Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
We are in negotiations to buy a house and the seller wants to rent back after closing (their house isn't ready). Is this a risky thing to allow? How can we protect ourselves since we wouldn't be taking possession of the house at closing?
Our agent is looking into a rental agreement, but I was hoping to get some more perspective before we allow this.
The only person I know who did this had an awful time with the sellers. The sellers left the house a mess with a lot of fixtures missing, holes in the wall etc. I would make sure you somehow protect yourselves from this at the very least with a security deposit.
Ugh. That's awful. I really do not want to rent back
If you make a good legal contract in which you describe the items that should stay in the house just like before a closing and the state the have to leave it in and ask for a deposit, + first + last month just to be sure, I don't see so much harm to that. In that case the will lose money too and you can make the security deposit high just for your protection and have a lawyer make the contract.
maybe you should ask a lawyer and see what he will say about it and decide than. If the home looks good now why should the home owner be so different when he rents...or is it a short sale and are they leaving against their will?
As a buyer I would want to move in right away after the closing..Renting it out to the seller scares me ..I would be afraid of possible delays & etc. I may sound cold but they can always find temp living quarters while waiting on their home to be finish.
As a buyer I would want to move in right away after the closing..Renting it out to the seller scares me ..I would be afraid of possible delays & etc. I may sound cold but they can always find temp living quarters while waiting on their home to be finish.
That's how I feel. I have no desire to be a landlord, especially on my own home that I'm trying to get into. You have to be ready to get into eviction proceedings if necessary, disputes over damage, etc. Even if it's not a short sale where the seller's might be bitter, problems can arise (I remember a couple posted on this board). Eg, how do the sellers know there won't be delays on the house they're buying/building? What happens to you then?
If you're in a buyer's market, I'd say no, sorry, we need possession at closing. But that's just me. Glad you found a house.
It's very common for a seller to rent back for a few days or weeks. I built a home & we rented back from our buyer for 60 days but they really wanted the house. Our state has a standard lease that we can use that goes up to 90 days, beyond that & they need to find an apartment.
Look at the seller. Are they the type that have really taken good care of the house ? If they are they will take care of it once they close. Get a home warranty paid by them at closing in case something breaks while they are in it.
It can work if the sellers are good people. Judge them on how well they've loved their home and taken care of it.
We 'rented' a house back to sellers once. Seems like we let them stay for 2 or 3 months 'til school was finished. Basically in lieu of rent money, we got a nice chunk off our offer in exchange for letting them stay...their money from closing was placed in an escrow, we did a 2nd walkthru upon move out so they could get their funds released. Had a lease drawn up, stuff like they were responsible for any repairs, some high amount like $100 a day charge for everyday they weren't out past, I think a week after school let out....We were able to get fire and dwelling insurance...worked out fine, we were all flexible with it....they didn't think their house would sell after a couple of weeks, and we were in no hurry to move in.
We did that a few years ago. The seller's new home wasn't ready, and our lease on the apt wasn't yet up, so we rented back o them for two months, and it worked out perfectly for all concerned.
I would make an airtight contract, and possibly even a cleaning deposit to assure the home looks the same as it did at closing.
My uncle did this when he sold his home and business. (They were on the same property.) I think they rented almost a year. There were no problems on either end.
Good Luck!
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
