topic Re: Notice to vacate property. Please help in Mortgage Loans

Notice to vacate property. Please help

Anonymous — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 15:14:08 GMT

I have a closing date set for 11/16/09, perhaps earlier. Property is a duplex and tenants occupied. The lease is verbal, month to month. Is it possible at this point to ask the tenants to vacate by the end of 11/09? The seller will not tell the tenants in the unit where I will be moving in to leave(his reason: incase things falls through at closing). I forgot to put this request in the offer.

This is what I came up with so far; I offer the seller another $1000 that he can keep if I walk away (I have no intentions of walking away)...still waiting to hear back from his agent.

I also offer to paid $400 to help cover the tenants moving cost and give her deposit in cash on her moving day.... if she moves out by the end of nov. What else can I do? Any help is appreciated.

Re: Notice to vacate property. Please help

Jazzzy — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 17:29:11 GMT

prime44 wrote:

I have a closing date set for 11/16/09, perhaps earlier. Property is a duplex and tenants occupied. The lease is verbal, month to month. Is it possible at this point to ask the tenants to vacate by the end of 11/09? The seller will not tell the tenants in the unit where I will be moving in to leave(his reason: incase things falls through at closing). I forgot to put this request in the offer.

This is what I came up with so far; I offer the seller another $1000 that he can keep if I walk away (I have no intentions of walking away)...still waiting to hear back from his agent.
I also offer to paid $400 to help cover the tenants moving cost and give her deposit in cash on her moving day.... if she moves out by the end of nov. What else can I do? Any help is appreciated.

Wow...quite a pickle.

You know that the tenant can only get notice from her landlord....so, this is totally up to him. He may take your $1k offer. Then the tenant must accept her early move-out offer. If one of them doesn't accept, there's not much you can do. (Don't pay the landlord the $1k if you don't have written acknowledgement from the tenant that she also accepts and agrees to move early.)

Are you in a place you can stay until the end of the year? A 30-day notice in my state runs from the date the rent is due. In other words, if you close on Nov. 16th, depending on your state statutes, you may not be able to give her notice to move on Dec. 16th. Even if you give notice immediately upon closing (which you should do), that notice may have to include all of December.

Unfortunately, I don't think there are other answers. Did you have a buyer's broker representing you during this offer?

Re: Notice to vacate property. Please help

Anonymous — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 21:10:05 GMT

Is the tenant aware the property is being sold? I would think she'd be a lot more cooperative if she knows what is going on than she would if it were just sprung on her.

Re: Notice to vacate property. Please help

hawkeye33 — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 00:33:29 GMT

Honestly, though, do the advance notice rules apply to an undocumented month-to-month rental agreement? It seems illogical that the current owner can initiate the process of selling the place but not give notice to the current tennant evan after a contract is in place with a specified closing date. I do understand, from their perspective, not wanting to lose a tennant if things fall through at closing. However, if this is the case, maybe they should be getting a formal, written month-to-month rental agreement with the tennants.

And if I'm a tenant ANYWHERE under ANY circumstances, I would fully expect to get screwed if i had nothing in writing that specified the terms under which my rental agreement could be terminated and the amount of advance notice I should expect.

It just doesn't seem that you should be in the business of throwing additional money at the current owner. That seems like throwing money away. My $0.02. Good luck.

Re: Notice to vacate property. Please help

kai_1103 — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 02:05:24 GMT

I think its different in every state, but as far as I know a month to month requires 30 day notice from the landlord, and the agreements convey with the sale of the property. So once you own it, you send an official 30 day notice. Then you will need to give the deposits or whatever back. I would recommend getting a real estate attorney to handle it if you anticipate any trouble- or maybe just no matter what. If I were you, I would rather pay an attorney $1,000 to take care of it and it be done right. if they don't leave, you are dealing with court and police, etc. etc. Better to take care of it the right way first time around.

Good luck!!

Re: Notice to vacate property. Please help

Jazzzy — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 03:05:21 GMT

@hawkeye33 wrote:
Honestly, though, do the advance notice rules apply to an undocumented month-to-month rental agreement? It seems illogical that the current owner can initiate the process of selling the place but not give notice to the current tennant evan after a contract is in place with a specified closing date. I do understand, from their perspective, not wanting to lose a tennant if things fall through at closing. However, if this is the case, maybe they should be getting a formal, written month-to-month rental agreement with the tennants.

And if I'm a tenant ANYWHERE under ANY circumstances, I would fully expect to get screwed if i had nothing in writing that specified the terms under which my rental agreement could be terminated and the amount of advance notice I should expect.

It just doesn't seem that you should be in the business of throwing additional money at the current owner. That seems like throwing money away. My $0.02. Good luck.

Yes, they do in our state. An "undocumented" rental is simply a month-to-month lease.

Re: Notice to vacate property. Please help

Anonymous — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 07:05:28 GMT

as long as the owner disclosed that it was currently a rental, than this issue should have either been part of the negotations on your part, or you have to give the tenant time to move out as decided by both local laws, and any legal tenant agreement he had (and often these require anywhere from 30-60 days notice and that time can often start from rent due date, not notice date.

It is prefectly reasonable for the owner not to evict a tenant until a deal is closed if the property was a rental unit for him. The owner should have informed the tenants the place is for sale, and that is highely likely anyway or how could ou show the unit.

