You do not need agents/broker to be involved in a transaction if both parties are willing to accept the liabilities if anything goes wrong.
“A great way to go” ? For whom ???
As the seller/landlord, you have nothing to gain and much to lose with a ‘lease option’ and/or not being represented in a sale.
If the market goes up, you lose out by locking in today’s price.
If the market goes down, the buyer will not buy the house and you will still own it.
Are you receiving any additional NON-refundable $$ over and above current market rent for giving the option ?
You stated that the ‘option would apply to the down payment’ and what happens if they don’t buy ?
**They want an OPTION to buy the house, it’s not an obligation.
If you push the window for cap gains exclusion, IF you cannot get tenant out OR closing is delayed for any reason, it could cost you many thousands of dollars. Not all loans close.
I’m not saying that it’s a terrible idea and maybe nothing will go wrong, but the courts are backed with millions of dollars of cases involving money and ‘misunderstandings’