Do you need to sell your house with tenants in Connecticut? The process isn’t always that easy depending on your lease and tenants in place. Learn more about how to do it in our latest post.
Ethically, when selling your house with tenants in Connecticut, you’ll want to make the transition as easy as possible. Let them know of your intentions and what they should expect. If they wish to stay in the home, look for a buyer who will welcome the idea of buying with tenants. Someone who will honor the lease and make the transition invisible to the tenant. This is a great option if you have a good track record with the current tenants in place and if your rents are up to market rent. That said, it is business. If you are losing money or need to sell for other reasons, don’t hold on to the property longer than you have to.
Tenants Rights
Before you decide to sell your house with tenants in Connecticut, make sure you are familiar with the tenant’s rights. If you are asking them to vacate the property, make sure you are giving them the right amount of notice and are operating according to the law. You will need to have a termination clause in your lease allowing you to end the lease early. It is always a good idea to give your tenants plenty of notice. They are people with busy lives just like the rest of us and moving is a big deal. They need time to look for a new place, and plenty of time to pack their belongings or make arrangements for dumpter rentals etc. By giving tenants plenty of time to help them with their transition, you are increasing the odds that they will leave the property in good condition with minimal clean up for you once they are completely moved out. Selling your house with tenants in Connecticut can seem difficult. But if you adhere to the legalities and work with the right buyers, the process can be done quickly and without much disturbance to anyone’s lives.
Sell Directly
Selling your house directly will eliminate the need to clean, market, stage, and show the home. All of these can be difficult when there are tenants living in the house. In order to successfully sell your house directly, you will need to find the right buyers who are willing to take on a house with tenants. In fact, there are many investors who will see this as a perk. One less thing they have to do and having an instant income, without any costs for renovating, cleaning, can prove to be very valuable to them. Selling directly is much easier in todays social media world too. Simply taking some pictures and posting your property on social media sites can easily get the word out to potential investors that your property is available. Many states also have real estate investor groups. They are typically open to the public and those are great places also to market your property to investors who are familiar with rental housing etc.
Offer Incentives
If you plan on listing the house with a Connecticut real estate agent you will either need to wait until the tenants have moved out or have their cooperation in showing the home. You don’t want to have a tenant sabotage a showing whether intentionally or unintentionally, so you will need to make sure they are on your side. To do this, you can consider offering reduced rent in exchange for their time, property maintenance, cleaning, etc. You could also offer reduced rent as an incentive to get them to move out. Or maybe offer to pay the first months rent at their new place. Selling your house with tenants can be very inconvenient for them. Offering financial or other such incentives can help make the transaction an easier one for them.
Be Respectful
Remember, it might be your house, but it is currently your tenants home. They may feel a sense of attachment or worry about being uprooted after living in the home for a long time. While you may need to sell the house for your own personal reasons, try to be as respectful and accommodating to your tenants as possible. This will make things easier for them and for you as the home seller. The last thing you want is for a disgruntled tenant to purposefully damage your property or leave it very messy simply because they feel that they were not given enough time to figure out their living situation. Most of the time, they will respect your property, if you give them that respect as well.
Sell To Your Tenants
Aside from you, there aren’t many people who know and love the house the same way you do. If your tenant has been there for a while, they will have likely developed an attachment not only to the house but to the community where they are living. If the house has truly become their home, they may be interested in buying it outright. Before you spend time and money on the listing process talk to your tenants to see if there is any interest. The perfect buyer for your Connecticut house may be right under your nose!
Wait
If waiting is an option, consider holding off on the sale until the lease is up. Then, let your tenants know that they will need to relocate as you will be putting the house on the market. You can give them a heads up ahead of time, letting them know of your intentions. Helping with moving or as a reference can help soften the blow, especially with a long-term tenant. If the sale isn’t needed immediately and you want to spend the time and money on a listing, waiting until the house is vacant will be in your best interest. This may be beneficial to you as well. If you are able to wait, it will give you plenty of time to figure out how you will market the property, what upgrades or repairs if any you will want to make, getting quotes for those upgrades and repairs, etc.
Selling your house with tenants in Connecticut can be challenging depending on your situation and who your tenants are. However, when you plan ahead, act thoughtfully, and stick to what the law says, it can be done. We would love to help you learn more about the options available to you!