How to ensure a single house rental can be long term? (for sale, renter)

[paperpile]

We have had the unfortunate experience of wanting to rent for a few years, and having to move due to the owner deciding to sell. There was a verbal agreement that the lease could be renewed from year to year for years to come, but it didn't turn out so, perhaps due to the market conditions. What are the necessary steps to ensure that this does not happen again should we choose to rent instead of buying?

We would love to rent a single house for 4 years, buying seems like not a very good investement. Is there a way to guarantee that the house won't be put up for sale? We can also consider lease-to-own, but it is harder to find those listed online.

[NJGOAT]

There is nothing preventing the owner from deciding to sell the house. However, anyone who purchases the property would be required to honor your existing lease as written. Basically, you want to ask the owner if they are willing to sign an extended lease. Periods of up to 36 months aren't unheard of, but are rather rare. So, the best thing for you to do is ask the owner if they would be willing to sign a long term lease and then work out the details on that. Just don't be surprised if most owners don't want to do that.

[Sergio M]

I know a lot of landlords would love to rent for long term. A lot of times, it's not feasible for either party. No one really knows what can happen in two or three years, and most people will only lease for 2 years at the most.

[paperpile]

So herein lies the problem! We are not advised to buy if only for 5 years, but we can't stick with renting because the sellers always want to sell. Moving is expensive, and not good for the kids.

[NJHomebody]

That's part of the downside of renting a house--the uncertainty. I know from personal experience.
Anyway, what area are you looking in to rent? I know someone who is renting out his house in the Piscataway area and would more than likely be open to a 2 year lease.

[manderly6]

It isn't going to happen. Personally I would think there is more downside than upside to trying to get a long term lease like that. What happens after six months if you end up hating the place?

[jerseyjersey]

Originally Posted by NJHomebody

That's part of the downside of renting a house--the uncertainty. I know from personal experience.

Yep. People are just so much less likely to own SFH as a true investment property. And at this point, so many, many people are just renting out their homes, waiting for prices to rise, the vast majority of SFH rentals are bound to be shorter term.

Are you completely opposed to, say, a 2-family where your unit has use of the yard, or something like that? Those are generally much safer bets in terms of percentage of owners who are "real" landlords. I get that it's not the same as a SFH, but when weighed against potentially having to move several times, the cost and upheaval associated with that--might be worth considering if you only want to rent for a few years.

[NJGOAT]

Originally Posted by manderly6

It isn't going to happen. Personally I would think there is more downside than upside to trying to get a long term lease like that. What happens after six months if you end up hating the place?

While I posted about the possibility, as a landlord, I would never agree to a long term lease like that. Even with the properties held solely as rentals/investments, there is a lot of uncertainty on the landlords end with long term leases. Basically, I want the ability to limit my exposure to a bad tenant to no more then a year and be able to price the place well in the market.

However, I have seen several properties offering lease terms up to 3 years. Generally the rent is laddered so there are built in increases and other then that, the leases are pretty much the same as a regular one. In most cases though, I don't see actual investment properties being run that way, they are usually people who are trying to sell a house and have decided that renting is a quick fix to their problem.

In the OP's case, if they want that level of stability the best thing is to look into a rental complex as was suggested by a PP. There are plenty of them out there that offer larger units and even full on townhomes and in the OP's price range, these are all going to be higher end places. You get the stability of being able to stay as long as you want and the security of an actual management company and maintenance staff.

[re_alvz]

Well, one very simple way would be buying the house and renting it to yourself!

[joe moving]

You could stipulate in the rental contract (or ask if they would agree to) that if the house is sold, the rental contract is honored. You might have to commit to a multiple year contract for the landlord to agree. Sounds like a good situation for renter and landlord. turning over tenants is time consuming and expensive.