Selling Your Home With Tenants, What To Expect !

For many homeowners here on Long Island renting out part of your home is quite common, most usually do this to help pay taxes or to help out a friend or family member but what do you do once you've decided to sell.  This can sometimes become a sensitive situation because although it is your home the tenants have their own rights to their area of the house.

First and the most important question is, did you get the required permit for this rental ?  In the case where it is not a legal apartment it is important to know that their will be things that need to be removed from the rental dwelling in order for any buyers bank to approve their loan.  Not only will the tenants need to vacate but things like stoves, or illegal conversion of rooms will need to go as well. 

Next question is where do your tenants stand in their current lease, if they have one ? There are very few cases where the purchase of a home includes the new owners taking on the old tenants, commonly this will only happen when it is bought as an investment property.  Open communication is key regardless, the tenants may be willing to ignore the lease end date in order to move sooner, although they do have the right to stay until the end of their lease.  

The key to a successful sale is always communication but in a sale where there is a third party involved before a buyer it is extremely important.  Your agent should communicate information about showings and open house procedures with your tenant before they release it onto MLS.  This also allows your tenant to have any questions they may have answered.  Typically I will work as a tenants agent (similar to buyer brokerage) to help the tenant find their new rental once we have gone to contract on your home.  

For those tenants who are living in a home that is currently on the market it can be just as stressful as if they were the homeowner.  They will still need to keep their area clean and showing ready, as well they will need to leave during showings and open houses.  If your using a full service brokerage to sell your home than your agent will have the knowledge and tools to not only sell your home, but to help you and your tenants find your next home !