There are several reasons why you might want to sell your rental property. Some of your reasons might include: Selling a house is already a nerve-wracking process in itself, but adding tenants to the equation makes it even more complicated. 1. I need or want the cash. 2. My rental house is under-performing and I need to cut my losses. 3. I am relocating soon. 4. I am planning to buy a new house. 5. I am tired of dealing with tenants. 6. My tenants aren’t paying me! 7. I am doing a 1031 tax exchange. Whatever the reason you might have, you’re free to sell your rental property any time you wish. However, selling a house with sitting tenants is not as simple as selling a vacant house. If you plan to sell a rental house, the tenancy shouldn’t be affected. While you can terminate a month-to-month tenancy by giving the tenant 30 or 60 days’ advance written notice, you cannot terminate an ongoing lease simply because you want to sell the house. Typically, you have two options: Option 1: Wait for your lease agreement to expire. Since selling a house with tenants can be quite a tricky situation, most real estate experts advise homeowners to wait for the lease to expire before proceeding with the sale. Tenants can make or break a sale, so some just opt to wait it out and sell the house vacant. Although this option is not always practical for the your finances, waiting can be your best bet especially if you have disgruntled and difficult tenants. If your tenant only has a couple of months left on the lease and you really need to dispose of the house right away, then you can try to negotiate a settlement to get your tenant to vacate your house. However, your tenant is not obligated to agree to your terms. If the other party disagrees, you have no choice but to wait for the lease to expire. Tenants in the Bay Area are also privy to buyouts and the asking price usually isn’t cheap, especially in areas such as Berkeley and Oakland where rent control laws are strong. Option 2: Sell your house while the tenancy is still ongoing. If you have a good relationship with your tenants, selling your rental house while they’re still there can actually be beneficial for you. Selling a house with tenants in place is a practical idea if you rely on rental income to pay the monthly mortgage. Also, since the house is already furnished with your tenant’s belongings, you don’t have to spend and make an effort to stage it. Your tenants can even help you show the house to prospective buyers, provided you have given them proper notice in advance. On the downside, opting to sell a house with an ongoing lease will greatly limit your prospects. It’s difficult to find buyers that will let the tenants live in the property until their contract expires. Handling a month-to-month tenancy According to Landlordology, if your tenant is on a month-to-month agreement, all you need to do is give your tenant proper notice. This involves mailing or delivering a letter to your tenant 30 days before you’d like them out. The required notice period varies from state to state, so be sure to look up your state’s policy here. You don’t need a reason to terminate a month-to-month agreement, hence why it is called a “no cause” termination. You don’t have to tell the tenant why they need to vacate unless you want to. These are the easy situations. So, what’s the best way to sell my house with tenants? Professional real estate investors buy houses with tenants, so they can be your best option if you need to sell the house quickly. Selling to an investor such as Skye Homes should be the first thing you consider as many new or beginner landlords are not buying new property here right now because the numbers don’t make sense. We will buy your house with the tenant still occupying the home and will work with the tenant to either continue renting as-is or offer. If you can afford to do so, you may consider a tenant buyout, also known as “cash for keys” if comparable housing is available and they desire a move. Sometimes this can be difficult if they are behind on rent or if there is bad blood. If your tenant is on a month-to-month lease, you may decide to give them notice and list with an agent. If time is on your side and you want to pay real estate commissions, that may be your best bet. What Will Happen Once Your Tenanted House Has Been Sold? Once your rental house has been sold, your buyer now becomes the new landlord. Should the new owner wants to occupy the house or use it for other purposes, then they should work with the tenant in good faith. If you need to sell your rental house with tenants, give us a call at 877-210-6460 or fill-up the form below. We at Skye Homes can offer you a fair, no-obligation estimate for your property. We buy houses all around Bay area regardless if it has tenants or not. Learn more about how Skye Homes helps house sellers like you through this process.
Category: Tenants
What To Do When Tenants Trash Your House
An unfortunate but regular occurrence Do you own a rental property? Did your tenant leave it in less-than-perfect condition? It happens! In fact, it’s an experience that probably every landlord has faced at least once. If you looked at your empty rental property and said, “Help! My tenant trashed my house” then here are some things you can do about it… Is it worth going after the tenant? You need to first assess the damage and decide if it’s worth going after the tenant. Unfortunately, it often isn’t worth the hassle because it may be a time consuming and even expensive effort to get the tenant to pay you back. However, if the damage is significant enough, you may choose to do this. Hopefully, your damage deposit covers the amount of damage but with the cost of construction these days, that’s not always the case. A few thousand dollars doesn’t go a long way anymore. Is it worth repairing the damage? The obvious answer is ‘yes.’ From holes in the walls to missing toilets – we’ve heard of just about everything you can imagine. Sometimes a bit of drywall and paint will fix the problem, in which case you may want to fix it up and rent it out again, and then just accept the inconvenience as the cost of doing business. However, the damage may not be worth repairing. If you are planning to re-rent the house or list it on the market then your best course of action is to fix the repairs, even if the amount exceeds their damage deposit. You could rent your house to a handyman One little-known option that is actually really helpful is to find a handyman who wants to rent the house. In exchange for a discount on rent they can fix up the house for you to make it a nice rental property again. Make sure you have a timeline all spelled out, though, to avoid then staying too long without a lot of work getting done. All work should be agreed upon up front and documented. You could sell the house Another option is to sell the house and move on from owning a frustrating rental property. However, be aware that if you try to sell the house on the open market, you may have to fix it up first in order for the agent to list it. Another option is to sell privately to a house-buying team like ours. We buy houses in as-is condition and we’ll fix them up ourselves. So when tenants trash your house, fear not. You have options! To get a fair cash offer for your property, no matter what condition it’s in, just get in touch with us and we’ll give you a no-obligation offer and we can even buy your property from you fast. Click here now and fill out the form or call our office at and we’ll get back to you right away.
