PLEASE READ BEFORE POSTING
Hello Forumites! In order to help keep the Forum a useful, safe and friendly place for our users, discussions around non-MoneySaving matters are not permitted per the Forum rules. While we understand that mentioning house prices may sometimes be relevant to a user's specific MoneySaving situation, we ask that you please avoid veering into broad, general debates about the market, the economy and politics, as these can unfortunately lead to abusive or hateful behaviour. Threads that are found to have derailed into wider discussions may be removed. Users who repeatedly disregard this may have their Forum account banned. Please also avoid posting personally identifiable information, including links to your own online property listing which may reveal your address. Thank you for your understanding.Buying House with Tenants
Geek1337
Posts: 30 Forumite
Hey,
I've recently had an offer accepted on a property which I hope will soon become my first home.
The property was listed as 'ideal for an investor' as there is a tenant currently living in the property who has been there for the past 5 years and was hoping to stay living there. Despite this the Landlord was happy to accept my offer as a first time buyer hoping to live in the property.
When I viewed the property, the tenant seemed unhappy that a first time buyer was being shown around the property as this means they will need to move out. I have been told that they will be given 2 months notice and following this the property will be ours.
I am just wondering if anyone has any advice for this situation? Is there anything we can do to ensure the tenant moves out at the end of the notice period? Or anything I need to do to cover myself in case of this scenario?
I'm also wondering what will happen to the deposit the tenant has paid and what will happen about any damage caused to the property. Is there any assurance I need to get from the EA when signing the documents?
Thanks.
I've recently had an offer accepted on a property which I hope will soon become my first home.
The property was listed as 'ideal for an investor' as there is a tenant currently living in the property who has been there for the past 5 years and was hoping to stay living there. Despite this the Landlord was happy to accept my offer as a first time buyer hoping to live in the property.
When I viewed the property, the tenant seemed unhappy that a first time buyer was being shown around the property as this means they will need to move out. I have been told that they will be given 2 months notice and following this the property will be ours.
I am just wondering if anyone has any advice for this situation? Is there anything we can do to ensure the tenant moves out at the end of the notice period? Or anything I need to do to cover myself in case of this scenario?
I'm also wondering what will happen to the deposit the tenant has paid and what will happen about any damage caused to the property. Is there any assurance I need to get from the EA when signing the documents?
Thanks.
2023 6 Wins - Biggest win Aug 23 from Instagram Freda and Bert bundle worth £180
0
Comments
-
There is no guarantee or requirement for the tenant to move out after two months. YOU are in no position to 'ensure' they leave.
Do not exchange until the tenant is out.0 -
Don't stop looking at other properties - you may be waiting a long time for this one if the tenants don't want to leave.0
-
The tenant may be given 2 months' notice to leave, but they don't have to. If they choose not to then the Landlord can get a court order to evict them. The whole process can take months. In short (and this is very very important, just in case it's not clear!) do not exchange contracts under any circumstances until the tenant is evicted and the house is empty. (If you do, you will be a landlord, with all the responsibilities that come with it, and may have to go to court to evict the tenant yourself, and in the meantime be liable for the property, and incur all the legal costs. Just don't go there.)
In any case, your mortgage provider may well not lend to you unless the house is untenanted. Don't believe your EA or the seller if they 'guarantee' you the tenant will be out. They can't guarantee it.
Check it yourself, and refuse to exchange without proof!' <-- See that? It's called an apostrophe. It does not mean "hey, look out, here comes an S".0 -
Ask tenant (not owner, not agent, not solicitor..) when they 1st moved in: If early enough there might be no realistic way of getting them evicted (if they have Rent Act tenancy).
Even AST evictions, if tenant digs in heels, can take 40 weeks + - see
http://www.landlordzone.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?75530-Time-to-repossess-statistics0 -
The landlord gives the tenants two months notice that he is intending to end the tenancy. The tenants do not have to leave at the end of the two months. If they don't leave the landlord has to go to court to get a possession order to make the tenants leave. If the tenants still don't leave the landlord has to instruct bailiffs to make the tenants leave. It can take several months after the 2 months notice for the tenants to finally leave the property.
You need to leave exchange of contracts until the house is vacant because if you don't do this you could buy a house with the tenants still living there. No one will know what condition the tenants are going to leave the property in until they have left. If they do a lot of damage to the property when they leave will you still want to buy it at the same price?
