How to sell a tenanted property quickly

Landlords looking to sell a tenanted property quickly have fairly limited options.

They can place it with a local estate agent, where it will be marketed like any property, in a market-place which is mainly owner/occupier. These buyers are not the target market for selling a property with sitting tenants.

Going down this marketing route could take months for another landlord to come along and decide to purchase the property, as a tenanted property is only likely to appeal to another investor, and they are in the minority in terms of people who frequently visit the big property portals.

It is also worth noting that it can be harder to secure finance for a buy to let property, so again, this limits the number of potential buyers even more.

Many landlords are going to be highly motivated to sell their properties, due to the new tax changes introduced in the Summer Budget 2015, increasingly onerous regulation, and some may try and sell ahead of the Autumn Statement stamp duty changes which come into affect in April 2016.

Therefore, there is a window of around 4 months (at the time of writing), where there may be a glut of tenanted properties on the market, meaning that your competition for suitable buyers has increased!

If a landlord is in financial difficulty, then they may prefer to sell the property tenanted so that they can keep collecting the rent throughout the sales process and reduce the risk of being stuck with an empty property having to pay the mortgage too, possibly as well as other mortgages such as your own home.

Many a landlord has served notice on their tenant, only to find that the property has lingered on the market for many months or a sale has fallen through, and they are left paying the mortgage on an empty property - not to mention the council tax and increased insurance and security costs. Whilst a property sits empty you also have to visit regularly and ensure that the gardens are maintained and deal with any issues. There is also the risk of asset theft or damage (such as unreported water leaks) in an empty property that may cause even more stress and expense!

Then, let's say you find a buyer of your rented property. The sale is NOT guaranteed to go through.

Recent data that one in three property sales failed to reach completion. Interestingly, 20% of abortive sales were as a result of financial issues, the majority of which being buyers not able to obtain a mortgage.

It is believed that this figure is at its highest point to date in 2015 and significantly higher than the last few months.

Across the year so far, financial/mortgage issues accounted for 12% of abortive sales and was the third highest reason in our data.

The top reason for abortive sales recorded in 2015 to date, accounting for 30% of the total, is the withdrawal of an offer by the buyer. Reasons varied and ranged from not understanding the legal system, to simply that the buyer changed their mind.

So, is there an option for a landlord to sell a tenanted property quickly and by-pass all these hassles and uncertainties? Yes, certainly there is!

Here at Open Property Group, we specialise in purchasing tenanted properties. We are genuine cash buyers and can complete on your tenanted property in a matter of days, taking over the tenants in a smooth and seamless transition, meaning that you as a seller do not experience any void periods or hassle of removing tenants.

Clearly, as cash buyers able to act quickly, we will be looking to achieve a discount off the market value of the property and we typically look for a 15% discount. Ouch! you might say, but consider this:

> No expensive estate agent fees which are typically 2% plus VAT

> No expensive legal fees - we will pay yours

> No expensive void periods

> No chain as we are not selling anything and can therefore complete very quickly sometimes in as little as a week!

> No hassle or sleepless nights fearing that the sale might not go through.

Our service is professional, quick, fair and transparent, and, we pride ourselves on high standards of service.

If you wish to sell your property fast, then do not hesitate to contact us. We are waiting to make you a genuine cash offer!

Open Property Group have a mission to raise standards and improve customer experience.

Give us a call on‎ 0800 990 3939 to receive a no-nonsense cash offer for your property or send us an email at ‎info@openpropertygroup.com