Trying to Sell Condo with Tenant Living There

[Kaela J.]

I own a condominium that I currently rent out but used to live in. I found out recently that my tenants are not renewing their lease and will be moving out August 1st. My husband and I are thinking about selling this property as we recently moved farther away from it and are expecting our first child mid August (the timing of my tenants moving out August 1st is terrible!). 

Does anyone have any advice for selling a property while my tenants are still living there? We have had a great relationship and they keep the condo tidy but some things would need to happen in order for it to be "show ready". Ideally it would be sold soon so that it closes in August. I had hoped my tenants would be willing to move out earlier but they have already stated they will need the condo until August 1st. 

Thanks!

[Nathan Gesner]

I do this 5-10 times a year and I hate it. My thoughts:

Tenant occupancy makes it more difficult to show and sell. You have to schedule all showings with the tenant and that can be problematic, particularly if they don't communicate well or don't want to see the home sell.

If the tenant has an existing lease, the buyer has to honor that lease. If someone wants to buy the condo and move in July 1 but your tenant's lease doesn't expire until September 30, then the buyer either has to wait or they have to try and negotiate something with the renter to get them to leave earlier.

Some renters don't keep a tidy house. Others make the house look bad on purpose in hopes of scaring away buyers. Others will follow buyers around and bad-mouth the property or just talk the buyers' ears off. Some have dogs and forget to clean up the yard or remove the dog from the rental during showings.

There are a lot of things that can go wrong. I think fewer than 20% of them were good tenants that actually helped the sale. Most of them are at least slightly difficult.