How Do I Sell My Rental Property With Tenants in Place?

How Do I Sell My Rental with Tenants in Place?

There’s a huge difference in selling your rental property with tenants or selling a vacant property. Some buyers don’t want the hassle of dealing with tenants, although some buyers find it enticing.

Unless your tenants are month to month, odds are, you are going to end up selling your rental property with tenants in place.

Let’s take a look at the most seamless way to sell your rental property with tenants that will protect not only your property, but also you tenants.

Provide a Notice with Details to the Tenant if You Are Planning on Selling Your Rental Property

If the tenant has not been given a proper notice with details of why the eviction is needed when selling your rental, things can backfire for the landlord. Tenants have their own set of rights which cannot be overruled in any case. Therefore, provide complete details including the date of which the property will be advertised. Most tenants raise concerns when they are not informed about potential buyers making visits.  Advanced notices in writing must be provided so that tenants are not disturbed. It is important to remember that until the tenants are residing in the property, it is mandatory to suit their schedule. If some part of the house needs to be cleaned before a visit, the tenant should be told about this in advance as well.

The regulations of selling a rental property with tenants vary from one state to the other so ensure that you have attained complete information.

Keep Your Tenants Well Informed While Selling Your Rental Property

Make sure that the tenants are not unaware of anything and should be aware of how the selling process is proceeding. Why do they need to know? This question has a very simple answer. It would give them an idea of the time available on their hands. The tenant would be able to prepare a housing search and shift if he is updated with the process of the sale of your rental.

Not informing the tenant can cause problems for the landlord. For instance, at times, landlords do not provide a proper period of when the property would have to be vacated. This can be a major concern for tenants, and they can approach legal help for more than just treatment. Landlords should make sure that if they are selling their rental property, tenants are in the loop about everything.  In this way, no step taken by the landlord comes as a surprise for them.

When there are house visits, potential buyers may not be convinced about buying the property if there are pets or if major repairs are needed. Hence, in this case, as well, tenants must be informed in advance so that things are aligned properly.

Beware of Legal Obligations with Your Tenants When Selling Your Rental Property

The decision for selling the property does not rest on the landlord alone and he must consider certain legal conditions.

 Tenants Living Month to Month

Under this agreement, the landlord can get the property evicted or the tenant can vacate on his own will by giving a notice of 30 to 60 days. These are the most common notice period spans, but the duration varies. 

If such an agreement is signed between the two stakeholders, the landlord does not have to wait a long span to get the property evicted. In other words, the overall selling process becomes simpler. However, proper written notice must be provided. The tenant needs to keep an eye on the timeline as soon as the notice is received. 

Tenants with a Lease in Place

As compared to a “month to month” contract, the fixed lease contract is not equally flexible. Consider that the tenant has a fixed contract of one year and he or she has been living for three months. To get the property evicted, the landlord would have to wait for 9 months till the lease is over. In addition to that, the tenant would be informed a certain period before the lease ends that the property must be vacated. Legally, the landlord cannot force the tenant to evict before the lease tenure reaches completion.

How to Sell Your Rental with a Tenant

If you are putting your home on the market, make sure your realtor knows that you have tenants. Be sure to let them know the contract that you have in place with your tenants so they can tell potential buyers.

Traditional buyers might be put off by having tenants in place in your rental because they might want to buy the house for themselves and might not want to deal with the tenant process.

You can always market your property toward an investor who would keep your tenants in place.

Most of the time, investors want a discounted price for a rental property, so keep that in mind.