Selling A Tenant Occupied Property: What You Need To Know

Selling a tenant-occupied property is a likely reality at some time or another as a landlord. Eventually, there will come a day when you want or need to sell your property because of any number of reasons. When that time comes, you’ll likely want to sell and get cash for your San Antonio house.

Even if you have tenants, it is your property and you may sell it if and when you want. In some cases, you’ll be able to let your tenants know, and it won’t be an issue. However, you also don’t want to risk losing your tenants and being stuck with a vacant home while your house is on the market. That said, the tenants have rights, and you want to make sure you aren’t violating them.

The best way to handle the situation is with open communication and making sure everyone is treated fairly during the process. That includes making sure the new buyer knows that the tenants that are living in the home have a lease (even if it’s month to month) and they need to be treated fairly after the sale.

Selling A Rental When Tenants Are Still Living In The House

Owning a rental property seems like a great idea. You buy it cheap, you find a tenant, and then you profit from the rental income while you manage the property… how hard could it be?

The problem is, it’s often much harder than people realize and you may find (as many landlords do) the surprising truth of being a landlord: You give up much of your personal life – no more private time, no more vacations, no more weekend getaways… all because you’re so busy as a landlord.

Even if you properly evaluate your tenants beforehand, locating, securing, and screening tenants are some of the things most landlords look forward to the least.

However, you never want to speed through the process just to fill a vacancy quickly. Allowing a poor tenant to rent your property will only end up costing you time and money in the long run.

Owning a rental home will keep you busy. There’s the work required to find the property, then to fix it up, then to find a tenant, then to answer the phone from them every time they call. Even if they call late at night because the toilet is overflowing, you have to take their call and deal with it. All of this may have you considering the sale of the property prior to the lease ending.

Plus there is the constant worry about vacancies and thinking about what a vacancy will really cost you. Calculating the cost of vacancy or COV is critical when deciding to keep or sell your vacant rental property.

How To Sell Your House While It's Leased

What does your lease situation look like? If you have a month-to-month lease, ending it shouldn’t be too difficult. You will need to provide a fair amount of notice to your tenant, typically 30-60 days.

If you are in the middle of a long-term lease, things are a bit different. If you want to sell mid-lease, you’ll either need to sell the property to an investor who will honor the lease, or give your tenant some sort of incentive to move out.

Some leases contain early-termination clauses that would allow you to end the lease early in certain situations. Remember, the tenant has rights too under the fair housing act, and if you violate those rights, you could find yourself in quite a bit of hot water.

If you have difficult tenants and your tenant has violated their lease, you should be able to evict them without an issue. That said, if your tenant is refusing to leave, the eviction process can become long and arduous. Most landlords try to avoid dealing with tenants‘ evictions at all costs.

By selling a property with tenants directly, you’ll be able to avoid the eviction process yourself and be able to move on from the house with cash in hand. Many direct buyers will simply take over the lease and business will go on as usual. If the tenants are in violation of the lease, the buyer will go through the eviction process as necessary.

Plus, a direct sale will help you avoid having to list, market, and show the property, things would likely cause even more tension between you and your difficult tenants.

Selling The Property Directly To The Tenants

When considering your options for selling your property while it is still being leased, a great place to start is with the tenants you have already living in the home. If they have been there for a while, they have likely grown comfortable. If homeownership is something they are interested in, the process doesn’t get much easier. They won’t have to move, you won’t have to clean up after old tenants… everybody wins!

That said, if they haven’t purchased a home in the past, there may be a reason why. Make sure your tenants are qualified to buy your house and that they are able to come up with a down payment and other buying costs before getting your hopes up about a sale.

Sell The Tenant Occupied House To A Direct Buyer

There are many reasons why a direct sale to a cash home buyer is beneficial for people who need to sell a tenant-occupied property. Investors are happy to take over a house that already has a tenant in place, especially when they are in good standing.

It saves them time and money advertising, marketing, and showing the property. They won’t have to bother screening tenants or running background checks because those things have already been done.

Even if there is a difficult tenant living in the home, an experienced company that buys houses won’t have trouble pursuing the eviction process if the tenant is in violation. They have likely had to do it before, and won’t be bothered by the process.

If you want to sell your house in San Antonio, there are certain ways to go about doing it. Always make sure you are being fair to your tenants, and giving the proper amount of notice. Not only is it the law, but it is the right thing to do.

At Capstone Homebuyers, we purchase houses in any condition (even if your tenant trashed your property). No matter what your situation is, we got you covered. Our process will be fast, efficient, and seamless, making things simple for both you and your tenants.