Hi I’ve been looking for an easy 3’6” hunter prospect for a few months and finally found one. He appears to be safe, sound, uncomplicated, talented, and willing. He’s a 5 yr recently imported warmblood with light showing in the baby greens. Anyway, I arranged to see him but due to unforeseen circumstances was unable to. I suggested either to reschedule in a month or a lease to own with a thorough PPE and extensive video. I thought he would sell quickly after this but his seller recently contacted me asking about my terms for a lease to own. I was pretty surprised and suggested a 3 month lease which she quickly responded how much I would pay. So I’m left wondering a few things : 1. Does he have some unforeseen quirk or bad vetting keeping in mind his owner does want him gone soon for financial reasons 2. How much should I offer—- he is 50 to purchase for reference. Thank you in advance for any response.
Maybe offer 8-10k to lease for 3 months with an agreement of the additional 40k if he vets and you’re pleased with him after the 3 month period? Figuring that for a 50k purchase, you’d look at a 25k annual lease… that’s more than generous, but shows that you’re actively interested in purchasing. I would make the 3-month lease contingent on vetting, and if anything major pops up, that the purchase price be negotiated accordingly, if you think you can live with it.
Just add something in the contract r.e. the PPE so you have an out if he doesn’t pass to your satisfaction. How much for a lease depends a lot on where you are located and if it will be an on site or off site lease (and are you paying the board or is the owner?). If I were the owner, I would also insist you carry full insurance on the horse. Given all that, I am thinking around $500 per month, with that to go towards purchase price. But considering his potential and purchase price, I could be on the low side.
The PPE should be done BEFORE the lease and at the seller’s location, just like a flat-out purchase. Then, if he vets acceptably for you, you proceed with the lease.
~$5-10k for three months on a $50k horse is a lot closer to “standard” than $500/mo, IMO, and it would usually be paid up front, not monthly. If you return the horse for any reason, your lease fees are Non-refundable. I would expect to pay for insurance on the horse during the lease.
I don’t understand why people jump to the conclusion that a horse that didn’t sell in 48 hours or whatever has something wrong with it. There’s any number of reasons that may be why it hasn’t sold yet that have nothing to do with the horse - bad matches, flakey people showing interest and wasting sellers time, funds falling through, etc.
I would say a $50k horse would be a $25k lease so around $2k a month. But, I agree if you’re truly interested I buying him the $10k/$40k is a great idea. Get your PPE done before the lease, and absolutely agree you should give yourself an out at any point during the lease to not buy the horse. With a willing seller, it could work out great!
Thank you so much, I always planned to do a PPE up front but very much appreciated the feedback about the exact pricing
