Just wanted to write down my experience of tenant buyout in San Francisco, in the hope of helping those trying to go down that road...
So I have a unit in a 5 unit building in Pacific Height...Building comes up for condo conversion this year but my tenant needs to move so that my unit can be vacant...
He was paying $3700 when market rent was around $4800...After 6 months of long and (very) painful negotiation, tenant and I agreed at $61K buyout....
Tenant has been there for 8+ years, been a super perfect tenant, very nice and friendly, never late on rent in all of 8 years...I was actually kind of sad to see him go...
That was my experience... if you want to share yours, please go ahead....
I'm 100% acknowledging that I have no understanding or experience in your market, but the fact that a housing market exists, where its appropriate to give a tenant $61k to give you control of your own property blows my mind.
Hello Diane, Thank you for sharing your experience. I own a single house in Oakland which occupied by current tenant since 2011. Since the tenants are pretty high maintenance, I am no longer interested in keeping this property on my rental profolio. Oakland also has eviction control and hard to move tenants out without "just cause", so Ellis Act might be the last solution for me. I am curious that if you use Ellis Act to move tenants out, it might cost less than the 61k buyout. Also I am looking for an attorney for handling the Ellis Act process, do you have any recommendation?
I am not familiar with Oakland rent law, but in SF, I know Andrew Zack is very good, but he seems to handle mostly high profile cases.... But I guess you call up his firm and talk to them... They have 10+ attorneys.....
@Diane G. I missed this post when it was first posted, but wanted to add my “buyout” experience. I owned a small 3k sqft warehouse on Bryant bet 2nd and 3rd. It had been my dads and he had rented an office space that was in it to someone who proceeded to live in the office space. To get this person out I had to buy him out as the rent board said even tho it wasnt a legal rental unit he still was living there etc etc
Cost me 50k and i was grateful it wasnt more
I ended up selling the building for an “nice” amount.... (so much that even my commercial broker who was used to insane SF prices was shocked ;)) ......
Yes, the bay area is crazy but the amount of money that can be made in RE is literally amazing!
A person I know in NYC was given enough to move out of a rent control, that he was able to buy a condo there. I don’t know the exact amount, but no condos there are cheap to buy.