A Camarillo Seller Is Asking for a Long Leaseback and May Prepay the Whole Term

There is a house on the market in Camarillo with an unusual ask written into the listing.

1084 Camino Vera Cruz, Camarillo, CA 93010. Five bedrooms, four baths, 3,357 square feet on about a fifth of an acre in Vista Las Posas. Built in 1998. Listed at $1,490,000, which is $444 a square foot.

The seller is asking that the current occupants stay in the home after close under a long term leaseback. That is not buried in a private note. It is in the public listing remarks.

The listing agent has mentioned rent somewhere between $5,500 and $5,800 a month. Over a ten year term that is roughly $660,000 to $696,000. The sellers have indicated they would consider prepaying that whole term at closing.

If that survives negotiation, you would be into a $1,490,000 house for somewhere in the $800,000s of net capital on day one.

I have not verified the rent and neither should you take it on faith. It is the number the entire structure is calculated from, so it is the first thing to check.

Nothing has been agreed and the lease has not been drafted. The proposed terms sit in the listing’s private remarks, which is agent-only. Every figure below moves with those terms. Whoever gets to the table first helps write them. Everyone after that inherits them.

See the full listing, photos and price history here.

The property

Address	1084 Camino Vera Cruz, Camarillo, CA 93010
MLS	V1-38365
List price	$1,490,000
Size	5 bed, 4 bath, 3,357 sq ft
Price per sq ft	$444
Lot	8,712 sq ft, about 0.2 acre
Built	1998, two stories
Subdivision	Vista Las Posas, Camarillo Heights
Leaseback term	Up to 10 years, negotiable
Rent quoted	$5,500 to $5,800 a month, per the listing agent, to be verified
Possible term total	Roughly $660,000 to $696,000
Prepayment	Full term at closing, proposed only
Status	Active. Nothing agreed. Terms open.

Double door entry into a two story foyer with a double staircase. Granite kitchen with a center island and breakfast bar opening to the family room. Formal dining room. A downstairs bedroom that works as a guest room or an office. Upstairs, the primary suite has its own fireplace, a sitting area, two walk in closets, and French doors to a private balcony with a peek-a-boo ocean view. There is a bonus room and a resort style backyard.

What a sale leaseback actually is

A sale leaseback is simple. The seller sells you the house and becomes your tenant the same day. It is routine in commercial real estate. In residential it is rare. When it does show up it is usually a 30 to 60 day rent back so the seller can close on their next place.

Up to ten years is not that.

These sellers want to sell. But family members are living in the home and are not moving. They need cash now and housing certainty for the next decade. So they have floated something most sellers cannot: potentially the entire lease term, paid upfront.

Not monthly. Not yearly. Potentially all of it, at close. That is what they have raised. It is not papered.

If you want to see what else is trading at this level first, here is every home for sale in Camarillo and the Camarillo single family listings, both straight off the MLS.

How the math would work

Take the quoted rent of $5,500 to $5,800 a month over 120 months. That is roughly $660,000 to $696,000. Normally it would reach you across 120 separate payments.

Under this structure it could reach you on day one instead.

	At $5,500/mo	At $5,800/mo
Purchase price	$1,490,000	$1,490,000
Prepaid rent at closing, if agreed	(up to $660,000)	(up to $696,000)
Possible net capital day one	$830,000	$794,000
Implied cost per square foot	~$247	~$237

At those terms you would be into a $1,490,000 asset for around $830,000 in cash. That is leverage without a lender, and without a lender’s rules. It only works if the prepayment survives negotiation.

Money today beats money later

This is the part most people miss on a first read.

A normal ten year lease pays you the same total. But it arrives across 120 payments. Money that shows up in year nine is not worth money that shows up today.

Discount that same stream at 7 percent and its present value lands closer to $475,000.

You would not be getting a stream. You would be getting the full amount at closing.

That gap is roughly $185,000 of real value a standard lease cannot produce. You could put it to work right away, in another door or a note or whatever your next move is. It would compound for ten years while you also hold the house.

What it could return

Assume 3 percent yearly appreciation over the hold. A $1,490,000 property would be worth about $2,000,000 in ten years.

• Against $830,000 of net capital, that could pencil out somewhere around 9 percent annualized.
• At 0 percent appreciation, a completely flat decade, it could still land near 6 percent, because you would own a $1,490,000 asset for around $830,000.

That second number is the one that matters. Structured this way, the deal could have a floor under it.

These are illustrations built on the assumptions above, not projections and not promises. Every input moves with the final terms. Run them yourself with your own numbers.

What is still open, and this is the real opportunity

Everything below is negotiable today. Once someone papers it, it will not be.

