As a buyer, I was concerned about location, and the inspection report.

As a seller, my realtor staged my property. I paid for paint, fixtures, the realtor paid for staging.

$1m home.

What is your asking?

If your target buyer is an investor, then keep the tenant in it. Considering that the tenant is paying a market rate for rent and not below.

If your buyer is more than likely to be a first time home buyer, then I would get the tenant out and clean the place.

And to add to the post by ncrealestateguy, don't have the tenant sign another lease except as a MTM if you are targeting investors. Some investors want to screen for their own tenants.

Another consideration: is the tenant likely to "trash talk" your place? I mention it because you said the area is economically depressed and if you are selling to an inexperienced investor that type of erroneous information could push away the buyer.

An experienced investor knows better than to accept what a tenant may say about the property.

Jim Mat -- I think your comment was intended for a different thread.

ncrealestateguy -- Thank you. The tenant is definitely paying below market rate even considering the issues with the property. So, I should move them out even if it takes a few months to sell?

Denita -- Thank you. The tenant's not the kind to trash talk but they definitely could try to guilt trip an investor into feeling bad about ending their tenancy and/or raising the rent.

Jewel...

If they are paying below market rent, then do as Denita says and keep them on a month to month lease. That way the investor can raise rent back to market value or find their own tenant.

I've viewed more then one tenant-occupied house in our many searches for new homes.... 14 last count. EVERY time the tenants left the house less than acceptable for viewing, probably hoping it wouldn't sell too soon.... if at all.

I'd have them move-out; clean, repaint, etc. As a potential buyer, I'd rather see an empty house than dirty underwear, dirty sinks and unflushed toilets.

I recommend selling empty.

We purchased a property with tenants in one of the units. It was a plus. It sounds good to keep the rental income until the property being sold, make sure the tenants keeping the house clean though. Good luck.

Denita -- by chance, do you have a list of expectations for how the tenant should keep the property during the listing period that you could share with me?

• Vacuuming carpets and floors
• Sweeping and mopping floors
• Emptying trash
• Pick up everything from the floors, no toys scattered around
• High and low dusting
• Cleaning door handles and light fixtures
• Dusting windows, window sills and ledges
• Changing linen (this is for the "smell factor")
• All beds to be made for showings.
• Cleaning kitchen appliances on the outside (the microwave is cleaned inside as well)
• Wiping countertops and outside of the kitchen cabinets
• Doing the dishes - none in the sink. Preferably none in DW
• Cleaning and disinfecting the toilet
• Cleaning the sink, bath tubs and/or showers
• Clean the front door, especially around the handle
• Clean fans and fan blades
• Replace A/C filter and dust around the return air vent
• No smoking materials anywhere in or on or around the premises

The idea is that the property looks clean and organized and smells fresh from from the front door forward. If you set this up as a relatively short checklist you won't get pushback (except from those that are chronically messy). If you make the list too long, it will overwhelm the tenant.

I don't know who takes care of the lawn maintenance in your leases, but if you do, having the property look good from the curb is critical. If the tenant does, consider taking over the lawn maintenance (if applicable) during the marketing and sale of the property. My investors maintain the landscaping in their leases because if a tenant does it, then it is likely to not get done regularly and sometimes not at all.

If the tenant has a pet, have the tenant walk the dog during showings. Or put the pet in it's cage.

If I were a tenant, I would counter any list of expectations with the need for 48 hours notice before all showings to take care of that list of expectations (if I were not on a month-to-month lease) If I were on a month-to-month lease, I would move out as quickly as possible.

Jamie, in theory the tenant would be keeping the house clean on a regular basis anyway and the actual items to be cleaned before showings would be minimal: quick dust, empty dishwasher, pick up toys, sweep & mop floors. It's minimal because the house is cleaned regularly. However, in reality some people don't clean regularly and need a reminder of what needs to be done.

48 hour showing notice for investment property is typical.

It's a little scary to me that you would move to a higher priced rental rather than clean.

It's not that I'd be filthy, but it's more likely that I might be running late and forget to make the bed or drop a towel on the floor of the bathroom and forget to pick it up. Or tired the night before and leave a few dishes in the sink. Or forget to dust the window sills. Any number of really trivial issues on that list. I'd also suggest that if you didn't like the way I clean, then you should hire a service to come in and clean to make sure it's up to your showing standards.

