Today I want to answer the question, can I sell a property when it is leased? And the answer to that question is, “Yes.” You can sell residential real estate if it has a lease on it, but what you need to know about that is that the lease goes with the property. The buyer of that leased real estate inherits the lease that you have on the property. If you’re selling it in March and that lease goes through July, then the buyer of that property, inherits that lease. They take the lease payments and they take over that lease through July. Also, security deposits will transfer and they’ll end up moving that tenant out. So basically, they step into your shoes. It can be a good thing sometimes for a buyer as they are purchasing an automatically cash flowing investment right off the bat. So some buyers like that. If you’re a seller, that could be a good thing.
On the flip side, oftentimes when you’re selling a rental property, if you’re dealing with investors, investors are looking for the best deal. Oftentimes, not always, whereas a homeowner might be willing to pay a little bit more. So you have to weigh those pros and cons out. Do I sell this with a tenant in it to another investor, let them take over the lease, or do I wait until that tenant moves out? Of course, when the tenant moves out, you may have some cleanup involved and different things like that. You’re waiting longer to get your money, but the short answer to the question of, can I sell a property that’s leased is, “Yes, you can,” but the lease goes with the property.
Kommentare