Obstructive tenants

Not sure if it works for ads, but try the way back machine. Old cache copies of websites can be accessed. Google 'way back machine'

 

Did you give the notice at the proper time before the lease ends to say you are not renewing it?

 

Lol at sue a tenant. Make a decision, either give them notice or negotiate with them to get them on side. A few weeks rent free, or a discount so they help you with getting the best price for the property.

 

No. I've been trying to hedge my bets and keep them around. I'm only selling for a reasonable price, and I think the chance of this is no better than 50/50. They were friendly at the start and wanted to buy it, until we mentioned the price and then that we wanted photos.

 

Ahh! Ok that's the problem.

You gotta work with them then. No choice.

 

I would offer the existing tenants something, either a weeks free rent or something similar.
I definitely wouldn't get them to sign a lease at a lower amount as that could deter potential investors from purchasing.
Probably best to take the agents stories of d&g for what it is...bs and vendor crunching . The rental market is solid as well.
Can you Google photos from the original sale and rental listing? They should be somewhere.

 

Therein lies the rub. Because they didn't get the house, they'll make damn sure no one else does.

Many years ago bought a house pretty cheaply because the tenants were making it so difficult for potential buyers to access. Throughout the term of the lease, they had told the owner that they wanted to be the first to know should he sell it, because they wanted to buy it. When he told them the price, they couldn't afford. They also wouldn't let anyone else in to see the house. We got it solely because the owner didn't want the hassle of trying to get any more people through the house.

Have you thought about giving them notice and then selling with it empty? Would make it so much easier for you. I would be really honest with them, saying you are giving them notice because it's been so difficult trying to get any potential buyers through. They might then pull their heads in and play nice with you if they want to stay.

 

You can see it from their perspective can't you? It's not their fault if you're frustrated about the property, and it's pretty unfair to leave them in limbo maintaining your property whilst you decide if you're going to sell or not. Far better to keep them on side because, as you said, you might not get the offer you want and then presumably you'll want them to stay on and continue to be great tenants.

 

Ellejay is being extremely kind and gracious. I am over dipstick tenants. They're not that great a tenant if they're being obstructionist. They're being selfish. Would you as a tenant do that to the landlord? I know I wouldn't.

 

Hey BK, I'm definitely over crap tenants too but Bran did say he thinks there's only a 50/50 chance of selling it for the price he wants, so the market's maybe a bit weak. It comes across as though he just wants them to hang on in there if the house doesn't sell and he needs them to carry on as before That's not going to be their agenda though is it? They've probably got lives of their own to plan. I'm not defending them, and if I was them I'd suck it up and let everyone through, but I wouldn't be happy.

Btw it's way past my nap time so I may have misread this whole thing and apologies to Bran for talking about him as though he's not here

 

No probs @ellejay .I get it. Although I wouldn't behave as the tenants are.

 

Me neither, I hate tenants sometimes but what can you do? You win some, you lose some. As an aside I had a tenant move out of a house this week and take all the white goods with her. Don't ask me how but the pm didn't realise??? I only found out because we then put the house on the market with the same agent and saw photos of the kitchen with no dishwasher, washing machine and fridge freezer that were all fitted. Lol. Unreal. Some people have the strongest sense of entitlement. This woman said that our house was a mess when she moved in and so it was ok to take all our stuff as compensation.

 

You are talking about selling a house in the hundreds of thousands of dollars as opposed to a concern of a few hundred dollars to a tenant? For gods sake offer them $100 discount per week during the next few weeks in exchange for keeping the house looking immaculate and be accomodating for open homes and the likes. You don't "have" to do it but why on earth would you risk getting such a pivotal element of a sale offside for a few hundred dollars which is a tax write off anywayz?

 

I got on to the agent and the manager of the pm business as soon as I saw the photos. They'd done a check out inspection with the tenant, and would have had the inventory that we had paid extra for, so it was their baby as far as I was concerned. Anyway, I believe the stuff was returned today.

 

@Bran I just went through this with a tenant in Melbourne. He spat it when we told him we selling. He demanded we let him break lease with no penalty, demanded a rent discount, refused entry for home opens and ended up saying that he would not let us sell our house while he was living there.

We outlined to the tenant that he had signed a lease and the lease allowed us to sell. He wasn't happy so in the end we asked him to give us notice that he was leaving. Instead, he called the agent who signed him up to the lease to outline his position. She basically told him what he was doing was illegal. He backed off after that.

I can understand that someone would not want people turning up at all times on short notice, so we arranged a short marketing campaign with a set number of short home opens at specific times and no additional inspections. We didn't end up giving the tenant anything and he was completely cooperative during the campaign.

Incidentally, our leasing agent advised us not to compensate the tenant as we were complying with the lease and he wasn't. We would have if we had to but it is not ideal to bribe someone to comply with a contract they signed.

 

If I offer a discount, how do I do this without altering the lease? (An investor will be less impressed with a 25% rent reduction on their calcs)?
How do I make the extra loss tax deductible without altering the lease?

 

I think some are missing the bigger picture. Photos are paramount in selling as to the quality of them also. Having their furniture there may be also a bad thing even if they let prospective buyers in. Having tennants in whilst selling is a pain in the ass and CAN COST you thousands. So what if they let you in for an open home? What about letting buyers in during the week, almost un-annouced. I'm sure the tennants will just love that and have the house looking a million bucks - Sarcasim intended. Best thing i did was get rid of tennants to sell only a few months back wich gave the selling agent unrestricted access. There are some good staging companies in Cairns @Bran and can also add thousands to your purchase especially if you are concerned with it sitting on the market for a while. I can't recall any properties that have sat on the market with beutiful furniture in place locally as not many people do it and they really stand out. Well in the <400k market anyway. You may be surprised at the price of stagers as well. Food for thought.

 

You just offer a discount from their next payment and put a note on the on system of this is the amount that need to be paid. You don't alter the lease.

Claim on tax what is recieved.