When to give tenant notice during house sale?

Pixie5740

Because estate agents never over-egg the valuation to win your business. No viewings after 3 months means the property was priced too high. Some viewings after reducing the asking price means the asking price was a more realistic ballpark. Next door did sell so there are buyers out there, there just aren't buyers out there willing to pay £88k or £95k for properties only worth £80k.

You say that you can't afford for your tenant to move out so you need to minimise your void period and the way to do that is by pricing the property keenly. Look at recent sold prices in the area and price it to sell rather than what you wish it were worth.

smile88egc

If you've been a good landlord to your tenant then I don't see any reason why they'd block reasonable access for viewings. There's no need to have the property vacant when you put it on the market.

Just continue being honest with your tenant so there are no nasty surprises. Your house is not going to go from being placed on the market to completion in less than 2 months anyway and certainly not in the current climate.

kissprudence

Thanks smile88egc. I have no reason to believe that my tenant would block viewings or that I would have to evict her because she refuses to move out at the end of the notice period......but then maybe I'm just being naive....

Guest101

kissprudence wrote: »

Thanks smile88egc. I have no reason to believe that my tenant would block viewings or that I would have to evict her because she refuses to move out at the end of the notice period......but then maybe I'm just being naive....

Do everything by the book and you cant go wrong.


If your friend asks, just say the buyer has requested a copy of a notice

G_M

Good grief! Bake a cake, ring her up and ask if you can go round for a chat, take the cake, sit down over tea and discuss your plans. Find out what her reaction is. Her concerns. Discuss viewings/rent reduction etc and come to an amicable arrangement.

why do people not talk to each other any more!?

However, as others have said, you also need to understand your legal position, and her rights - eg that to evict her you need to serve a S21 Notice (which takes 2 months) followed by further procedures......

see:

* Ending/renewing an AST: what happens when a fixed term ends? How can a LL or tenant end a tenancy? What is a periodic tenancy?

paddy's_mum

G_M wrote: »

Bake a cake

D'you know - I'm getting really fed up with all this cake business!

Nobody brings me cake - I must be doing something wrong (unless my own bakes are so good...)

Hutch100uk

This exact thing happened to me (but from tenant side). My landlord promised me I could stay in her property until next February but then decided to sell. She then told me once a sale was agreed, she would then serve me with 2 months notice. Next thing I know, she shoves a notice letter through my door giving me 2 months notice. She then has the audacity to expect me to show prospective buyers around and offers me a £50 discount on the £800 rent I pay (insulting).

Yes it is her house and she can do what she likes. BUT, it really does pay to keep your tenants sweet if you want everything to go smoothly.

Be up front and tell her when you decide to put on the market. Offer her a reduction in rent (as much as you can afford). Be courteous and understanding within the notice period and try to respect that your tenant will be packing up the house. Tell her that as soon as you have accepted an offer you will give her 2 months notice. Most sales take an average of 3 months to go through so that should work for you.

If you are up front with her, tell her exactly what is going on and give her plenty of notice, there is no reason there should be a problem.

AdrianC

kissprudence wrote: »

"Price it correctly" - it was valued by three EAs as being worth around £95k in 2011 so that's what I put it on at. No joy after 3 months

So £95k was more than anybody wanted to pay.

so I dropped the price to £88k. This brought three viewers but none of them serious.

So £88k was more than anybody wanted to pay.

I was going to drop further until my mum (who used to be an EA) said "STOP! You are practically giving it away".

Hardly, if nobody wanted to pay that.

Next door was vacant for 10 months in 2011-2012 and sold for a measly £80k as they were desperate. The buyers just weren't out there.......

They clearly were, since next door sold. They just weren't there at the price you wanted them to be there at.

About the only potential factor that nobody's mentioned yet is that if your tenant is happy to accommodate viewings, and you get an acceptable offer, then no sane solicitor will allow their client to exchange contracts until there's vacant possession - your tenant is out, in other words, and the house is empty. So you then have to explain to your buyer that there's no way on earth you can exchange for AT LEAST two months, potentially up to three, depending on when in the monthly rent cycle you are at the time of offer. And that's assuming your friend/tenant doesn't then decided to play hardball. Losing the buyer could be a lot more expensive than a few months of council tax.

Voyager2002

You could try marketing it as a tenanted property to a BTL investor. For that market, the fact that there is a sitting tenant would be an advantage, particularly since there is a record of prompt payments.

Otherwise, get a bank loan to cover a rent-free period; serve the notice; and once the house is empty do any work necessary to get it up to the standard to achieve the kind of price that you would like.

lewishardwick

Be careful with the reduced rent in exchange for access. The reduction will only please the tenant for a few weeks. Estate Agents will be all nice to both parties, but after a week or so, the tenant will be hounded for viewings with barely an hours notice. I have experienced this twice. Even had the agent forget to lock doors on more than once occasion.

If the property is in good condition, you may well find returning their deposit in exchange for a few Saturday afternoons for block viewings, might be easier.

Of course, the big issue may well be the tenant will put off buyers as they may not leave after being served notice.