February 17, 2020
“I want to sell with the tenants still living there – but I don’t want to unsettle my tenants.”
This is a completely understandable concern – and one we hear all the time here at Portolio! We’re a company founded by two ex-letting agents, and we know that “talk of selling” is never what your tenants want to hear.
Of course, in most people’s experience, when a landlord decides to sell their property, it means the tenants have to move out.
But it doesn’t have to be that way!
Choosing #ThePortolioWay means the tenants don’t need to move out but that doesn’t mean they’re not affected, either emotionally or logistically.
In this case study, I’m going to talk about how Justin Rooschuz – a landlord we’ve written about before and had a two bedroom property at Sighthill Road, Edinburgh – chose #ThePortolioWay because he didn’t want to unsettle his tenant.
The Challenge
This all happened in July 2019. The tenant was a young family – Leanne and her child – who had been tenants for a number of years. They were, like many tenants, looking after the property well, paying their rent and in every way saw the rented property as their home.
So, with the goal being to continue the tenancy under a new landlord after the sale, the Portolio solution was perfect!
But we were very aware, as we always are, that Leanne was still going to be worried and, if we handled things badly, her young family would become unsettled.
During the process of selling we needed need access to;
- Get the home report survey carried out by a qualified surveyor
- Take professional marketing shots of the interior
- View the property to potential buyers
As you would expect, for a successful sale all the above had to happen smoothly, and Leanne’s cooperation was very much needed. Certainly our activities were going to have an impact on her family’s day-to-day life.
The Solution
The way we dealt with this was being completely honest and respectful. There was no need to create any kind of cover story to tell Leanne, Justin’s ’s tenant.
Initially through Justin, we made sure Leanne knew the flat was being sold on the open market, but that we’re focused on selling to a property investor, who will become their new landlord.
We made sure Leanne knew that her assistance can be a big help in selling to a property investor. We made sure that the required notice was always given for access and there was never any issue if a certain time or day didn’t suit her.
The way we ensured Leanned wasn’t unsettled was by being sensitive and giving her the consideration she deserved.
The Results
All that said, there was never any complacency. We knew there was a chance Leanne could react in a negative manner – but it’s rare that a tenant does that. Almost always they react like Leanne did, and we have a successful conclusion for all concerned.
How did the sale go? GREAT!
Leanne was a big help, and we achieved a quick sale at a sale price of £140,000, that was everything Justin wanted.
And yes, the flat was bought by a property investor who became Leanne’s new landlord.
Even better than that… for the new owner, we helped set things up with a good local letting agency and really Leanne and her family have hardly been bothered at all.
… and then Leanne did the most wonderful thing, and left us this review on Google!
“As a sitting tenant, I was a little worried about how the change over would be, but Ross kept me in the loop throughout the process and kept me at ease.”
NOTE: Because we sell tenanted property on the open market, it means your property could be bought by a savvy homebuyer. It happens less than 5% of the time but, when it does, it means the tenancy will need to end. Again, we’ll guide you through this process.
Finally, here are some stats…
In the last quarter of 2019, we recorded that 88% of our sold properties were sold with the tenant still living there. And even better, in the most recent month, January 2020, we managed to get to 100%.
It’s our goal for every sale to be a seamless process. We’ll use all our skills, expertise and attention to detail to make sure your tenants are not adversely affected.
If you would like to learn more about how we manage to deliver great results, and look after the tenant’s welfare, then please get in touch.
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Written by Chris Wood, MD & Founder of Portolio
Get in touch on 07812 164 842 or email to [email protected]
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