If you want to sell your house with a tenant for the highest and best
price, even the best tenant can be a detriment….
Why? It takes a lot of work and devotion
to get the house show-ready and keep it that way during the entire listing
period. Most homeowners lack the motivation to keep their own house show-ready
and they even have the motivation of monetary gains to entice them. Tenants
have nothing to gain for their inconvenience so their participation may be less
than enthusiastic. By having a tenant, you limit your market to mainly
investors because you are not only selling the house, you are selling the
tenant with it. Anyone buying your rental property automatically becomes a
landlord, like it or not, until the tenants lease expires. So what are your options for selling a rental
property with a tenant?
WAYS TO SELL YOUR RENTAL PROPERTY
WAIT UNTIL
THE TENANT’S LEASE EXPIRES AND SELL
THE PROPERTY:
This is the best option if you can afford it. It costs more
because you’re not receiving rent, but it gives you the greatest chance to sell
quicker at a higher sales price. You can sell the property to investors and
homeowners alike so you’re not limiting yourself. Without the tenant, you also
have the luxury of fixing up or refreshing the property to make it look its
best and when unoccupied. The home can
always be kept show-ready and you won’t run the chance of having the tell-all
tenant wanting to tell prospective buyers everything they don’t like about the
house.
SELL YOUR HOUSE AND YOUR TENANT:

SELL THE PROPERTY TO THE TENANT:
This option is a shot in the dark because most renters rent
because they can’t afford to buy or they simply don’t want to. If you’re not in
a hurry to cash in on the sale of your home, you may consider owner-financing
but odds are if your tenant can’t find a bank willing to loan them money,
there’s probably a good reason for it. Be
prepared to take back the house when they fail to keep up the payments.
GETTING YOUR RENTAL PROPERTY
SHOW-READY

MAKE YOUR TENANT YOUR PARTNER
If your tenant has something to
gain from the sale, they may be more inclined to promote the sale rather than
detract from it. Regardless, it’s a lot to ask of a tenant and the tenant
should receive some form of compensation for helping to sell your house. Maybe offer a discount of rent while the
house is on the market.
ARE YOU REALLY LOSING MONEY
LEAVING THE HOUSE UNRENTED DURING THE SALE?
The answer
is probably not. Having a renter makes the house primarily appeal to landlords and
anyone wanting to live in the house will not be interested in dealing with a
renter, even if it’s on a month-to-month lease. By doing this, you basically
reduce the pool of potential buyers significantly. A reduction in potential
buyers also reduces the potential for a higher sales price. The amount of rent you’ll receive while the
house is on the market could be much less than the overall drop in the sales
price. At the end of the day, you’ll either breakeven in rent-vs-price drop
or lose money depending on the market, condition of the house and cooperation
of the tenant.
WILL HAVING A TENANT MAKE IT MORE
VALUABLE TO AN INVESTOR?

Source:http://www.agentharvest.com/blog/the-risks-of-selling-a-rental-property-with-a-tenant/