Selling a rental with tenants still in it

Most buyers want a rental delivered empty and clean. That leaves landlords who are already tired of the property doing the single hardest part of the job — removing a tenant — before they are allowed to get out.

We buy occupied. Lease in place, tenant staying, arrears outstanding, all of it.

Why evicting first usually costs you money

Landlords are often told to deliver a vacant unit to get a better price. Run the numbers before you accept that:

• Court and service costs, plus your time, on an eviction you are only doing to enable a sale
• Weeks or months of vacancy while it works through, with the mortgage still due
• Turnover costs once they are out — paint, carpet, cleaning, locks
• The risk of damage on the way out

You spend all of that to make the property marginally more attractive to a retail buyer who may still fall through on financing. Selling occupied skips the entire sequence.

The lease is not a problem

In Arizona a lease generally survives the sale — the new owner takes over as landlord for the rest of the term. Some buyers treat that as a defect. For us it is just a fact about the property that we price in. Send us the lease with the address and it gets factored into the first number we give you.

The situations we see most

• Tenant has stopped paying and you do not want to fund an eviction to exit
• Inherited landlord — you did not choose this rental, it came with an estate
• Out-of-state owner tired of managing Arizona property remotely
• Long-term tenant, below-market rent that makes the numbers stop working
• Deferred maintenance stacking up faster than the rent covers
• Section 8 or voucher tenancy you would rather not keep administering

Tempe and the Phoenix student corridors produce more of these calls than anywhere else in the Valley — a lot of that stock has been rented continuously for decades. See our Tempe page for the local picture.

How the walkthrough works with someone living there

We arrange a single visit with proper notice, and it takes about twenty minutes. There are no open houses, no photographers and no stream of buyers, because we are the buyer. For most tenants it is one short interruption rather than weeks of disruption — which also keeps them cooperative while the sale closes.

Common questions

Do I have to evict my tenant before selling?

No. We buy tenant-occupied property and we do not ask you to remove anyone first. Evicting before a sale usually costs you money and time you will not get back, and an empty house is not worth more to us than an occupied one.

What happens to the lease when you buy?

In Arizona a lease generally survives a sale — the buyer steps into the landlord's shoes for the remainder of the term. That is fine with us. Send us the lease and we will price around it.

My tenant has stopped paying. Does that kill the deal?

No. Non-paying tenants are one of the most common reasons landlords call us. You do not have to chase the arrears or start an eviction to sell — we take the property as it stands.

Do you need to walk through the unit?

We do want to see it, but we work around the tenant. One visit, arranged with proper notice, about twenty minutes. We do not run showings, so your tenant is not dealing with a parade of strangers.

What about the security deposit?

It transfers at closing and gets handled through escrow, the same as prorated rent. Your escrow officer will account for it.

Can you buy a property with several units, some occupied?

Yes. Mixed occupancy across a small multifamily is normal and does not complicate things on our side.

What to do next

Send the address and the lease if you have it handy. Within 48 hours you will have a written offer that already accounts for the tenancy — no renegotiation later once we "discover" someone lives there.

Call or text (480) 818-4105, Monday to Friday 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM.