Tips for Selling a House You Are Currently Renting Out
Posted on: 2 February 2018
If you own a rental house and decide that you no longer want to be a landlord, you could list the house for sale. The only problem with doing this is that you will have tenants living in the house, and this could affect your ability to show the house and sell it. If you are in this position, here are some tips to help you sell your rental house.
1. Talk to the tenant right away
The first thing you should do when you decide to sell a house you are renting out is talk to the person living there. Not only is this the courteous thing to do, but it is also a good step to help you gauge how helpful the tenant will be and to create a plan for selling the house.
During this conversation, you should inform the tenant of your plans to sell the house. You should also tell the tenant what you will need from him or her during this time. This may include asking the tenant to keep the house clean and being willing to vacate the house during showings. You should also let the tenant know that when you find a buyer for the house, the tenant may have only 30 days to move out.
2. Offer the tenant an incentive for being helpful during this event
Depending on how the tenant reacts to this information, you may want to consider offering him or her an incentive to help you through this event. For example, you could offer to knock $50 a month off the rental price if the tenant is helpful and nice about this. Another option is to tell the tenant that you will give him or her a cash amount, such as $500, when the house sells simply for being helpful during this time. Cash incentives tend to work well in situations like this.
3. Expect to sell for a lower amount
The other thing you should realize when trying to sell a rental property is that you might have to accept a price that is lower than what the house is really worth. It is harder to sell a house that is currently being rented, so it's important to be realistic when determining the lowest price you would accept for the house.
Selling a house that you are currently renting out is usually a little more difficult than selling a house that you live in. If you have questions about this, you can talk to a real estate agent to learn more about selling rental properties.
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