When Should I Sell My House Fast for Cash?
Selling your house fast for cash is sometimes the quickest resolution when there’s a need to move or sell a home quickly. For starters, there’s the convenience and speed of sell. Fewer sales fall through and you can have money in your pocket just days after accepting a cash offer. For a homeowner in some type of financial distress, this can be a life-changing benefit. Combined with the benefit of avoiding costly repairs or real estate agent commissions, it’s no wonder more people than ever are typing “How to sell my house fast for cash” into Google search queries. In this blog post, Skye Homes – home buyers in the San Jose, CA area – outline some scenarios where selling a house fast for cash just makes more sense than going through a realtor. Selling a House With Bad Tenants While owning a rental property is a great source of additional income, it can be a nightmare if difficult tenants enter the equation. When a tenant makes a habit of missing rent payments, breaking rules, and mistreating or damaging the property, it can seem like a problem you can’t escape from. This is why a growing number of landlords are opting to sell a house fast for cash in response to nuisance tenants. While you should seek legal advice first, selling a home with a bad tenant is sometimes the easiest way to wipe your hands clean of the problem and move on. While you might get a slightly less than average offer, a cash home buyer is often willing to roll the dice. They generally have a means to cover the legal and administrative costs of evicting a difficult tenant in order to rehab the property and get a return on their investment. READ: Selling a House With Tenants in the Bay Area Selling an Inherited House When you inherit a home from your parents or grandparents, you have one of three choices. You could sell the house, move into it, or rent it out. If the home is in disrepair, or in dire need of costly updates, it may be something you just don’t want to deal with. Sure, you can avoid making necessary updates, and still put it up for sale below market price, but you’d be required to pay legal costs and real estate agent fees. This is why selling your house fast for cash might be more logical than needlessly dealing with the upkeep and paperwork of an inherited house. This fast sell ensures the home doesn’t sit uninhabited and vulnerable to vandalism or deterioration. Plus, it can be sold as-is, alleviating some headaches on your end. Selling to a cash home buyer minimizes out of pocket expenses and unloads the property sooner rather than later. READ: How to Sell an Inherited House in the Bay Area – The Easy Way Financial Problems Financial difficulty is actually the number one reason most homeowners sell to a cash buyer. When the bills are racking up, you’ve fallen behind on your mortgage, and the bank is threatening to foreclose the house, there’s a sense of urgency to hit a reset button. Most of the aforementioned “Sell my house fast for cash” internet searches can be attributed to homeowners suddenly finding themselves in over their heads. Perhaps they have costly home repairs they cannot afford or they just can’t get current on their mortgage. Selling their home to a cash buyer enables them to start over fast and hopefully regain their financial footing. READ: How to Avoid Foreclosure in the Bay Area Selling a House During a Divorce Going through a divorce is an emotionally trying time. Not only can it be a time of heartache, but also a time of animosity, anger, or resentment. The burden of selling a home during this process only complicates things. Not only is a house the biggest asset most couples acquire together, but it also holds sentimental value to one or both parties. Additionally, one partner has likely moved out. They’re looking to cover their new living expenses while the mortgage, property taxes, and insurance all need to be paid as well. There’s a need for both parties to move quickly. Selling your house while still married by law can save significant money when it comes to capital gains tax. Working with a cash home buyer is another way to save money. There’s no closing costs or realtor commissions, which means some of the transaction can be pocketed once the mortgage is paid off. Ending a divorce with some type of cash reserve is important considering the hefty legal fees involved. A home can sit on the market for an average of 65 to 70 days. This prolongs the time a troubled couple must work together to agree on things like repairs, a contractor, a realtor, and listing price. Selling directly to a cash buyer gives you and your spouse a means to walk away from the house in as little as one week. Just make sure to discuss the process with your divorce attorney. READ: Selling Your House While Divorcing in the Bay Area Selling a Home Due to Relocation The need to relocate to another part of the country or even the world is another reason for someone to research how to “Sell my house fast for cash” online. Depending on the circumstances, someone may only have just one month to sell their home and move far away. READ: How to Sale a House for Job Relocation Looking to Sell Your House Fast For Cash in Bay Area? – Let’s Chat! If you find yourself in any of these situations, Skye Homes helps you skip the stress of dealing with contractors and real estate agents by buying your house directly from you. Contact us today via our online form below or by calling/texting 510-220-0712.