The expense structure. Carry on this house could run somewhere under $30,000 a year once you add reassessed property taxes, insurance, and a maintenance reserve. Over ten years that is real money going out with no rent coming in, because you would have already collected it. Leave it alone and that 9 percent drifts toward 6.

Push it triple net and it does not. Taxes, insurance, and routine maintenance move to the tenant. That is standard in commercial leaseback structures and it is open here. Same price, same rent, very different deal.

The early termination language. This is the most valuable clause in the agreement and it does not exist yet. What happens if the tenants move out early, need care, or pass away? Is the unused rent refunded, prorated, or kept? Who is named on the lease? Is there a guarantor? Whoever writes this clause captures or gives away six figures.

The tax structure. More on that below. The structuring has to happen before the offer. So the first buyer who brings a CPA into the room has a head start nobody can close later.

Those three items could be worth more than haggling over price. And they only belong to whoever moves first.

Verify the rent before anything else

The $5,500 to $5,800 figure came from the listing agent, not from a rent roll. Any prepayment number is only as good as the rent it is calculated from, so test that first.

• Pull closed rental comps from the MLS, not active listings. Asking rents in Camarillo run above what actually signs.
• A 3,300 square foot five bedroom is a thin rental segment here. You may find only a handful of closed comps in twelve months. Widen the criteria and adjust.
• Check the pocket. Vista Las Posas and Camarillo Heights sit above the flats and rent differently. So do Spanish Hills, Sterling Hills, and the Santa Rosa Valley side in 93012. If land matters to you, the Camarillo horse properties are a separate segment again.
• Demand is genuine. Naval Base Ventura County, CSU Channel Islands, and Conejo Valley commuters all feed the large home rental market. That is your backstop if the lease ends early.

Do not take the rent number from anyone with a commission attached to it, and yes, that includes me. Verify it.

What you need to know going in

I would rather you hear these from me now than find them in escrow.

The tax treatment has to be structured before you write

Advance rent is generally taxable income in the year you receive it, no matter what period it covers. A lump sum of this size could land as ordinary income in a single year. At California marginal rates that could potentially mean a six figure tax bill. Annual depreciation would not come close to offsetting it.

Section 467 of the tax code governs rental agreements with prepaid or deferred rent above $250,000. In some cases it allows you to recognize the income ratably instead. Whether it applies depends entirely on how the lease is drafted. There are also purchase price adjustment and staged escrow structures worth looking at.

I am not a CPA and this is not tax advice. But this is the long pole. Getting a CPA and a real estate attorney through a prepaid rent review takes lead time. If you start that call once the property has been sitting on the market for a month, you will still be booking it while someone else is in escrow. Start it this week.

Financing is narrow, and this is where my second license helps

Conventional owner occupied is out. DSCR lenders underwrite to monthly rent, and under a prepaid structure there would not be any. Lenders also do not love collateral tied up by a long lease that is already fully paid.

Realistically this is cash, or an existing portfolio lender relationship. Any lender who does participate would want the lease subordinated and an SNDA signed.

I am a licensed Realtor and a licensed loan officer, so I can look at the financing question and the house question in the same conversation instead of sending you to two companies that have never spoken. On a structure like this that is not a nice to have. Most of the reason these deals die is that nobody worked the lending side early enough.

Value the house separately from the lease

The structure is interesting. That does not automatically make $1,490,000 the right price for the house.

Pull the comps. Check it against recent closed sales at that size in Camarillo Heights and Vista Las Posas, and against the wider Ventura County market. At $444 a square foot you are paying above the Camarillo average for a 1998 build, and some of that premium is the view and the lot. If a comparable five bedroom trades meaningfully lower, part of your discount was never a discount. You would have paid it on the front end and gotten some of it back on the lease.

Value the house. Then value the lease. Never together. If you want a read on what a house alone is worth, I will put one together.

Who this is right for

A fit if you buy with cash or have a portfolio lender ready, want an asset with no vacancy and no collection risk for a decade, have a CPA who can move quickly, and think in ten year holds rather than monthly cash flow.

Not a fit if you need monthly income from the property, are counting on conventional or DSCR financing, or want to be in and out inside five years. A long lease follows the property to any buyer, which narrows who you can sell to.

If you are in the first group, this is one of the more interesting structures I have seen come through Camarillo. If you are in the second, tell me. I will keep you posted on what comes next instead of wasting your time on this one. If steady monthly rent is what you actually want, start with the Camarillo multi family and income listings instead.

