Do you need to sell your house with tenants in Hawaii? It can be a more difficult sale than selling your personal home. Learn more about what to expect in our latest post!
Maybe you own an investment property in Hawaii that isn’t making you money or as much as you’d like, or perhaps you’ve just been-there-done-that with finding new tenants yet again. Or maybe you can find tenants, but they keep damaging your property or paying late forcing you to contact an eviction attorney.
There are a number of reasons why you may want to sell a house with tenants in Hawaii. As you can imagine, it can be a difficult conversation with your existing tenants when you inform them of your decision. You’ll want their cooperation if not full support, so here are some ideas to help make selling your Hawaii investment property an easier process than you otherwise may have anticipated.
Offer An Incentive
If you opt to list the house with a Hawaii real estate agent, you will want the full cooperation of your tenants. By offering an incentive, you’ll hopefully be able to avoid them getting resentful and digging in their heels when asked to cooperate. Remember that it’s still their home and the process is a significant inconvenience to them. If you offer to help with their moving costs and perhaps the security deposit in their new home, they’ll probably be much more amenable to the process. It goes without saying that you can also help them find a new home and provide an excellent reference (if earned); if you find a home for them sooner than later, it’s naturally easier for you to complete the sale. Perhaps you can pay for a professional cleaning instead of asking (and waiting) for them to do it, even if the lease calls for it. Lastly, anything else that can help keep everyone on good terms can go a long way — movie tickets, restaurant coupons, etc.
Wait Until The Lease Is Up
As a landlord who wants to sell their house with a Hawaii real estate agent, it may be in your best interest to wait until the lease is up and the tenants have vacated the property (if you have the luxury of time). Trying to coordinate repairs, property showings, and keeping the house in show-ready condition can be a lot for a landlord to ask of their tenant, perhaps even impossible if your tenants are none too happy about having to move. In many cases, landlords face backlash and even situations where the tenants disrupt a potential sale – ask anyone who’s been a landlord for a long time. There’s no shortage of stories here. It can be better for everyone involved if you are able to wait until the lease is up before deciding to sell the house in the traditional way (as opposed to selling it privately to an investment company like ours).
Terminate The Lease
If your tenants have violated the lease in any way, you can likely evoke an early termination clause in the lease (discuss with an attorney, which we are not). Not that you want them to outright violate the lease, of course, but if they have been consistently late on rent or have been a documented nuisance to the neighborhood, you may be able to end the lease sooner than otherwise called for. When drafting your rental agreement, make sure to include details on what exactly will merit an early termination of the agreement.
It just so happens, that a landlord friend contacted me this morning about this very situation on a rental property. The tenants had their second police incident at the property in under 60 days, so he is intending to terminate the lease and find new tenants that will hopefully be more respectful (and be less of a headache).
Sell Your House Directly
If you want to sell your house with tenants in Hawaii, the easiest way by far is by doing a direct sale to Oahu Home Buyers. We will buy your house directly, whether you have tenants or not. Our direct buying process will let you get move on from the unwanted property as quickly as possible while receiving a fair price for the home. In most cases, when you sell your house directly to Oahu Home Buyers, the existing lease will stay in place and your tenants will go undisturbed – we’ll take it from here on out. The only change for them will be where to send the check each month.
Find Out If Your Tenant Wants To Buy
When looking to sell your house with tenants in Hawaii, you may want to let them know about it first. Perhaps they’re qualified for a loan and would want to buy it. They already live there, so they don’t have to hire any moving vans. They have likely made the house their home and gotten used to the neighborhood. If financing is a problem and you don’t need the full amount for the property right away, full or partial seller financing can be an option if you own the property outright or have a lot of equity, at least until they are able to get the credit or cash they need for a traditional loan. These things can often be worked out with enough incentive (and a good attorney).
Understand The Tenants Rights
When trying to sell your house with a tenant in Hawaii, you’ll need to be aware of the rights of the tenants. So long as no violation has occurred, in most places a tenant has the right to stay in the home until the lease is up, whether or not someone else buys the home. As with any legal matters, contact a local attorney for clarity (disclosure: we hire attorneys but are not attorneys ourselves).