Re: Notice to vacate property. Please help

GregB — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 23:43:12 GMT

I am missing the logic of buying rental property and then trying to get a good tenant to move out. You would probably be paying a higher price for a unit with tenants in place. Why don't you continue to rent to them as long as they wish and then decide if you want to move into one if it becomes vacant?

A building with NO tenants would sell for a better price.

Is there something special about this one?

Re: Notice to vacate property. Please help

hawkeye33 — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 03:13:37 GMT

I'm pretty sure the OP intends to purchase and occupy as their primary residence. I don't think they're looking at it as an ongoing rental property.

Re: Notice to vacate property. Please help

Anonymous — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 12:24:31 GMT

Thanks for all the responds!

Yes, I am working with an agent. She Screwed up by not including this in the initial offer. kinda my fault too.

Yes, I am currently renting.

Anyway. My intention from the start was to reside in one unit and rent out the other unit. I don't anticipate any problem asking the tenants to vacate the property 30days from closing(11/16), It will be very difficult taking time off from work after 12/12(holidays)... Health care worker. hopefully they will accept my offer.

Re: Notice to vacate property. Please help

Jazzzy — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 00:04:11 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Thanks for all the responds!

Yes, I am working with an agent. She Screwed up by not including this in the initial offer. kinda my fault too.

Yes, I am currently renting.

Anyway. My intention from the start was to reside in one unit and rent out the other unit. I don't anticipate any problem asking the tenants to vacate the property 30days from closing(11/16), It will be very difficult taking time off from work after 12/12(holidays)... Health care worker. hopefully they will accept my offer.

Be sure to check the legalities of the 30-day notice in your state. In my state, the 30-day notice can be given any time, but the 30 days doesn't start running until the rent is due (usually the 1st of the month). That would put you legally until the end of December.

You may need some legal advice so that you are certain you are not stepping on anyone's legal rights. You don't want this to turn into a bigger mess.

Re: Notice to vacate property. Please help

Anonymous — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 12:46:22 GMT

The seller have agreed to give the tenants 30days notice, and the tenants also agreed to move out by 11/09. Everything will be put in writing and signed today. Thanks for all the advice!

Re: Notice to vacate property. Please help

Jazzzy — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:00:56 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
The seller have agreed to give the tenants 30days notice, and the tenants also agreed to move out by 11/09. Everything will be put in writing and signed today. Thanks for all the advice!

Congratulations!

We have been landlords for many years. It has both its good and bad moments, but it sent all our kids through college. When our oldest was younger, he mowed all the lawns, helped with cleaning, painting, etc. We kept telling him, "Do it. It will pay for college eventually." He went to MIT. Now, in his 30's, he says, "You were right. It did send me to college."

Rental property can be a family project. I ultimately sold all mine...and then a house across the street from us sat for sale for quite a while. One morning, while letting the cat out, I looked across the street and said, "We should buy that."

We did...and now we're looking at others. I just can't get it out of my blood. I love the idea that you can buy a property and have someone else basically make the payments for you.

Message Edited by LynetteM on 10-28-2009 06:00 AM

Re: Notice to vacate property. Please help

Anonymous — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 14:55:12 GMT

Thanks! I am very excited!

I am not a real estate personnel, but try to read different articles on this subject. This is a great opportunity for anyone who can afford to purchase a home.

I am glad your children took your advice and went to college. I listened to my Mother's advice and went to college, Graduated with a Bachelors of Science in nursing. I worked a full-time job at night and attended classes full time during the day....I went through a lot of struggle, but never give up.

Things are going pretty well for me these days. My next big Idea is to go after a few fixer-upper, buy fixed and rent out until the housing market stabilize or get better than I will sell.

Re: Notice to vacate property. Please help

Jazzzy — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 02:39:48 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Thanks! I am very excited!

I am not a real estate personnel, but try to read different articles on this subject. This is a great opportunity for anyone who can afford to purchase a home.

I am glad your children took your advice and went to college. I listened to my Mother's advice and went to college, Graduated with a Bachelors of Science in nursing. I worked a full-time job at night and attended classes full time during the day....I went through a lot of struggle, but never give up.

Things are going pretty well for me these days. My next big Idea is to go after a few fixer-upper, buy fixed and rent out until the housing market stabilize or get better than I will sell.

If you have that kind of attitude, you can make it in the rental business. Sounds as if you're a hard worker. I always told people that you can't buy the groceries with rent income...you have to save any extra you might make for when the roof leaks or the water heater dies. You don't make your money in rental property on the monthly rent, you make it when your equity grows and you sell the property. As long as people can operate that way, it will work out.

If you can do the fix-up work yourself, you are a step ahead. We always hired it all done, and that makes being a landlord a bit more challenging. Today we are looking at properties that are already in good shape. There is a foreclosure in rough shape less than a block from us, and I am tempted...but we don't really have the knowledge or time for rehab.

I was a real estate broker in real life...and now I am a nurse. After I retired from real estate I wanted a profession where I felt I could do some good. I've been working as a nurse, and now I'm in the last stages of finishing my family nurse practitioner degree. Isn't it funny how life turns corners? I just can't leave the real estate totally behind...thus the new rental property. You're right that this is a good time to buy, and we'll look until we pick up a couple more.

Keep up the hard work!

(BTW, my son who mowed the lawns and cleaned all those rentals when he was young??? He's now the assistant treasurer for a national home builder. He took the job after the downturn had started. We thought he was crazy, but he loves it. I guess he inherited the real estate bug, too, and already owns a few rentals of his own.)