What You Should Know about Selling Your Tenant-Occupied Property in California
As a landlord interested in selling your property fast, you might be a little bit nervous if there are tenants living at your rental. It is stressful enough to handle the logistics of getting your property off your hands, but when there are tenants involved, things get even more difficult. The good news is that selling a home with tenants in California is not impossible. Although it will be a little bit more difficult than selling a home without tenants, know that landlords can sell their properties with tenants. Let’s discuss how, here:
What Factors Affect Buyers’ Interest in My Tenant-Occupied Home?
You should know that there are a few factors that impact how buyers view your property. For one, buyers will be concerned with what kind of property you have. Do you have a home that’s occupied by tenants? An apartment building occupied by tenants? Or another type of property with tenants?
Moreover, buyers will be concerned with what type of tenant occupies your property currently. If you have a tenant who has obeyed the lease and been clean, then buyers will be less likely to have an issue with the fact that you have tenants. However, if you have unruly tenants, then certain buyers might be more skeptical about purchasing your home.
Another issue buyers will be concerned with is whether or not the tenants are expecting to stay after the property is sold. In some instances, buyers will want tenants to stay, and in other instances, they will not.
When you have a property that is in poor condition, has unruly tenants, or is facing another issue, it might be difficult to sell your property to traditional buyers. However, you can still find a buyer who will purchase your home as-is, like Quick Home Offers.
What Makes Selling a Property with Tenants Hard in California?
As we’ve mentioned, it is not impossible to sell your home to tenants in California. However, the reason it will be a little bit difficult is the fact that California has several protections in place to ensure renters are treated fairly.
At large, California is a renter-friendly state, meaning the law falls in the favor of the renter more often than it does in the landlord’s favor. However, just because this is the case doesn’t mean it’s impossible to sell.
I Want to Sell with Tenants: What Are the Pros and Cons?
Even though tenants can pose issues for landlords, it is not all bad to have tenants living in a property you’d like to sell. Here are a few pros of having tenants living in your property up until the day it’s sold:
- It’s easier to show the home because it is already presentable with furniture and décor.
- There will be no issues with the functioning of the property due to it being vacant.
- It is possible your current residents will be able to stay when the new owners take over, which will be appealing to the next buyer.
- As a landlord, you can still collect your monthly rent checks.
With these advantages in mind, here are a few negatives that come with having tenants in your property that you want to sell.
- Assuming the tenant didn’t take care of their home, it might not be presentable to show.
- Tenants might not be accommodating in letting the landlord show the property.
- If the tenant refuses to move or decides to break another part of their lease, then it is possible you will have to endure a legal battle.
Now that you understand the pros and cons of selling a property with tenants in it, we can go over what you should know about the legalities associated with the process.
What Laws Are in Place to Protect Tenants?
There are several laws in place that you should be familiar with as a landlord. These include the California Civil Code Section 1954 and the Assembly Bill 1482. Both of these regulations ensure that tenants have privacy in their homes and that the landlord respects the space of the tenant who occupies the rental property. As a landlord, you should read over these pieces of legislation to ensure that you’re always following them, and if necessary, hire an attorney to help you navigate them.
How Can I Sell My Rental Property with Tenants and Still Respect Tenants?
It is best practice to do the following if you’re interested in selling your rental property with tenants: give them a warning, be fair, be respectful, and take the necessary actions and precautions when dealing with clients who are uncooperative. In most instances, if you are transparent with your tenants, you will be able to sell your property with no issues.
Even more specifically, know that renters have rights, and these rights include:
- Renters must have a written request asking if you can show the property at a certain time and date.
- You must give renters 24-hour notice before you enter their home.
- Tenants must receive a written notice if the owner will close the property.
- The tenants must receive a 60-day notice informing them that they need to leave the property.
- This list is not exclusive, so tenants have more rights as renters.
It is important to note that despite the laws in place that landlords must follow, sometimes, it is possible to sell your property more quickly when you hand over your property to a company that will buy your home for cash—Quick Home Offers being one.
Quick Home Offers Will Buy for Cash
No matter what situation you’re in, Quick Home Buyers can help take your home off your hands. Whether you’ve got a tenant that’s cooperative, uncooperative, or somewhere in the middle, we’ll ensure that you get the cash you need for your home fast. It can be difficult to navigate the selling process when you have to be concerned with the tenants occupying your property. So, for more information about selling your home with tenants for cash, contact us.