Rent to own, rental purchase, rent to buy, RTO — the concept has been around for a while, largely found in the wooden storage buildings and barn industry, but it's a fairly new concept in the world of trailers. Rent to own programs really offer the best of both worlds in terms of renting and buying. For renters, you get the flexibility of low monthly payments for as long as you need the trailer. For those who want to make it a long-term investment, you have the option to turn those rental payments you're making every month into equity.
You've probably heard of equity with your home. Equity is the difference between what's still owed on the asset and what you could get if the asset were sold. So with a trailer you're in a rent to own program with, every month you make payments, you're building equity in that trailer. When you get to the end of the predetermined rental period, you'll have the option to go ahead and purchase the trailer. An advantage here is that the equity you have built from your past payments apply towards the remaining balance due. This can be a very convenient and economical way to finance a trailer bypassing a typical loan arrangement with hard credit pulls.