I don't think it's unreasonable to expect the tenant to keep the place neat and clean. But if it is too difficult for the tenant, then moving is probably the best solution for both the tenant and the landlord. Expecting the landlord to send over a cleaning service to pick up after the tenant is unreasonable IMO.

Oh good grief, haha, you're not understanding what I am saying. I am not saying that a tenant should not keep a rental property neat and clean. I am saying that the owner should accept that fact that they might not have a sparking clean, pristine property to show (whatever their definition of sparking clean and pristine is). "OOPS, I forgot to wipe that water spot off the bathroom faucet." I am not at all saying that the tenant should leave crusty dishes lying around or never clean the oven.

I hate to comment on this because I don't want to get someone evicted, but...

Unless these are long term tenants at a good cap rate then they are a nuisance to me. I don't think there are that any real advantages to leaving your tenants there in the situation you described.

As a current landlord who has significant experience in the business, I don't see any upsides to your renters being there. If you are targeting investors, then renters paying below market rent are just a headache and if anything will cause me to offer less. I don't need a property rented to know whether or not I can rent it. I have never met someone I would consider experienced in investment real estate who needed a current renter as evidence the property was going to be a good investment.

Nor does the property being occupied add any additional comfort for me. It is your property and its protection is your responsibility until it is my property so there is no significant protection for the buyer during that process. Additionally, it is eventually going to be vacant and that is just something landlords learn to deal with.

------

If you are targeting non-investors then tenants are going to be problematic. Buyers want a house they can see themselves in and tenants will most likely make that harder. They are also going to want the tenants out before they take possession which is another headache.

------

There are exceptions, of course, if you have great tenants who keep the property in mint condition then let them stay.

Good luck.

ETA: I don't necessarily care about the way tenants live unless they are truly an exception. In the end, as an investor, a property is a cash flow to me. I don't do the slumlord thing but for those that do, they are used to their properties looking like that.

Neat and clean works. You haven't seen some of the tenant occupied properties that I show! Some are true "works of art" when it comes to stuff everywhere and some of those tenants haven't cleaned since they moved in - apparently. I'm not talking about pristine. I'm talking about neat and clean. No landlord is going to get upset of an errant towel on the floor if he rest of the place is clean. If the floor is covered in stuff - that is a different matter entirely.

bry911, it is true about the property only being worth what it generates in income/potential income. I would say that a slumlord is not based entirely on the type of property. It's a landlord's mindset. Although slumlords have a tendency to purchase and own properties at the lower end of the market, I have seen slumlords own and rent out what would normally be considered a Class B or even Class A properties until those properties are run into the ground by the slumlord's lack of routine repairs and maintenance.

I think the difference is that a tenant might keep the place clean- but it’s not going to “show clean” the way you’d have your home prepped for showings as the seller. I consider my home clean and clean it weekly but it’s definitely nothing like my prior home was when it was listed.

I am unsure where the slumlord thing fits into this discussion, nor do I understand the point. The quality and condition of a property determines the quality and condition of the renter. There are no situations where properties in disrepair attract high quality renters and thus slumlords have, on average, lower quality renters.

Just like all experienced landlords I have been in enough properties to know when I need to evict someone and any attempt to tidy up the place will do little to my analysis. However, if the tenant is far outside the norm then things change, I will walk away from a filthy tenant because they are more trouble than they are worth, and I may allow a below market rent for an extremely neat and clean tenant. However, those things are very hard to fabricate, people either live that way or they don't.

---

In the end, the OP is renting below market and that is likely to hurt them. My likely analysis is going to be either the property can't get good market rental rates or you are bad at investment properties. Either way I will offer less than I would otherwise. So if your target demographic is experienced or cash investors, then you are not doing yourself any favors by leaving the tenants (assuming they are not exceptional tenants).

Depends on what state you are in. NY just passed the most ridiculous tenant/landlord laws. Even without a lease, if the tenant has lived there more than 2 years, you have to give them 90 days notice. This makes selling the house with a tenant extremely difficult especially if the new buyer doesnt want that tenant.

Thanks, everyone. In the end, since it could take some time to sell the house given the location, I decided to offer the tenant a month-to-month tenancy to keep rent coming in. If doing so affects selling the house, I can give the tenant a 30 days notice to vacate.