Selling rental property can be like trying to work out what comes first: The chicken or the egg?

Property118

Selling rental property can be like trying to work out what comes first: The chicken or the egg?

Should you evict or wait for a tenant to leave, then sell? Or sell first to find out if you even need vacant possession?

In the past, landlords could be forgiven for assuming selling with vacant possession was the obvious answer. After all, an empty property usually appeals to a wider range of buyers and can sometimes achieve a higher sale price.

However, as reasons to exit the PRS have become more urgent, more and more landlords are prioritising a faster exit over a slightly higher sales price.

Because the moment a tenant leaves, the rent stops. Mortgage payments continue. Insurance continues. Maintenance continues. Council tax may become payable. If the property needs work before sale, additional costs follow.

This is particularly relevant under the new Section 8 Ground 1A possession process. If possession is obtained on the basis that the property is being sold, landlords need to be confident that they can finance their vacant properties for at least 12 months from the date the tenant leaves.
If you market, re-let, or even list a property on a short-term let site like Airbnb during those 12 months, it is a criminal offence or carries an automatic civil penalty up to £40,000 and councils now have greater enforcement responsibilities under the Renters’ Rights Act.

A Different Approach

Selling first and evicting second (if necessary) allows landlords to see what genuine buyers are prepared to pay for the property with the tenant in place.

Sometimes the difference between a tenanted sale and a vacant possession sale is surprisingly small.

When landlords compare that difference with the costs of obtaining possession and carrying an empty property for months, selling with the tenant in situ can become a very attractive option.

Our role is to help landlords understand the options available and choose the route that delivers the best overall result.

That might mean selling with the tenant in situ. It might mean agreeing a sale first and then arranging vacant possession (which we take care of) later. Or it might mean pursuing a completely different strategy.

What matters is finding the solution that works best for the landlord, the tenant and the buyer – a win-win-win solution.

• For sellers, that means always getting the best result possible.
• For buyers that means proactively, collecting all the information and providing all the help they need to complete in 56 days or less.
• And for tenants, that means either staying in place when we find an incoming landlord or helping them overcome the obstacles they may be facing in finding a new home so that voluntary surrender is always a better option for them than being served a possession notice.

Even landlords who have already gained vacant possession are turning to us when they realise the cost of running empty property and want a faster, more reliable sale.

As well as advertising properties on the most popular property portals like Rightmove and Zoopla, we work in combination with trusted local agents to advertise property locally and have an extensive database of over 30,000 active, chain free buyers looking to purchase anything from a single property to a full portfolio, allowing us to quickly match you with the perfect buyer.

We have a one-stop shop team of experts, builders and legal assistants to ensure even the most complicated sale completes and we secure offers from the moment an offer is accepted to prevent buyers pulling out after a sale is agreed.   We’re also completely transparent – we don’t promise the highest price at any cost. We don’t sign you up for unrealistic values that leave your properties sitting on the market for months, even years.

We focus on the best achievable price that actually completes. And it works. On average all our properties sell in less than 28 days.

Sellers can sit back and dream about ways to spend the equity that is currently tied up in their properties, knowing we’re doing everything anyone can to find them the BEST deal possible.

So, if you’re a landlord looking for straight talking and the hardest working team there is on your side; talk to us today and start planning your tomorrow with added confidence.

We’re confident you’ll be pleased you did.

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