Rent to own is a way of purchasing something, be it an appliance, television, or even a house, by way of making rent payments which count toward the purchase price of the item. In the case of a house, you would make rental payments until the total amount of payments you have made equaled a predetermined price that you and the seller agreed upon. You would live in the house while making these payments, then when the amount was reached, the seller would sign a grant deed, transferring the property to you.
In the case of appliances, televisions, etc., there are several places that will engage in a rent to own contract with you. These are generally not considered good deals, since the amount of rent you pay before you actually own the product usually exceeds the value of the product by quite a bit. Rent to own businesses usually prey on people with lower incomes who would like to have nicer items than they could afford to buy outright.
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