To me, this just seems like a way to take advantage of people. What if you pay you house payment every month for years, then get laid off. You can't make the payment and get evicted. If you had taken a mortgate, you could sell the house and recover your equity. If you're doing rent-to-own, you're out on the street with nothing. Companies that do this with appliances actually try to get people to default because they can go rent the appliance to someone else. It's a little like a bait-and-switch.