Lease agreements: Tips, questions, and experiences
in Banking, Insurance & Loans ·
Hello, I handled my car financing through Chase Auto Leasing back in January. The process is fairly straightforward: you can either visit the leasing office in person or just drop off the necessary paperwork at the dealership—whichever is more convenient for you. To qualify, you need steady employment. If you aren't currently employed, you can usually bring on a co-signer to help. You'll need to provide three recent pay stubs and two letters of employment verification (assuming you aren't working for a government agency). They also require that you have at least $2,800 left over after your monthly payment is accounted for. One thing I appreciated about Chase was that they offered options with zero down payment. My interest rate is fixed, and I receive my billing statements by mail every month. Once the lease is approved, before the funds are released to the dealership, you’ll need to visit a notary. At that point, you'll have to cover roughly $250 in administrative fees and pay for your comprehensive insurance—unless you choose to roll the insurance into monthly installments, in which case you'd just pay the first installment upfront. Just keep in mind that you can't pick any random insurer; you generally have to go through the leasing company.
I opted for a finance lease, which essentially means once the final payment is made, I own the vehicle outright. It functions very similarly to a standard auto loan.
If you decide to go with an operating lease instead, the vehicle is eventually purchased by someone else at the end of the term. Because of that, the monthly payments tend to be a bit lower, though you don't have the option to buy the car yourself—only a third party can take ownership. At least, that's how it was explained to me when I signed.
I opted for a finance lease, which essentially means once the final payment is made, I own the vehicle outright. It functions very similarly to a standard auto loan.
If you decide to go with an operating lease instead, the vehicle is eventually purchased by someone else at the end of the term. Because of that, the monthly payments tend to be a bit lower, though you don't have the option to buy the car yourself—only a third party can take ownership. At least, that's how it was explained to me when I signed.