Are you in a real state of panic because your mortgage payment is out of control and or out of your ability to pay? Is the possibility of foreclosure a real possibility that takes away your peace of mind and sleep? If these things pertain to you, you need to know about the sell and rent back plans available that are legitimate and legal and may be just what you need.

A few years ago, everyone wanted to buy a house. Flexible and adjustable mortgage rates made the front-end payments very low. Anyone with good credit could be qualified and buy a house, on the theory that their income would increase over time and they would then be able to handle higher monthly charges when the low introductory "teaser" rates expired. The fallout from those assumptions in today's economy is unprecedented demand for homes for rent-back plans.

A problem arose when mortgage rates increased faster than people's incomes, and they would fail to keep up with monthly payments. More and more property owners were faced with foreclosures and repossessions, without much relief from the government. To avoid eviction, owners under pressure found a way to sell and rent back. This way they could eventually own their homes again.

If you decide to enter a sell and rent back arrangement, here is what must be done. Before anything else, you must find a financial institution that deals in this type of contract, one that will accept you as a client and purchase your house. This can take some time, because you need to deal with an institution that is reliable and has good ratings.

Next, you will submit a deposit similar to a rental situation pursuant to the terms of the contract to sell and rent back the property. You will pay a fixed monthly rent based on local rents in the area over generally a period of one year. The terms of the agreement may be negotiated over time to account for inflation.

The nice thing about these contracts is that they include a clause that allows you, within a certain number of years, to buy your home back. So, for example, if you find a new loan in the future, you can use it to purchase your home again. You won't have to move out of your house, and you will even be a homeowner again. That is why anyone having a hard time paying her mortgage should give a sell and rent back plan a serious consideration.