buying a property - tentant has a contract till next March

waynede

I have just placed an offer for a property that myself and my partner absolutely love, when we viewed it there was a tenant living within the flat and was told by the estate agents that she could move once a sale has been completed.

But now that we have made a formal offer the estate agents are now saying that the tenant has a contract which has to be honoured but that contract is until next March.

If we continue with our offer is there anyway that we can get the tenant to move on completion of the purchase or do we have to just let her still rent it until March?

If we have to let her continue living there, then do we get the rent money as we now own the property?

Thanks in advance.

poppysarah

You are unlikely to get a mortgage as OO to buy a flat that someone else is occupying.

waynede

Sorry if this sounds stupid but what does OO stand for?

I am a FTB.

Person_one

Owner occupier.

If you are buying a tenanted flat you'd need a buy to let mortgage, most OO mortgages have vacant possession as a condition, sorry but you may have to let this one go.

Doozergirl

What Poppysarah said. You can't get a residential mortgage with a tenant in place.

You will have to wait until March to exchange and complete (the LL will be advised not to exchange until she has moved). The other option is for the LL to issue her notice for March but offer her the opportunity of moving earlier and seeing if she takes it, or to offer extra to buy her out of her tenancy and see if she takes that. But she is absolutely within her rights to stay.

waynede

Looks like me and my partner need to find another place then, that is really annoying as the estate agents said she could be removed and have now stated this long term contract.

iB1

I guess that the current tenant may have signed a 6 month AST in September, which would then expire in March. As others have stated, unless the current LL buys out the contract you won't be able to exchange until March.

BitterAndTwisted

OO=Owner Occupier.

If you're trying to buy the place with a mortgage no lender will release the funds until you can acquire the place with vacant possession. At the moment it's the vendor's responsibility to try to negotiate with the tenant to surrender their tenancy early and most probably pay them a premium for doing so. This is the only way to get vacant possession or you wait until March or quite possibly a fair bit longer.

waynede

Thanks for the replies.

I'll contact the estate agents and see if the current tenant would be willing to go earlier if not will have to look for another property.

poppysarah

Just look for an alternative property.

If you were a tenant would you prefer to not have to leave early or be bothered with the question?

waynede

Good point.

It's just a shame as it's a lovely property for the price.