside them is in. Anything outside them is out.

How it works

  1. You apply and get approved first

    Before anyone looks at any houses, we check your rental history, income, and debts. Same $25 application fee, for each person in your household who is 18 or older.

  2. We set up a home search for you

    If you are approved, we set up a search of homes for sale inside the area where Strong Blocks buys.

  3. You find homes you want to see

    Look at what is for sale in the area. Drive past them. When you find homes you want to get inside, tell us and we schedule the showings, because these are other people's houses and someone has to let you in.

  4. We check the home ourselves

    We look at the price, the condition, the repairs it needs, and whether the numbers work. This is our decision, and it is separate from approving you and from your own approval of the home and its terms.

  5. If it works, we buy it

    We buy the home and lease it to you with the right to buy it from us, the same way our other homes work. Your Cash for Keys is collected before we make the offer, because we cannot write an offer we are not ready to close.

How Custom Rent to Own runs You get approved first. Then you find a home you want. Then Strong Blocks checks that home. If it works, Strong Blocks buys it and leases it to you with the right to buy it. If it does not work, you go back to looking, and that can happen more than once. You get approved first You find a home you want We check that home ourselves it does not work it works We buy it and lease it to you with the right to buy it How Custom Rent to Own runs You get approved first. Then you find a home you want. Then Strong Blocks checks that home. If it works, Strong Blocks buys it and leases it to you with the right to buy it. If it does not work, you go back to looking, and that can happen more than once. You get approved first You find a home you want We check that home ourselves it works it does not work We buy it and lease it to you, with the right to buy

The most important thing to understand: being approved does not mean we will buy whatever home you pick.

Some homes cost too much. Some need too much work. Some have problems that show up in an inspection. Not every home will work, and we will tell you when one does not.

Is this right for you?

It might be, if

  • you have a specific home or a specific block in mind
  • nothing we have open fits what you need
  • you are willing to be patient while we check a home
  • the area where we buy works for you

It is probably not, if

  • you need to move right away
  • you want to buy outside the area where we buy
  • you want a guarantee we will buy the home you choose

If you need to move soon, look at the homes we have open instead.

What this costs, and when

The money works the same as our other homes. Cash for Keys is your deposit, your option fee, and your first month's rent, with the deposit and option fee together coming to 5% of the price. 100% of your option fees count toward buying the home, and a payment plan is available.

See how the money works

The timing is different, and you should know this before you start

With our own homes, you pay to move into a house we already own. With Custom, we are buying a house for you, which means we have to be ready to write a real offer and close on it.

So we collect your money before we make the offer, not after. At minimum we need your deposit in hand before we write it. Sellers do not wait around, and an offer we cannot close on costs you the house.

If the offer is not accepted, you get that money back. It only stays in place if the deal goes through.

The part to be honest about: once we buy a house for you, we own it. If you change your mind after we have closed, that is a real cost to us, and it is why we are careful about who we take into this program and why we ask you to be sure before we write anything.

This program is new

We have done this a couple of times before and we are still learning. That means we are being careful, and we are taking a small number of families to start.

Apply for Custom Rent to Own