Can't sell SFH in Eugene Oregon due to COVID

[Ryan Denman]

Hey BP'ers,

I'm looking for some advice, opinions, etc. on a problem that I have with a single family house in Eugene, OR.  

My wife and I lived there from Jun 2015- Sep 2017 and we converted it to a rental when we moved to Colorado. It was never a great cash flow property, since it was our first house that we bought with a zero down VA loan. Over the past few years it has been break even with the PM and maintenance costs, but appreciation has been great. We wanted to sell that property within the window of living there 2 of the last five to avoid capital gains, and move that equity into cash reserves and other real estate projects in the Denver Metro area. Aside from it being a low cash flow property is has been great all around, as well as the PM we use for the property. We started conversations with our PM and a realtor back in Feb to line things up to sell this summer, then COVID hit.

The governor of Oregon issue an executive order forbidding evictions in Oregon for not being able to pay rent, which is reasonable.  However, the very tenant friendly/anti-landlord culture of the state has caused a great deal of fear about issuing notices of any type during this time.  It does not appear that we will be able to issue notice without fear of some sort of litigation, which we don't have time to deal with if we want to sell the house before Sep 2020.  It is suggested by the realtor as the best route to have the tenant move out before we sell.

The one idea I have which may work is to sell the house without having the tenant move out.  Are there any other suggestions investors from Oregon have about how to handle this situation?

Thanks!

Ryan

Extra facts: -Tenant is on an 11 month lease and has not been in the property for more that 12 months.

-Tenant has always paid on time and has been great for the last 10 months in residence at the property.

-We own only one unit in Oregon.

-Property is in Ferry St Bridge neighborhood.