Landlord selling up

emlou2009

We are 10 months into a 12 month tenancy (not fixed term) and our LL has decided to sell up instead of renew the tenancy. The house is not on the market yet. We were told before moving in that LL was looking for long term tenants so this has come as a total shock. We're also skint having blown what little we had in savings to move in here so we are hideously unprepared and don't know where the money will come from to move. Having been through all this less than a year ago we know the council will not help us unless we stay until we are evicted by bailiffs and this is something we definitely do not want.

We have asked the letting agent who will be selling the property if it would be possible to sell to an investment buyer so we can stay on. All communication so far has been with the LA. They made all the right noises and said they would speak to the LL about the possibility but as yet they have not done, if they haven't done it yet I don't trust them to so I would like to approach the LL directly but I want to be able to do so armed, and I don't want to annoy him either! What would it mean for him if he sold to an investment buyer, would it make any difference to him at all? Would he typically pocket less or about the same as I'm sure that's what his concern would be? Thank you.

G_M

The number of potential buyers will be reduced drastically, by about 95%, so the price he gets is likely to be reduced.

Investor/BTL buyers are also typically much more financially motivated, so looking for a 'good buy'. Owner occupiers can be swayed by loving the property and wanting to live there, so may be willing to pay more.

On the other hand, selling to an invester means the seller/LL will continue to collect rent from you right up to the date the sale completes. Whereas to sell to an owner occupier, at best he'll have to evict you before he can Exchange contracts, but more likely he'll need to evict you before or when he starts marketing. Owner-occupiers are cautious about offering to buy tenanted properties. So the LL will have a void - no rent coming in but mortgage/running costs going out.

I'm sure you are aware that, whatever the LL decides, you'll have at least 2 months (S21 Notice).

HappyMJ

emlou2009 wrote: »

We are 10 months into a 12 month tenancy (not fixed term) and our LL has decided to sell up instead of renew the tenancy. The house is not on the market yet. We were told before moving in that LL was looking for long term tenants so this has come as a total shock. We're also skint having blown what little we had in savings to move in here so we are hideously unprepared and don't know where the money will come from to move. Having been through all this less than a year ago we know the council will not help us unless we stay until we are evicted by bailiffs and this is something we definitely do not want.

We have asked the letting agent who will be selling the property if it would be possible to sell to an investment buyer so we can stay on. All communication so far has been with the LA. They made all the right noises and said they would speak to the LL about the possibility but as yet they have not done, if they haven't done it yet I don't trust them to so I would like to approach the LL directly but I want to be able to do so armed, and I don't want to annoy him either! What would it mean for him if he sold to an investment buyer, would it make any difference to him at all? Would he typically pocket less or about the same as I'm sure that's what his concern would be? Thank you.

Personally and I know it seems nasty but if you don't have the money to move then I'd stop paying the rent and save what you would have paid in rent for your next property. You will get at least 3 months worth of rent payments saved before you've got enough to find somewhere else to live and you won't be evicted before then. The landlord reference is pointless. Your existing landlord is not going to give you a bad reference as they want rid of non-paying tenants so they'll say you have been paying the rent on time even though your latest rent payments will be late. Once you've left you can negotiate a settlement to pay the arrears over time.....and I'm a landlord.

pinkshoes

HappyMJ wrote: »

Personally and I know it seems nasty but if you don't have the money to move then I'd stop paying the rent and save what you would have paid in rent for your next property. You will get at least 3 months worth of rent payments saved before you've got enough to find somewhere else to live and you won't be evicted before then. The landlord reference is pointless. Your existing landlord is not going to give you a bad reference as they want rid of non-paying tenants so they'll say you have been paying the rent on time even though your latest rent payments will be late. Once you've left you can negotiate a settlement to pay the arrears over time.....and I'm a landlord.

I think this is really bad advice.

You are legally entitled to quiet enjoyment of the property, so are not obliged to let the agent in to take photos or show people around.

I would try and negotiate a reduction in rent in return for viewings at certain times.

emlou2009

The LA said he won't issue us with a s21 until he has found a buyer. He's obviously in need of the rent coming in as I'm sure nobody would have advised him to do that otherwise. I wonder if pointing out he'll have rent coming in from us longer may sway him to help?

Marvel1

emlou2009 wrote: »

The LA said he won't issue us with a s21 until he has found a buyer. He's obviously in need of the rent coming in as I'm sure nobody would have advised him to do that otherwise. I wonder if pointing out he'll have rent coming in from us longer may sway him to help?

