Terminate w/o cause. Financial incentive for the tenant to move out?

Question

GM!Have a one year lease with my tenant (which is their first year of tenancy) and want them to vacate as I've decided to sell my property. There is still 5 months to go but I want them to leave in spring (April) so I can put my place for sale.

Questions-

1) Willing to offer a financial incentive for them to leave. I'm thinking of $1500/ (property rented for $2800/). Is this too much or reasonable?

2) If they decide to take the offer and move out in April, does that override the 90 day notice needed (see below)?

Thanks for all the help!

Senate bill 608 for reference

If the specified ending date of the fixed term is within the first year of occupancy, landlord may terminate without
cause by giving the tenant 30 days’ notice prior to the specified ending date for the fixed term, or 30 days prior
to the date designated in the notice, whichever is later (90 days in Portland and Milwaukie).

Kurt Lane · Answer

Hey Raja,

Assuming your property is in Portland the tenants would be eligible to receive Mandatory Rental Relocation Assistance (https://www.portland.gov/phb/rental-services/renter-relocati...) if 1) you choose to not extend their lease, or 2) you decide to sell the property and have an accepted offer for purchase. In Oregon (not just in Portland) you can't preemptively issue a no-cause eviction due to a property sale unless you have an accepted offer.

If you are going to make an offer to the tenants to move out early or prior to your property going up for sale that offer can't be for less than what they would be eligible to automatically receive via Rental Relocation Assistance. If they do agree to a Cash For Keys arrangement like this I would highly recommend working with an attorney who specializes in landlord/tenant law in Portland to draft the agreement and have all parties sign.

Best of luck!

Melanie P. · Answer

You still seem to misunderstand what I wrote. I said that I would give a sob story to the tenant and offer them a small amount of money to leave early, if they were so inclined. They can also stay until the end of the lease term and receive nothing for leaving.

You chose to skim the entire topic and spout off twice about your own faulty assumptions. Please read more carefully. The only thing that made this thread confusing was your inapplicable responses.

Melissa Hartvigsen · Answer

I read your post and am aware that the tenancy was less than an year. My issue with your advice is that you advised to LIE and say "my mother is sick and we need a place for her to live so she can receive in-home care and see her grandkids a few more times". Since there is less than 1 year of occupancy the tenancy can be terminated without providing a reason to the tenant. Lying could still land you in court.I provided the rest of the information because the law is not clear to everyone else reading the thread.

Raja Shan · Answer

Thanks for all the responses and Melissa- appreciate the details. Want to do the right thing and not get entangled in anything that would disrupt my plan. I went ahead and offered the incentive to move early as I'm selling the property. If tenant doesn't take it, will wait for the lease to finish. No other option.

Melanie P. · Answer

Tenant is in their first year of tenancy. You should read the posts more carefully. There is nothing wrong with giving the tenant a sob story and an option to leave early, with pay. The lease is ending either way at the end of the 12th month.

Melanie P. · Answer

It's very difficult to say what the tenant would consider reasonable. I would tell them that my mother is sick and we need a place for her to live so she can receive in-home care and see her grandkids a few more times. I know this isn't your problem but if you are able to move before your lease ends I will pay you $1,000, prorate your rent to the day you move and return the security deposit together with the extra thousand and prorated rent the day you give me the keys.

Steve Milford · Answer

Listing in the spring brings more tire kickers versus listing in the fall, not necessarily better buyers. A higher factor is where are the interest rates and whether the list price is appropriate. If the list price is pushing the envelope high as is usual fashion in Portland Metro, it will just sit without many showings at all, until price is lowered, all the while teetering on the "what's wrong with it" days-on-market pendulum . With so much inventory currently on the market, there are lots of choices for buyers. Most Sellers want today's prices with the buyers that existed 2-3 years ago. Whenever I see a home go fast, I often see a home underpriced versus sales comps. Most of the time prices start higher, then are pushed down for urgency and lack of movement.

Whether or not your offer is appropriate is relative. You might just offer they buy, if they can get financing and you offer to pay some of their closing costs, as this often happens with a Realtor too. Most people I talk with don't end up selling once they truly consider how much it costs, unless they are moving out of the area. If you still want to do that, options I offer, 1) if you want to sell the home FSBO, I can put it in the MLS for a low few, 2) Realtor Walk-Away Full-Service Option. Feel free to call me.

Raja Shan · Answer

Thanks for the responses. My property is not in Portland city limits, it's in Bethany, 97229 zip code and with that I'm not confined to the relocation assistance program.

Nevertheless, I think I'm offering them a reasonable incentive to vacate early. Note that I'm not forcing them to. If they don't take the money, they just finish the tenancy and vacate in fall of this year which is simply a bad time to bring a property for sale.

And yes, I'll be asking them if they are interested to buy as well.

Question is - is my offer reasonable? (I know it's subjective). The pros of listing in spring significantly outweighs whatever I end up paying them in this case.

Looking for suggestions, thanks!

Theresa Harris · Answer

I would also talk to the tenants as they may be interested in buying it.

Terminate w/o cause. Financial incentive for the tenant to move out?

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