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When we viewed the property the first time, the tenants were present. They made it seem like they were shocked that first time buyers were being allowed to view the property. The EA mentioned that the Landlord mentioned he 'preferred' to sell to an investor but would not rule out a first time buyer. When this was mentioned to the tenant, they said they'd need to know because they'd need to find somewhere else to live.
It did seem like the tenants understood the situation but as you said, if they refuse to leave it will make it very difficult. Buying my first house is a scary enough thought as it is!
They were probably told that they wouldnt have to move, they were shocked that in fact the landlord would be more interested in money than them.
Considering he is quite happy to keep renting to them right up until he sells shows that hes only bothered about money.
The fact he is only bothered about money doesnt bode well for selling, as if someone comes along with a slightly higher offer, hes going to have no loyalty to you the same as he has no loyalty to his tenants.
Again, do not exchange until you have seen an empty property.
If the landlord isnt happy with this, move on.0 -
This is exactly how I feel about the situation! There's honestly no way to know how the tenants will react but I don't want to risk losing the house because the seller doesn't think I'm serious.
What would happen if I informed the EA that I didn't want to exchange contracts until the tenants have moved out? Would this upset the seller or cause delays when they do leave?
A sensible person would say 'thats wise! In their shoes, I would do the same.'
Someone who is only bothered about cash will happily move along to the next person.
Again, do not even consider exchanging until the tenants are out. This cannot be emphasised enough.0 -
marliepanda wrote: »They were probably told that they wouldnt have to move, they were shocked that in fact the landlord would be more interested in money than them.
Considering he is quite happy to keep renting to them right up until he sells shows that hes only bothered about money.
The fact he is only bothered about money doesnt bode well for selling, as if someone comes along with a slightly higher offer, hes going to have no loyalty to you the same as he has no loyalty to his tenants.
Again, do not exchange until you have seen an empty property.
If the landlord isnt happy with this, move on.
I'm definitely going to take your advice, I don't feel comfortable exchanging until the tenants have moved out. I'll discuss this will the EA tomorrow
2023 6 Wins - Biggest win Aug 23 from Instagram Freda and Bert bundle worth £1800 -
And when you do, bear in mind your mortgage company will insist upon vacant possession anyway so don't be fobbed off if they tell you to proceed and it will all be OK, you could spend several hundred pounds find it all,drags on and goes nowhere.
Picking up from another poster, the fact the LL hasn't given tenants notice says LL is either greedy, unrealistic or hapless none of which bode well for this sale, this may not be the property for you.0 -
My first thought was as a FTB are you having a mortgage? if so does your lender know that the property is tenanted?
If i were you I would still be looking around at other properties and i def wouldn't be spending any money on the purchase until the property is vacant
If the tenants are forced out who knows what damage, etc they are going to cause
Good luck with whatever you decide to do0 -
Time to have a think about this. The property has tenants. You now know that it could take at least 6 months for them to leave. You don't know what condition the property will be in when they leave. So you could instruct a solicitor to do all the legal work like searches and mining reports etc up to exchange and then find that you don't want to exchange contracts on a property that is not in the condition it was when you viewed it because the tenants have damaged it when they left. You will have spent money on the buying process but you won't buy the house in the end.
Or you could delay spending money on the searches etc for 6 months until the property is vacant and then pay for them then. You could still find that the property has been wrecked but at least you could pull out of the sale before it had cost you any money. While you are waiting for it to be vacant the owner could accept an offer from an investor and sell it in a few weeks.
The chances of you ever owning this property to live in are extremely small because there are so many problems associated with it. I don't know what makes you want to buy this house rather than any others but if it is because it is cheaper that is because unless you are an investor you are going to have to wait a long time for it to become vacant and then you run a huge risk on what state it will be in. An investor will buy it because there are already tenants and the price will be based on the rental return.
This owner will not want to lose the rent on this property while he waits for you to act after you have got vacant possession. What he wants to do is to keep getting rent right up until the day he sells it.
You have to remember that the property is not yours until you have paid for it. At the moment there is a chance that you won't pay for it for over 6 months time if the tenants decide not to leave. Up until exchange of contracts either side that is you or the seller can change their mind about the sale. So just because your offer has been accepted doesn't mean that the seller has to sell to you. If he gets a better offer he could sell to them instead. In order to reduce the chance of this happening people usually get their solicitor to start work as soon as possible on the legal work. They also get the surveys done as well. In your case though there is no point in doing any of this until the property is vacant so the property will remain open for anyone else to buy until the tenants leave.
What could also happen is that once the tenants leave the owner could take the house off the market and then sell it for more because it is now vacant. There are so many more things that could go wrong with buying this house than buying one that someone else has bought to live in themselves.
It really isn't a good choice for a first time buyer because you don't understand all the aspects or risks of buying a house.
I think people are giving good advice when they say that this isn't really a suitable property for you to buy and you would get on much better if you looked for something else.0 -
Time to have a think about this. The property has tenants. You now know that it could take at least 6 months for them to leave. You don't know what condition the property will be in when they leave. So you could instruct a solicitor to do all the legal work like searches and mining reports etc up to exchange and then find that you don't want to exchange contracts on a property that is not in the condition it was when you viewed it because the tenants have damaged it when they left. You will have spent money on the buying process but you won't buy the house in the end.
