If buying rental property in California wasn’t as successful as you’d hoped, you might have decided to sell the property and cut your losses. There’s just one problem: you have tenants currently living in the property. Can you sell your property while they’re still living there, or do you have to wait for them to move out?
Several factors affect your ability to sell your rental
According to real estate law, you can sell a rental property at any time if the tenants are renting it on a monthly basis. You’ll just have to send them a 30-day notice, so they have time to find a new place to live and move their belongings out of the house.
However, the situation becomes more complicated if your tenants signed a fixed-term lease. If possible, you could simply wait until the lease expires, and the tenants have no claim over the property. You could also kick the tenants out if they do anything that breaks the conditions in the lease, like not paying rent on time.
If you need the tenants out by a certain date, you may have to offer them a cash settlement. You may offer to pay for their moving costs or give them the difference in rent for another apartment complex. You may also pay their first month’s rent and security deposit when they find a new place to live.
Finally, if you don’t have any other plans for the rental property, you could simply offer to sell it to your tenants. This allows you to get rid of an unwanted property and make a profit at the same time. Your tenants will also be able to make your rental property their permanent residence. They may even decide to rent it out to their own tenants.
Do you need an attorney on your team?
Having an attorney on your side could protect you from any legal disputes that may arise. A lawyer could also help you draw up contracts, sell or buy commercial properties, negotiate with tenants, and deal with other aspects of real estate law.
