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Buying a property with Tenant (AST)

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michaels2411
michaels2411 Posts: 20 Forumite
First Post First Anniversary Combo Breaker
in House buying, renting & selling
Hi all,
I'm looking to buy a house, one i've seen and really like would like to buy it, however the current owner has it let out via an AST agreement.

I'm not familiar with AST's can I serve notice on the tenant or would I have to wait for it to expire? I'm using a mortgage and don't want a BTL mortgage as they are expensive but if I cant serve notice and have to wait say a couple of months until the agreement expires what would the mortgage provider typically agree to?

I'm in pretty good position, I could buy the property and wait to move in, its just the mortgage side of things that I'd like to get advice on? Thanks in advance.

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  • mrginge
    mrginge Posts: 4,843 Forumite
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    What if you had to wait twelve months?
  • greendoor665
    greendoor665 Posts: 126 Forumite
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    If you buy it with the tenant in situ you will ONLY be able to get a BTL mortgage. For a normal owner-occupier mortgage the lender will insist on the house being sold with vacant possession i.e. no tenants.

    Notice periods if you did buy it with the tenant in place would depend on the tenancy agreement.
  • 00ec25
    00ec25 Posts: 9,123 Forumite
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    reality check time

    you have no interest in becoming a landlord therefore there is no point in explaining anything more than this... you solicitor will NOT allow you to exchange contracts with the vendor until the current tenant is evicted and the vendor can guarantee to offer "vacant possession".

    With a residential mortgage your solicitor cannot do anything but that as the lender requires them to do so and your solicitor has a professional liability to meet the requirements of your lender. Are you a first time buyer? this is pretty basic stuff.
  • Cakeguts
    Cakeguts Posts: 7,627 Forumite
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    The rental agreement that the tenant has got could be 6 months or longer often 12 months. The landlord cannot give notice to the tenant to leave until after 6 months. If the tenant has a longer tenancy the landlord cannot give the tenant notice unless there is a break clause in the contract. When the notice has been given the tenant does not have to leave. They can stay there until the landlord gets possession from the court. It can take longer than 6 months just to get a court hearing. This means that you could easily be waiting for a year or more for the property to be vacant and you can't buy it until it is.

    Some people think that buying a tenanted property is a good idea because they are cheaper than similar ones lived in by the people who own them. The reason why they are cheaper is because the landlord would prefer to sell to another landlord. Another landlord won't pay as much but will save the present landlord from possibly having to go to court to get possession or from having a period when the house is vacant and costing them money.

    Only you can tell if it is a bit cheaper. If it is then the landlord would like to sell to another landlord.

    You will get on better at buying a house if you forget about this one and find one that is owner occupied or vacant now.
  • G_M
    G_M Posts: 51,977 Forumite
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    You clearly can't buy this property till it is vacant. The current owner/landlord must end the tenancy first.

    Your question about how this can be done and how long it takes is valid. We can't see the tenancy agreement so can't answer.

    * It could take a week (if the tenants agree) or

    * it could take 18 months (if the TA is for another 12 months and then the tenants resist eviction)

    I would tell the seller that

    a) you are interested, but that
    b) you will not be making an offer till the property is vacant, and
    c) could he therefore contact you when that happens

    then keep looking and see if he evicts the tenants or not.
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