Purchase option problem

Florida Attorney General Charlie Crist has launched a formal investigation into a Venice businessman who consumers say refused to sell them houses after they paid thousands of dollars under rent-to-own contracts.

Crist said the action was prompted by a recent report in the Sarasota Herald-Tribune and other information about Venice businessman Rod Khleif, whose firms own hundreds of properties and advertise rent-to-own deals in at least seven counties stretching from Tampa to Fort Myers.

Dozens of Florida families have signed contracts with Khleif agreeing to rent houses with an option to buy, often shelling out thousands of dollars in down payments.

But when it came time to buy their home -- sometimes after years of additional payments toward the purchase, repairs and other expenses -- many say they got nothing but a runaround and lost everything.