Selling SFR with a tenant

[Michael Schweiger]

I am looking to sell a SFR in Queens NY.

I have a great tenant, but I need to sell. When do I tell them? Their lease is up in April.  I do not want to put them in a bad situation where they have a find a new place with no warning and I don't want to tell them too soon either? Should I try to sell it occupied or vacant? Any advice?

[Abel Curiel]

Originally posted by @Michael Schweiger:

I am looking to sell a SFR in Queens NY.

I have a great tenant, but I need to sell. When do I tell them? Their lease is up in April.  I do not want to put them in a bad situation where they have a find a new place with no warning and I don't want to tell them too soon either? Should I try to sell it occupied or vacant? Any advice?

 Good morning Michael,

For a faster and smoother sale where you can earn top dollar for the property, I'd recommend selling vacant.

If you prefer to keep the tenants in place and sell "as-is", you will have to sell at a number that makes sense to a rental property investor in that market. This number can be significantly lower than the value of the property if it were vacant. Some factors to take into account will be the overall condition of the property and current rental income in comparison to market rents (comps).

Queens has many SFR with liveable basements so you may be able to find someone willing to househack and keep the current tenants but you'd be working with a very specific buyer pool and this could lead to less interest in the home, a lengthy selling process and a below-market selling price.

With regards to giving notice to the tenants, assuming you're going to aim to close when their lease is up in April, I'd mention it 30-60 days before putting the property on the market. Once under contract, it will take another 60-90 days to close so that should give them enough time to find a new place.

Best of luck to you moving forward!

Abel