I have a very nice long term tenant who is going to feel terrible this weekend when I finally tell her she must leave in 30 days because the house has been on the market for quite some time.... Of course, the problem is that the real estate manager feels her presence is interfering with his success in showing and ultimately selling the property.

I guess I am too much of a softie, but does anyone out there have any ideas on how I might best handle this dilemma in a "civilized manner."?

Many thanks for any suggestions at all.

Ella

I had a long term tenant that when she moved in was pregnant with her first child and also got married while living there. Later she had two kids and dogs during her tenancy and really damaged the property, not normal wear-and-tear.

So I needed her to move. Her husband had left her, she was caught cheating. No house keeping skills, a drama queen, a known actress.

So I gave her fair warning, sixth months. Four months later she said she couldn't afford to move and put down the money to rent another apartment.

So I volunteered paying for her first & security on her new rental. She accepted, then backed out. Wasn't going to move. So in spite she neglected to pay the next months rent. I gave her a 3 day notice and had my process server deliver her eviction papers.

The day of eviction court she agreed to move if I pay her off. It was too late. I had already spent $1500 for the eviction and hadn't received the past months rent.

It may be the Realtor.

HOWEVER, if the tenant is making it hard for a showing and is not cooperating with making the house available.

Talk about ZERO TOLERANCE, send or post or what ever is needed to get her out.

At this point send or post a notice 30 days. DO NOT do it verbally. It must be in written format. OR depending what ever your lease states. It may be a 45 day notice or a 60 day notice UNLESS your lease is month to month then 30 day notice should work.

Also tell the realtor to temporarily remove the house from the market until she is out AND you are able to do any needed repairs to the house. IF the realtor will not do this then FIRE HIM OR HER immediately. Tell the realtor the house will be off the market immediately until any needed repairs are completed.

The most important thing is to have the unit cleaned and painted will make a major difference to the unit. And depending on the market a few upgrades may get more money. Like flooring may need replaced due to badly worn or damaged areas..

Check your laws, in NY a M2M tenant has to receive a calendar month notice. You would have to notify them before the first of March to be out by the first of April. If you notify them tomorrow it is still the first of April they would have to be out. Written notification, short and sweet.

If she has a lease you have to honor it until the lease expires unless you can come to an agreement. This is where cash for keys comes in. Give them an incentive to move. You both agree, all good. This requires a talk and negotiation.

What exactly is making it difficult? Is this a SFH that would probably be owner occupied when bought?

Letter:

If tenant is nice long term, s/he will cooperate with your showing. Gently asked them not to be present during the showing, a gift card to local restaurant etc.

Since they know that you are selling, they know they will have to leave if it is positioned as owner occupied. No hard feeling either way..

Elliot, this has nothing to do with eviction.

Harry, there is no reason to offer the tenant money. The landlord is doing nothing wrong.

LindaJ makes a good point. Notice given mid-month would be for the END of the next month in most states.

It's the first half of February. How well does real estate sell in the dead of winter in RI?

What is your tenant doing that makes it difficult to sell? Is she actually sabotaging your sale or is it the weather?

I agree that it is easier to sell a vacant house. On the flip side, she is keeping the heat on and making sure that viewers don't mess with the thermostat or open windows and leave them open, so you don't have to go and inspect every time there is a viewing.

I'd send her a nice letter telling her that because the house is for sale, she has until the first of April to find a place to move to, and if she found a good place before then, I would let her out of the rental agreement immediately and she would have to notify me that she was leaving but not have to give me a 30 day notice. As soon as she finds a place she can go.

If the timing issue is removed, it will make it easier for her to find a place to move to.

What incentive does a tenant have to show the place? Absolutely nothing.

PLUS if this is a higher priced property or it could be over priced as well. Due to realtor not being realistic or the seller not being realistic.

HOWEVER that does not matter at this point. The point is the tenant needs to go I guarantee you there is zero incentive to help her to show the place. AND she KNOWS she will be moving 90% for sure.

SOOO 30 day notice and she should be out by the end of March 31, 2019

BYE BYE BYE

Does the unit smell?

Does the unit have pets?

IS there clutter in the unit?

Does the unit look good in pictures?

Did the real-lator take good pictures of the unit?

Is the unit price below, at or over priced for the market? Did the real-lator set the price or did the seller not listen to the realtor? Did the realtor show comps of the area to help determine price?

Are there any deferred maintenance on the property?

IS this area of RI a hot market or a so so market.

Make certain to remove the property from being an active listing. And get the tenant out by March 31, 2019. Once tenant is out clean and paint the unit: ceilings, walls, trim, doors AND replace all flooring. Also paint the kitchen cabinets as well.

If it has a musty smell purchase a good dehumidifier from walmart.com and let it run to reduce the dampness in the basement and house.

Then find the best realtor in your area and list it. Tell the other realtor he or she lost the listing because they were NOT honest with you about the best way to handle the property, with or without the tenant in the unit.

Get the unit ready for the spring market.

Tenant is BYE BYE BYE

ZERO TOLERANCE with tenants when selling a property. The TENANT HAS LEFT THE BUILDING!!!!

Oh yeah and softie does not work, this is a business and treat it as such. There is no dilemma only the right course of action. It's a business, you own the property YOU ARE IN CONTROL TENANT IS NOT. Tenant owns a worthless piece of paper called a lease, ZERO TOLERANCE. 30 day notice OUT BY March 31, 2019.

We just did this. You do need to put it in writing - if you want to do it verbally FIRST - that's great but verbal isn't legal notice. You WILL have to put it in writing.

You do not need to give them a reason but if you want you can. If it's the agent giving you the feedback about the showings (either they are having issues setting up or the overall showings, feedback from other agents showing, etc) then yeah, I would certainly listen to them.

Tenants can and will do things to make it "uneasy" for the buyers to purchase. Even if it's a multiple family because they immediately think they will be evicted, rents raised - whatever.

LindaJ is correct as well - if you haven't already given them the notice - then the earliest you have is March 31st (you are already into February so you can't provide them with a 30 day notice to end any earlier).

Oh for some reason I was thinking you were in NY (sorry) but I do think RI is still 30day. Also - DON'T MAKE THIS AN EVICTION until you need to. It's not - you are just terminating the agreement.

Ask them if they like the place enough to purchase it?

You may want to check your state laws first. Some states require 60 days notice while giving the tenant only 30 days to notify landlord.

Look at it like this if the tenant found a place cheaper and better than yours, would they hesitate giving you notice. I know its hard when you have had a long term tenant you have had a connection with but it's business.