If we lease a property for 5 years and then decide to purchase it, does the money invested into the lease get deducted from the purchase price?

Tommy DobczykOpportunity Zone Advisor, OZ Wizard · Director of Development | Certified Opportunity Zone Advisor

Lease vs. Purchase Option: Don't Lose Your Money! #shorts

6 Aug 2026 · 1 min

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0:35

Tommy Dobczyk explains that standard lease payments don't count toward buying the property later. A separate purchase option agreement can credit prior lease payments, so compare a straight lease, lease with purchase option, and seller financing before you choose.

Questions this video answers

No, regular lease payments are not credited toward the purchase price. Only a separate purchase option agreement can allow prior payments to be applied.

Can I ask a question that may be silly? Oh, you say it's silly. It is, it is silly. So when you— so for example, if we leased this property for 5 years and then we decide to purchase it after those 5 years, the money that we invested into the lease, does that get deducted from the purchase or do we still have to purchase it full?
So on a lease, the answer is no.
Okay.
On purchase option, the answer is yes, because what you're doing is as a person So put that in your deal, owner. What does the economics look like on a lease versus doing it as a purchase option or doing it as a seller finance?