Sensing that buyers are having difficulty coming up with the money required for a down payment, New West Realty is rolling out an aggressive rent-to-own program at Eastgate Village, the 300-unit residential development that’s being built along King Drive between 25th and 26th streets in Bronzeville.
In order to participate in the program, buyers must sign a contract to both purchase a condo or townhouse at Eastgate Village, as well as a one-year rental lease. While the buyer is renting for the first year of the agreement, 75 percent of the rent will be put towards escrow and accumulated over the course of a year.
Here’s a breakdown of the rental rates and sale prices for some of the available condos and townhouses:
- 840 square-foot two-bedroom / one-bath condos are priced in the $270s and rent for $1,650 per month. Each month, $1,237.50 is escrowed, and in one year, $14,850 will have been accumulated towards a down payment.
- 1,299 square-foot two-bedroom / two-bath condos are priced in the $340s and rent for $2,300 per month. Each month, $1,725 is escrowed, and in one year, $20,700 will have been accumulated towards a down payment.
- 2,046 square-foot two-bedroom / two-bath townhouses are priced in the $460s and rents for $2,880 per month. Each month, $2,160 is escrowed, and in one year, $25,920 will have been accumulated towards a down payment
Phase 2 of Eastgate Village is currently under construction, and according to Katherine Sather, New West’s director of marketing, two of the four buildings in Phase 2 have been built. One- to three-bedroom condos that have 1,078 to 1,699 square feet of space are priced from the low $270s to the $340s, and 1,998 to 2,567 square-foot townhouses are priced from the $360s to the $500s.