The reason why this property was advertised as "ideal for an investor" is because the simplest change of ownership would happen if another investor bought it and kept the tenants. There is more uncertainty for you because you don't know how long it will take for the tenants to leave and you don't know what condition they will leave the property in.0 -
The reason why this property was advertised as "ideal for an investor" is because the simplest change of ownership would happen if another investor bought it and kept the tenants. There is more uncertainty for you because you don't know how long it will take for the tenants to leave and you don't know what condition they will leave the property in.
Also I imagine (from experience) the landlord was like 'please let me show people around your house, I'm only going to sell it to an investor so you won't need to move!'0 -
The tenants are not really your problem - they will be gone before you own the property.
Some people will say...
1. Don't spend any money on searches, mortgage applications, legal stuff until the tenants are out
or
2. Don't exchange contracts until the tenants are out.
or
3. Don't complete until the tenants are out.
As you're a first time buyer, go for option 1 or 2.
But you might get into a catch 22 situation with option 1....
- You won't spend any money until the tenants are evicted.
- But the owner won't evict the tenants until you show commitment by spending some money.
If the tenants decide to be difficult, it could take 6 months for the current owner to evict them. (Or they might agree to move out within a week.)0 -
I would suggest that you look for a different house. If the landlord had wanted to sell this house for someone to live in they would have made sure that the tenant had gone before they put the house on the market. As it is you have no idea when it will become vacant and no idea what sort of condition it will be in when it is vacant. You also don't yet have any idea what sort of tenancy the tenants have. You will have to get a solicitor to find out from the sellers solicitor what kind of tenancy the tenants have. Some very old tenancies and some newer ones mean that you can't just ask tenants to leave and they have the right to carry on living there so you need to know before you do anything else that these tenants can be made to move out. This means spending money on the house before you even know if you will be able to get it vacated.0
-
The landlord gives the tenants two months notice that he is intending to end the tenancy. The tenants do not have to leave at the end of the two months. If they don't leave the landlord has to go to court to get a possession order to make the tenants leave. If the tenants still don't leave the landlord has to instruct bailiffs to make the tenants leave. It can take several months after the 2 months notice for the tenants to finally leave the property.
You need to leave exchange of contracts until the house is vacant because if you don't do this you could buy a house with the tenants still living there. No one will know what condition the tenants are going to leave the property in until they have left. If they do a lot of damage to the property when they leave will you still want to buy it at the same price?
The reason why this property was advertised as "ideal for an investor" is because the simplest change of ownership would happen if another investor bought it and kept the tenants. There is more uncertainty for you because you don't know how long it will take for the tenants to leave and you don't know what condition they will leave the property in.
When we viewed the property the first time, the tenants were present. They made it seem like they were shocked that first time buyers were being allowed to view the property. The EA mentioned that the Landlord mentioned he 'preferred' to sell to an investor but would not rule out a first time buyer. When this was mentioned to the tenant, they said they'd need to know because they'd need to find somewhere else to live.
It did seem like the tenants understood the situation but as you said, if they refuse to leave it will make it very difficult. Buying my first house is a scary enough thought as it is!2023 6 Wins - Biggest win Aug 23 from Instagram Freda and Bert bundle worth £1800 -
The tenants are not really your problem - they will be gone before you own the property.
Some people will say...
1. Don't spend any money on searches, mortgage applications, legal stuff until the tenants are out
or
2. Don't exchange contracts until the tenants are out.
or
3. Don't complete until the tenants are out.
As you're a first time buyer, go for option 1 or 2.
But you might get into a catch 22 situation with option 1....
- You won't spend any money until the tenants are evicted.
- But the owner won't evict the tenants until you show commitment by spending some money.
If the tenants decide to be difficult, it could take 6 months for the current owner to evict them. (Or they might agree to move out within a week.)
This is exactly how I feel about the situation! There's honestly no way to know how the tenants will react but I don't want to risk losing the house because the seller doesn't think I'm serious.
What would happen if I informed the EA that I didn't want to exchange contracts until the tenants have moved out? Would this upset the seller or cause delays when they do leave?2023 6 Wins - Biggest win Aug 23 from Instagram Freda and Bert bundle worth £1800
This discussion has been closed.
Categories
- All Categories
- 343.1K Banking & Borrowing
- 250.1K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
- 449.6K Spending & Discounts
- 235.1K Work, Benefits & Business
- 607.8K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
- 173K Life & Family
- 247.8K Travel & Transport
- 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
- 15.9K Discuss & Feedback
- 15.1K Coronavirus Support Boards