buying a house which currently has a tenant in...

Leigh1987

Hello,

I am going to view a property tomorrow which has a tenant living in it currently. The pictures on the estate agents website make the property look empty, but when booking the viewing the agent mentioned contacting the tenant to arrange it. When I said I thought the property was empty she said, no it's just being rented, the person there doesn't have much stuff which is why it looks empty. I asked if the tenant had a long lease or anything which would delay us moving in (if we ended up buying it), she said no.

I know someone who thinks she had heard that that property had been repossessed but isn't sure.

I'm worried that if I do buy the house, the tenant (who may be the person who has had their house repossessed) will damage the place before they move out.

If they're just awkward and remove lightbulbs and other fittings, I can handle that. But would I have any course of action to take it the property was really damaged, kitchen ripped out, walls with holes in etc? Or is it pretty much you buy the house as seen.

Forgive me but this will be the first house I have bought. Thanks for any advice.

Werdnal

Your solicitor will advise you not to exchange on the property until there is guaranteed vacant possession, ie the vendor can prove the tenant has gone, so the condition they leave the property will be known to you at that point.

I personally would make sure your offer on the property reflects the fact that there is a tenant in place, which may delay things. If the tenant is given notice to leave today by the landlord, if could be around 3 months before they go, ie 2 months notice, + about 4 weeks awaiting court possession order inf the tenant does not leave at or before the 2 months notice expires.

If the tenant has given their own notice to leave, then could be gone sooner.

However, you must find out the current status of the tenancy, as if there is still a fixed term running, the tenant cannot be evicted until the term ends, so make sure you get proof before you make any offers etc.

dimbo61

Please me very careful about spending money on searches, surveys, solicitors etc if the Tenant is still living at the property with a long tenancy!
You could end up being a landlord and not able to move in or evict the tenant.
What condition is the property in ?
Do you need and have Thousands of pounds to spend updating the property?

Leigh1987

The property is about 5 years old. It looks to be in very good condition. The kitchen diner does not have a table in, but the kitchen looks fine. The living room has beige carpet and beige walls, no furniture that I can see (although the picture might only show half the room I guess). There is no pictures of the bedrooms or bathroom.

I will definitely make sure that I know the status of the property before I incur any expense. Is it too much to ask for written confirmation of how long any lease or anything is in writing?

G_M

It is always a risk viewing tenanted properties.

Tenants can take a long time to evict if they fight eviction. The agent will doubtless tell you "The've been given (or will be given as soon as your offer is accepted) 2 months notice", but in reality, the notice required can be nearly 3 months, and even then the tenant is under no obligation to leave.

If they are hoping to get re-housed by the council, they will be told by the council not to leave, and if they happen not to have found somewhere else, they will stay. The owner then has to go to court (2 - 4 months?) for a possession order, and even then the tenant can stay. The owner then has to apply for court baliffs (1 - 3 months) - so total? Up to 8 - 10 months!

And if the tenant is angry about eviction (they thought this was their long-term home perhaps?), damage is a real possibility.

The advice we give landlords who want to sell is always, evict the tenant and then start to sell the property.... empty.

This owner wants his cake (rent) as well as... err, his pudding (a sale).

Is it too much to ask for written confirmation of how long any lease or anything is in writing?

Fair to ask, but does not alter what I've said above....

On the plus side, one can often persuade a reluctant tenant to leave sooner by offering to pay their removal expenses, or more.

tim123456789

Under "Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations" the EA must be honest with you wrt the status of the tenant, if you ask (and possibly, even if you don't).

If he is in any way vague about this, reminding him of his statutory obligations, and the penalties for non compliance, might focus his mind a little.

lauraland

Hi Leigh,

I'm in the same position as yourself. I viewed a property last week that I really like although it is currently tenanted, which wasn't mentioned anywhere on the online listing. The EA told me their lease runs until September although I'm unsure what their tenancy agreement is, I'm assuming AST for now.

The EA advised that if I bought the property completion usually takes 3 months therefore I would have a couple of months rental income. This is a big No-No for me - I do not want the responsibility of being a landlord and if the tenants do not vacate the property that would undoubtedly have a serious negative impact on my moving plans. Plus, there is the additional risk of damage to the property.

From what I have read online, and from what others here have stated in their replies, is that vacant possession should be guaranteed before exchange takes place.

Now, what I'm unsure about is whether the current landlord has any legal right to serve them notice to vacate the property before the end of their tenancy to allow exchange to take place in a couple of months? Otherwise, Exchange would be put on hold until September when the tenants (hopefully) leave although this is several months away and cutting it a bit fine for me in terms of my expected moving dates. Would I also be right in thinking that surveys, and what not, shouldn't be carried out until the property is vacant also?

