As a real estate investor, there may come a time when you want to sell right away. This may not be as easy as it sounds when you have tenants living in the house. In our latest post, you can learn more about how to sell your home with a tenant in Hawaii.
Selling a Hawaii house with a tenant isn’t always the ideal situation, but it doesn’t have to stop a sale completely. Consider how it will affect them before making any bold decisions. If you need to sell your house with a tenant, it can be done when handled properly. Below, we share some tips on how to sell your house with a tenant in Hawaii.
Wait Until The Lease Is Up
Take a look at how much longer your tenant has on their lease. If it is a short time, and you can wait a couple of months or so before selling, it might be in your best interest to wait it out. You can let them know in the meantime that you intend to sell the property. If they are accommodating to the sale process, you can even let them continue to rent month to month while the property is being shown and they seek a new place to call home. You can even make this part easier by including an early termination clause in the lease, allowing you to terminate the lease if certain conditions arise.
Anticipate Their Reaction
How do you think your tenants will react? Will they help you with the sale, like facilitating showings, or will they be annoyed or even upset? If you think they won’t be helpful, it might be better to let the lease end and not renew it, leaving the house vacant. Or you can work with a direct buyer like us who can take over the rest of the lease and worry about the tenant for you, sparing you that headache.
Make The Showings Worth Their While
If you truly have to sell and you decide to list and use an agent, you may want/have to incentivize your tenants to help you out. You can offer reduced rent for the inconvenience or help with their future move by covering a portion of their relocation costs.
If the tenants are amenable to helping you out, you’re much more likely to find a buyer sooner rather than later. A great tenant will help keep things presentable and be flexible about showing times. By continuing to get rent checks while the property is listed, you’ll reduce the costs of the sale itself. If, on the other hand, they are not happy about having to relocate, they can end up causing hassles with showings. They might leave a messy house when people are coming to see it, quickly making people want to turn the other way. They can also potentially sabotage you by talking to potential buyers (it happens), letting them know about all the bad things they will need to watch out for. If you feel your tenant falls into the latter category, it might be better to hold off on the sale until they’ve moved on elsewhere.
While your property would ideally be vacant, if you do have a renter living there, you will want to make them happy and comfortable with the process. Be considerate and accommodating; understand their situation. Nobody wants to feel uncertain about where they call home. Put yourself in their shoes before making the decision to sell while an active lease is in place.
Find A Direct Buyer
Selling your house to a direct professional buyer such as Oahu Home Buyers can make the process easier on everyone. Make sure you find a buyer who isn’t going to have a problem honoring the current lease and remaining terms. Many investors will love having a trustworthy tenant already in place if they intend to hold onto the property for the long term. This ultimately saves them time and money in trying to find and screen tenants on their own. Working with a direct buyer is one of the best ways to sell your home with a tenant in Hawaii.
Where possible, you will want to try to work with your tenants in the most professional manner. They can help (or hinder) you to sell the house if you decide to list it. Always keep your tenant notified as far as when the home will be shown, how much notice you’ll provide, and what condition you expect the property to be in. They may even know someone or may want to buy the home themselves! Having open and honest communication will help you sell your home with a tenant in Hawaii.