A Question for Landlords

Jana83

Hi All

Just a quick question for all you Landlords out there - how would you feel / what would you do if your Tenant expressed an interest in buying your property?

I only ask as my BF & I are aiming to buy a house soon and ideally we would love to buy the one we're living in / renting now.

I'm unsure how our LL would react to such a situation. Part of me hopes that he would be pleased with the idea and would like to help us (VERY naive I know but here's hoping). The other part of me worries that he'd know how much we want it, put it on the market and it'll go out of our budget (we live in Bristol which is crazy at the moment).

Thanks to Rightmove, we know how much he paid for it a few years ago and have a rough idea on how much he's spent on it (driveway / conservatory etc) so we have an idea of how much we can offer. The trouble is what we can offer may not be enough!

I'd like to hear your thoughts :idea:

slopemaster

Jana83 wrote: »

- how would you feel / what would you do if your Tenant expressed an interest in buying your property?

I wouldn't be interested and would tell them so - but I certainly wouldn't have a problem with being asked, so why not ask and see what LL says?

pmd123

I asked my landlord a few months ago, they were very nice about it, took a few days to consider it, then came back to me and said they wanted to keep it as a long term investment.

Can't see any problem with asking the question, and surely the landlord would take it as a compliment that you like the place. Other thing is, IF they were considering selling, selling to the tenant cuts out the estate agency fees, which is a high cost, so something for you to consider in negotiations.

G_M

Jana83 wrote: »

Hi All

Just a quick question for all you Landlords out there - how would you feel / what would you do if your Tenant expressed an interest in buying your property?

I'd be pleased (flattered?) that you like my property.

If I was interested in selling at that time, I'd discuss price.

If I wasn't, I wouldn't.

pmlindyloo

pmd123 wrote: »

I asked my landlord a few months ago, they were very nice about it, took a few days to consider it, then came back to me and said they wanted to keep it as a long term investment.

Can't see any problem with asking the question, and surely the landlord would take it as a compliment that you like the place. Other thing is, IF they were considering selling, selling to the tenant cuts out the estate agency fees, which is a high cost, so something for you to consider in negotiations.

It would only cut out estate agents fees if a letting agent wasn't being used. Most contracts between letting agent and landlord contain a clause about paying a percentage to them if the property is sold to the tenant.

Having said this we bought the house we were renting. We just asked if they would be interested in selling, they had a think and came back with a figure. We counter offered and ended up paying a little over what we thought he would have got on the open market. We thought it was worth it as we loved then house and the area.

Just go for it.

dimbo61

As a Landlord having spent thousands on buying costs, searches, legals, surveys etc I consider buying a rental property a long term investment.
You can only ask your Landlord but the market down south is a little mad at the moment.

DaftyDuck

I wouldn't mind being asked at all. I would of course consider any offer but, in my case, I'd say no, as I plan to keep mine until retirement.

Having said that, two years ago I'd have said yes, as I had other concerns, now receded.

The problem you may have is that many LL have bought specific properties for specific reasons; they'd sell, but probably for above market price. If you are lucky, personal circumstances might lean them to selling.

I'd say no harm asking, except. LL will know you are not planning long term renting, so may then be loath to try to keep you.

pmd123

A lot depends on the circumstances, the house I am renting was the landlords parents house, more likely to be willing to consider than someone who has bought a buy to let as a long term investment.

All you can do is ask and keep your fingers crossed.

pmd123

pmlindyloo wrote: »

Most contracts between letting agent and landlord contain a clause about paying a percentage to them if the property is sold to the tenant.

They think of everything don't they

Jana83

UPDATE

Well it seems we won't be able to ask our LL if he would consider selling to us as we were VERY wrong estimating the price of the house! A house 2 doors down is for sale at a whopping 209k!!!
When we saw the board, we hazarded a guess at somewhere between 170 & 185k depending on the condition - how wrong we were!
So our 'cheeky' offer might have been seen as really quite insulting - oops

Owain_Moneysaver

Jana83 wrote: »

UPDATE

Well it seems we won't be able to ask our LL if he would consider selling to us as we were VERY wrong estimating the price of the house! A house 2 doors down is for sale at a whopping 209k!!!
When we saw the board, we hazarded a guess at somewhere between 170 & 185k depending on the condition - how wrong we were!
So our 'cheeky' offer might have been seen as really quite insulting - oops

Doesn't mean it will achieve £209k though.

£190 would be 10% below asking price, which depending on area could be a perfectly sensible offer, given the other advantages to the landlord of selling to tenants.