The more I look into this, the more of a headache its appearing to be. I haven't made an offer on the property although I do really like it and I'm unsure what my next steps should be? My head is telling me to walk away......

phoebe1989seb

We once bought a House (privately, no EA involved) that was tenanted and agree it's not for the faint-hearted. The process was long and arduous - we ended up being persuaded by the vendor to split the costs of paying off (bribing ) one tenant in order for him to leave and two (out of the four) tenants had to be taken to court by the vendor to get them out of the house.

It was very stressful situation for our family to go through and we were convinced we'd never get the house, which was our dream Victorian home and one of only three ever built in that style in our area. We used to spend time sitting outside the house in our car watching to see if the tenants were showing signs of leaving - that's how sad we were, LOL!

Eventually they were evicted and we did get vacant possession - but we'd already completed on the sale of our previous house and had to move in with my parents, put the contents of our 4 bed house into storage and wait a further 2 months till everything was tied up and we could finally complete. The whole process, IIRC took around 7 months from start to finish.

Ultimately it was worth it, but really only 'cos it was such a special house - I don't think I could have been bothered to put my family through the hassle of it all otherwise........

At the end of the day, if getting the property is that important to you and you're prepared for lots of stress along the way, maybe, just maybe it's worth it..........

G_M

lauraland wrote: »

The EA told me their lease runs until September although I'm unsure what their tenancy agreement is, I'm assuming AST for now. Probobly. But there's no guarantee they'll leave in September

The EA advised that if I bought the property completion usually takes 3 months therefore I would have a couple of months rental income. VERY bad advice - do NOT listen to an agent who just wants to complete a sale!
This is a big No-No for me - I do not want the responsibility of being a landlordVERY wise. Plus you'll need a (more expensive) Buy-To-Let mortgage unless you are paying cash
and if the tenants do not vacate the property that would undoubtedly have a serious negative impact on my moving plans.
:rotfl:
Plus, there is the additional risk of damage to the property.
Yes

From what I have read online, and from what others here have stated in their replies, is that vacant possession should be guaranteed before exchange takes place.
No question, unless you plan to be a landlord

Now, what I'm unsure about is whether the current landlord has any legal right to serve them notice to vacate the property before the end of their tenancy to allow exchange to take place in a couple of months?
Usually not, unless there is a 'Break Clause' in the tenancy agreement
Otherwise, Exchange would be put on hold until September when the tenants (hopefully :rotfl: ) leave although this is several months away and cutting it a bit fine for me in terms of my expected moving dates. Would I also be right in thinking that surveys, and what not, shouldn't be carried out until the property is vacant also?
Don't waste your money till the property is vacant

The more I look into this, the more of a headache its appearing to be. I haven't made an offer on the property although I do really like it and I'm unsure what my next steps should be? My head is telling me to walk away......

Follow your head.

phoebe1989seb

lauraland wrote: »

Would I also be right in thinking that surveys, and what not, shouldn't be carried out until the property is vacant also?

The more I look into this, the more of a headache its appearing to be. I haven't made an offer on the property although I do really like it and I'm unsure what my next steps should be? My head is telling me to walk away......

Not sure about the legalities Laura, but when we were buying our tenanted house we did get a survey (full structural type) carried out before three out of the four tenants had vacated - in fact our surveyor got to see the downstairs of the house before we did as when we viewed, the tenant in the ground floor flat refused the landlord (and us) entry. As it was a private sale and the owner lived in the US most of the time (and we'd viewed next door when it was for sale the previous year, so we knew the rough layout) we went ahead having only viewed the upper floors and garden

How special/important is this house to you? Is something better likely to come along if you walk away? Maybe it's not the one and you should listen to your head........only you know the answer! Good luck anyway

Leigh1987

At what stage do you think it is acceptable both from the landlord's and the buyers point of view, for the property to be empty?

If I put an offer in on this house (which is a bit premature since I haven't viewed it yet, but I am keen) I will be making it clear that I will not exchange contracts until the property is vacant. That's my minimum condition.

To take it a step further, do you think it's likely that the landlord would be willing to ask the tenants to leave when the offer is accepted (assuming it isn't a long term lease) and so I could wait until it was empty before doing the mortgage application, survey, valuation etc.

Obviously it would be ideal for me if the property is empty before I have spent any money or applied for the mortgage, but from the landlord's point of view the tenant could move out and then the sale could fall through and he's left with no income from that property.

Is buying a house ever easy?!