I want to sell my house but I don't want to put the tenants out on the street.
The agent said get the tenants to sign a fixed term contract then the new owner will have to let them stay but the conveyancer seems to diasgree.

Can anyone shed any light on this?

bit - 2021-10-23 10:47:00

Your call but restricting your potential pool of buyers is ridiculous.

johnston - 2021-10-23 11:23:00

You must really like your tenants to be willing to risk possibly tens of thousands of dollars for them.

annie17111 - 2021-10-23 11:25:00

As above.
Yes your agent is correct if you sell with a fixed term contract in place then the new owner takes on the tenant, unless they negotiate with the tenant to move on.
Also as above, you are restricting your potential pool of buyers, which will therefore likely reduce the sales price achieved.

It's lovely that you care for your tenants.

Just wondering though if you'd feel the same way if you got $20k less (or more) asking price and the new owner offered the tenant $5k to move out.

desi1969 - 2021-10-23 11:59:00

As above, its a bad move. Once on an FTT you might limit competition and not get the best sales price. You might also simply not sell (or not sell quickly). Many investors want to select their own tenant, although some may be happy to take on a proven good tenant.

I would simply market the property as "excellent tenants who would like to stay on". The agent can tell potential investor buyers that preference may be given to buyers willing to sign a new TA with the existing tenants.

Then you still have the ability to sell to someone who needs vacant possession (90 days signing of unconditional agreement) if that's the best option after marketing the property.

There are definitely benefits to trying to sell the tenants with the property - you can settle quickly. But making the tenants fixed has risks.

sparkychap - 2021-10-23 13:19:00

desi1969 wrote:

As above.
Yes your agent is correct if you sell with a fixed term contract in place then the new owner takes on the tenant, unless they negotiate with the tenant to move on.
Also as above, you are restricting your potential pool of buyers, which will therefore likely reduce the sales price achieved.

It's lovely that you care for your tenants.

Just wondering though if you'd feel the same way if you got $20k less (or more) asking price and the new owner offered the tenant $5k to move out.

I would feel the same way as I would be able to sleep at night. Thanks everyone for your advice.

Edited by bit at 4:32 pm, Sat 23 Oct

bit - 2021-10-23 16:31:00

all of the above recommendations made sense in the past but with the new rules applying to rental properties who would want to even go there. Someone may turn up but heaps of mom and pop landlords are getting out of the rental business so it is bad luck for your tenants,you are not housing N.Z.

hammer23 - 2021-10-23 16:58:00

bit wrote:

I would feel the same way as I would be able to sleep at night. Thanks everyone for your advice.

Awesome, it's not often people are prepared to give away money.

desi1969 - 2021-10-23 18:25:00

bit wrote:

I want to sell my house but I don't want to put the tenants out on the street.
The agent said get the tenants to sign a fixed term contract then the new owner will have to let them stay but the conveyancer seems to diasgree.

Can anyone shed any light on this?

If you want to sell under the Act you are required to give tenants 63 days notice...It is all on the Web site.

spead - 2021-10-23 19:38:00

spead wrote:

If you want to sell under the Act you are required to give tenants 63 days notice...It is all on the Web site.

wrong. 90 days. 63 is if the landlord or member of their family intends to move in.

It's all on the website....

Edited by sparkychap at 8:01 pm, Sat 23 Oct

sparkychap - 2021-10-23 19:49:00

Why not just tell your tenants your plan and give them time to find somewhere else, before you put it on the market?

rhys12 - 2021-10-24 00:14:00

rhys12 wrote:

Why not just tell your tenants your plan and give them time to find somewhere else, before you put it on the market?

good idea, they may be a position to make an offer.

kittylittle - 2021-10-25 07:35:00

rhys12 wrote:

Why not just tell your tenants your plan and give them time to find somewhere else, before you put it on the market?

Or as we have done in the past, left the deposit in for the tenant and they took out a mortgage.
The clause was that at 5 years they paid us out, which they did.
Cost us about $20/wk in interest, or if we had had the money in the bank, $10/wk.
The $20 is that we could have paid off more on another mortgage, before you ask.

smallwoods - 2021-10-25 11:23:00

smallwoods wrote:

Or as we have done in the past, left the deposit in for the tenant and they took out a mortgage.
The clause was that at 5 years they paid us out, which they did.
Cost us about $20/wk in interest, or if we had had the money in the bank, $10/wk.
The $20 is that we could have paid off more on another mortgage, before you ask.

Nice one, good on you, smallwoods.

Problem now, is that the bank needs to confirm how the deposit was "earned" and any obligation tied to the deposit would generally disqualify the borrower.

sparkychap - 2021-10-25 11:37:00

Why didn't your tenants show some loyalty to you and ask for a fixed term tenancy ? It works both ways.
As Tana Umaga said "We are not playing tiddlywinks".

If your tenants got a better offer they may not give a shite about you.
Yep two wrongs don't make a right. :)

Your stance is to be commended though - I like your style. Just putting forward another angle.

Edited by houseofdad at 5:39 pm, Tue 26 Oct

houseofdad - 2021-10-26 17:36:00

Selling your house to the current tenants is a very tidy solution... from your observations and from talking with them do you think that selling it to them may be a goer ??, or would you potentially embarrass them by even assuming that they could do it..... You would need to seek advise as to what, if anything you could do to make the sale to them more "do able" for them, but of course not at your long term expenses...
Selling it directly to them would bring about a savings in RE fees etc, they do not have to co-ordinate the sale of another property to purchase yours, plus no moving costs and there will not be any outside forces that drive a less than convenient settlement date !!
If them buying is not on the table, then you will need to proceed with listing, viewings etc etc as normal.. but were practical be as thoughtful as you can with the current tenants... and very importantly keep them in the loop!!

onl_148 - 2021-10-29 14:52:00