Or you could delay spending money on the searches etc for 6 months until the property is vacant and then pay for them then. You could still find that the property has been wrecked but at least you could pull out of the sale before it had cost you any money. While you are waiting for it to be vacant the owner could accept an offer from an investor and sell it in a few weeks.
The chances of you ever owning this property to live in are extremely small because there are so many problems associated with it. I don't know what makes you want to buy this house rather than any others but if it is because it is cheaper that is because unless you are an investor you are going to have to wait a long time for it to become vacant and then you run a huge risk on what state it will be in. An investor will buy it because there are already tenants and the price will be based on the rental return.
This owner will not want to lose the rent on this property while he waits for you to act after you have got vacant possession. What he wants to do is to keep getting rent right up until the day he sells it.
You have to remember that the property is not yours until you have paid for it. At the moment there is a chance that you won't pay for it for over 6 months time if the tenants decide not to leave. Up until exchange of contracts either side that is you or the seller can change their mind about the sale. So just because your offer has been accepted doesn't mean that the seller has to sell to you. If he gets a better offer he could sell to them instead. In order to reduce the chance of this happening people usually get their solicitor to start work as soon as possible on the legal work. They also get the surveys done as well. In your case though there is no point in doing any of this until the property is vacant so the property will remain open for anyone else to buy until the tenants leave.
What could also happen is that once the tenants leave the owner could take the house off the market and then sell it for more because it is now vacant. There are so many more things that could go wrong with buying this house than buying one that someone else has bought to live in themselves.
It really isn't a good choice for a first time buyer because you don't understand all the aspects or risks of buying a house.
I think people are giving good advice when they say that this isn't really a suitable property for you to buy and you would get on much better if you looked for something else.
I definitely understand that there are risks associated, which is why I'm trying to get as much information as I can before jumping into making this decision.
The area the house is is perfect for me, it's a location where houses are very rarely put on the market at a price I can afford. Probably the reason why they've accepted an offer lower than the asking price is because lots of buyers have been put off by the current situation. Yes, this is a risky situation but luckily as a FTB I'm in a situation where I have very little pressure on me to rush into a sale.
Waiting 6 months to move into a property would be fine, my major fear is paying for surveys and solicitors and then having the seller take the property off the market or accepting a higher offer - which is the risk if I delay exchanging contracts.2023 6 Wins - Biggest win Aug 23 from Instagram Freda and Bert bundle worth £1800 -
My first thought was as a FTB are you having a mortgage? if so does your lender know that the property is tenanted?
If i were you I would still be looking around at other properties and i def wouldn't be spending any money on the purchase until the property is vacant
If the tenants are forced out who knows what damage, etc they are going to cause
Good luck with whatever you decide to do
I hadn't considered that the lender may be hesitant to lend to us with the property currently having tenants. I will follow this up.
Having met the tenants, I really don't think it's likely they'd cause damage but people are unpredictable.2023 6 Wins - Biggest win Aug 23 from Instagram Freda and Bert bundle worth £1800 -
There is another aspect of this that has not been mentioned (I think):
* tenants were told owner was looking for an investor, so they could stay
* you turn up and tenants realise owner may sell to a FTB, meaning they have to leave
* tenants get p*ssed off and decide to be awkward so they can stay
* tenants change the locks and refuse access
* your surveyor cannot get in to do a survey
* your mortgage lender's surveyor cannot get in to Value the property
* you cannot get in for a 2nd viewing
* Your purchase collapses.
* property remains unsold.
* tenants get to stay - result!0 -
I definitely understand that there are risks associated, which is why I'm trying to get as much information as I can before jumping into making this decision.
The area the house is is perfect for me, it's a location where houses are very rarely put on the market at a price I can afford. Probably the reason why they've accepted an offer lower than the asking price is because lots of buyers have been put off by the current situation. Yes, this is a risky situation but luckily as a FTB I'm in a situation where I have very little pressure on me to rush into a sale.
Waiting 6 months to move into a property would be fine, my major fear is paying for surveys and solicitors and then having the seller take the property off the market or accepting a higher offer - which is the risk if I delay exchanging contracts.
You haven't got it. You wont be allowed to exchange contracts until its empty (unless you have a negligent solicitor).
That time period is out of your control (and to a large extent the sellers as well)
Its quite likely, as eloquently outlined by cakeguts, that the seller will take the property off the market or accept a higher offer, simply because of that long time period giving more opportunity for that to happen. All it needs is another BTL buyer who wants sitting tenants, you will be dumped faster than the posters here can write "told you so".
You cannot speed the process up. You are not the bottleneck
You can risk money by starting the process now, eg instructing solicitors, applying for a mortgage and paying a non refundable fee. But that doesn't commit the seller to sell or speed the process up and is your major fear !I hadn't considered that the lender may be hesitant to lend to us with the property currently having tenants. I will follow this up.
LOL they wont be "hesitant" they wont do it. Neither will your solicitor allow it.0
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