He wants his cake and eat it, you don't even have to allow viewings and can change locks but keep the old ones.

Guest101

I don't understand though, if you've had 10 months to save up and failed, how you plan to achieve it with-in 4 (or less) months.


At the end of the day, regardless of what the LL says, he/she will sell to whomever offers most.

benjus

G_M wrote: »

Owner-occupiers are cautious about offering to buy tenanted properties.

Not cautious enough, if the number of threads on here about prospective buyers and tenants that won't move out is anything to go by.

If the property is in a high demand location and priced keenly, I doubt the current landlord will have a problem finding a buyer (prospective owner-occupier) that's happy to proceed with the tenants still in occupation. This buyer may well have no idea what's involved in the eviction process and how long it could take. So the landlord will probably get to have his cake and eat it.

HappyMJ

pinkshoes wrote: »

I think this is really bad advice.

You are legally entitled to quiet enjoyment of the property, so are not obliged to let the agent in to take photos or show people around.

I would try and negotiate a reduction in rent in return for viewings at certain times.

How then is the OP supposed to find another property with no money saved? No landlord will accept a tenant with not enough money to pay the deposit and first months rent upfront.

The only way to do it is save what would have been in rent and use it for the next property. As the OP said they don't wish to go through the full eviction process so they won't be considered for social housing whether they've paid the rent or not.

As I also said in my post the arrears can be paid off in time.

lynsayjane

HappyMJ wrote: »

How then is the OP supposed to find another property with no money saved? No landlord will accept a tenant with not enough money to pay the deposit and first months rent upfront.

The only way to do it is save what would have been in rent and use it for the next property. As the OP said they don't wish to go through the full eviction process so they won't be considered for social housing whether they've paid the rent or not.

As I also said in my post the arrears can be paid off in time.

I'm kind of horrified by this response, firstly you've no idea the financial situation of the landlord or the reasoning on their decision to sell. I can't see from the OP's post that the landlord is in any way doing anything wrong. They may have verbally said at the time that they were looking for a long term lease but a lot can happen in a short time and they've given the OP notice of their intent to sell up. It's not been put on the market as yet, it almost seems like their intent is to put it on the market once the OP leaves at the end of the tenancy?
Secondly I don't really think that suggesting someone get themselves in legal difficulties by not paying bills that they should be paying is particularly helpful.

OP, I don't think there's any reasonable way of asking the landlord to only sell as a BTL, that would seriously restrict the potential buyers (leaving the selling price out of the discussion). Presumably you would now have some savings aside from the last 10 months? I also liked the previous posters idea of asking if there would be a possibility of a discount for the remaining months to allow viewings etc. during your tenancy, this would help you save further and by working with the landlord you could probably stay month to month while it's on the market. With conveyancing you'd still have a couple months from an accepted offer to be able to find a new place.

Hope you can get things sorted.

HappyMJ

lynsayjane wrote: »

I'm kind of horrified by this response, firstly you've no idea the financial situation of the landlord or the reasoning on their decision to sell. I can't see from the OP's post that the landlord is in any way doing anything wrong. They may have verbally said at the time that they were looking for a long term lease but a lot can happen in a short time and they've given the OP notice of their intent to sell up. It's not been put on the market as yet, it almost seems like their intent is to put it on the market once the OP leaves at the end of the tenancy?
Secondly I don't really think that suggesting someone get themselves in legal difficulties by not paying bills that they should be paying is particularly helpful.

OP, I don't think there's any reasonable way of asking the landlord to only sell as a BTL, that would seriously restrict the potential buyers (leaving the selling price out of the discussion). Presumably you would now have some savings aside from the last 10 months? I also liked the previous posters idea of asking if there would be a possibility of a discount for the remaining months to allow viewings etc. during your tenancy, this would help you save further and by working with the landlord you could probably stay month to month while it's on the market. With conveyancing you'd still have a couple months from an accepted offer to be able to find a new place.

Hope you can get things sorted.

That was the advice my OH was given from Housing Options at the local council to be able to save the deposit to move. She was on a low fixed income (ESA and HB) If she was made homeless the council would have put her into emergency accommodation in Birmingham some 30 miles away whilst waiting for a property to come up which they estimate would have taken more than 6 months. Not paying the rent was her only option. She ended up staying in the property for 6 months without paying any rent and so far 11 months later after leaving the landlord has done nothing to chase the arrears.