Camarillo specifics

Property tax reassessment. Your purchase resets assessed value under Prop 13. What the sellers pay today is irrelevant to you. Budget from a $1,490,000 basis. If you are moving equity between California properties, the Prop 19 property tax transfer rules are worth reading first.

Insurance. Fire risk zoning varies a lot across Camarillo, and Camarillo Heights sits in the hills rather than the flats. Get a real quote during your inspection contingency, not an estimate.

Inventory. Camarillo turns over a limited number of five bedroom homes above 3,000 square feet each year. Thin supply supports your exit. It also makes your comp set small enough that one outlier can distort the whole analysis. Use a wider window than usual. The Camarillo luxury listings show what the top of this market is doing right now.

End of term. California landlord tenant law would apply for the whole lease. Habitability duties do not stop because the rent was prepaid. Ending a tenancy with long term occupants after a decade is complicated. Draft the end of term provisions at the front of the deal, not the back.

For background on how homes in this city are priced and what they sell for, see my Camarillo real estate page and how to price a home here.

Next steps

Today. See the listing for all 34 photos and the full detail, then reach out and I will pull the proposed terms out of the private remarks and send them over with the comps.

This week. Get your CPA on the phone about prepaid rent treatment. That is the long pole and it cannot be compressed.

Then. If the numbers work for you, we shape the lease. If they do not, tell me and I will stop.

One thing worth saying plainly. You could take this to the listing agent directly. If you do, that agent represents the seller and would be representing you at the same time, on a ten year prepaid lease that has not been drafted, where the early termination clause alone is worth six figures. On a deal this unusual I would want my own representation. That is what I am offering, and it costs you nothing on the buy side.

Common questions

What is a residential sale leaseback?

A sale leaseback is when the seller sells you the house and immediately becomes your tenant. It is common in commercial real estate and rare in residential. Most residential versions are a 30 to 60 day rent back so the seller can close on their next home. This one is being discussed as a lease of up to ten years with the term potentially paid at closing.

Where is the property?

1084 Camino Vera Cruz in Camarillo, California, 93010, in the Vista Las Posas tract of Camarillo Heights. It is MLS V1-38365, listed at $1,490,000. Five bedrooms, four baths, 3,357 square feet, built in 1998 on about a fifth of an acre. The leaseback request is written into the public listing remarks.

How much cash would I need to close?

You would bring the full $1,490,000. Any prepaid rent would be credited or wired back at settlement, depending on how it is structured. At the rent quoted, net exposure could land somewhere in the $800,000s, but the exact figure depends entirely on terms that are not agreed. Settle the mechanics with escrow before you are in contract.

Is prepaid rent taxable in the year I receive it?

Generally yes. Advance rent is usually taxable income in the year you receive it, no matter what period it covers. Section 467 of the tax code can allow ratable recognition in some cases, but that depends entirely on how the lease is drafted. Talk to a CPA before you write the offer, not after.

Can I sell the house during the lease term?

Yes, but the buyer would inherit the lease and a recorded memorandum would show on title. That shrinks the pool of buyers you can sell to. It also delivers a turnkey tenanted asset, which some buyers specifically want. Price that tradeoff before you commit to a decade.

What happens if the tenants stop paying?

Under a fully prepaid structure they would have already paid the term at closing, so there would be no collection risk and no vacancy risk for the length of the lease. That depends entirely on the prepayment surviving negotiation. Your remaining risks would be physical and legal rather than financial.

How is this different from a normal rent back after closing?

A standard rent back runs 30 to 60 days as a moving convenience for the seller. This would be a decade long tenancy with a lump sum prepayment. Different instrument, different risk, and completely different paperwork. Do not let anyone paper it with a standard rent back addendum.

Can I use a 1031 exchange for this?

Possibly on the acquisition side. A prepaid rent component complicates it, because cash coming back to you at closing has to be characterized correctly. Bring your qualified intermediary in early, at the same time as your CPA, rather than after the offer is written.

Why would a seller agree to this?

Liquidity now, plus housing certainty for their family for the next decade. Family members are living in the home and are not moving. That certainty is worth a great deal to them, and it is what any discount would be paying you for.

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Every figure in this article is illustrative and based on the assumptions stated in the text. No terms have been agreed, the lease has not been drafted, and everything described here is subject to negotiation and change. Listing details are from the MLS and are deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Nothing here is tax, legal, or investment advice, and nothing here is a loan commitment or an offer to lend. Consult a qualified CPA, a real estate attorney, and your own financial advisor before entering into any sale leaseback. Property availability and terms are subject to change. Accurate as of September 2026. Edgar Limon, REALTOR, CA DRE #02225743, and Mortgage Loan Originator, NMLS #2256286.