4 Ways Your Tenant is Screwing Up Your Sale

Dear Landlord,

I’m sure that your tenants in the house you are trying to sell are very nice people. But when I went to show it, there were a few things that you probably don’t know are happening. Things that you might want to talk to them about before you decide that your Realtor isn’t doing his/her job.

Cooperation when making appointments

Just like selling any other home, it’s important that it’s easy to show. When a tenant won’t allow a lockbox and insists on being present for every showing (which means working around their schedule) the only person losing is you.

Buyers have a long list of homes to look at and they do it on their own terms and timeframe whether it's owner occupied or tenant occupied. If the only appointment we can get is every other Wednesday at lunchtime, believe me, we will have found another house long before we get into yours.

Might I suggest that you have a heart to heart with your tenant? A lockbox is a necessity. It allows for easier appointment setting, the most secure access to the home and the least inconvenience to the tenant since they will not have to be present for all of the showings. As with any home on the market, the easier it is to show, the easier it is to get the right buyer through the door.

Keep It Clean

I don’t know a polite way to say it, so I’ll just be blunt. Your tenants have to keep the house clean. Dirty floors, dishes in the sink and laundry piled up everywhere is not the optimal way to show a home.

Not everyone who looks at this house is an investor. As a matter of fact, most of them aren’t. They are just regular people who are trying to find a home within their budget that they can be happy in and it's difficult enough to imagine yourself at home somewhere else without having to overlook a mess. This is the same advice I give to any seller, so it's important to communicate this to the tenant as well.

Pets

Remember that clause in the lease that says “no pets”? Lots of tenants don’t.

Between the pit bull and the stinky rabbits, we weren’t sure if we were going to be on the losing end of the circle of life or witness the miracle of birth. It’s time to make a surprise visit and enforce the rules of the lease. If you are allowing pets in the house, and not checking in from time to time to be sure they are not causing any damage, then I hope you got a fat, non-refundable deposit.

Loose Lips Sink Ships Sales

Most tenants are understandably concerned about whether a new owner will allow them to stay and have a tendency to point out every flaw in a property when potential buyers visit. Sometimes it's that they don't want to move and sometimes they are just trying to be helpful to the potential buyers.

No matter the motivation, did you know that the dishwasher leaks, the garage floods during a hard rain and and you have to jiggle the handle on the toilet to keep it from running all day?

Thanks to your tenant, my clients do.

Wishing you the best of luck with your sale,

The buyer’s agent