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Thanks for all your comments. At first, I thought this was good, renting the place and have income from it as this would only be P/T for me and I could wait till April, but, I want to close without worrying about something going wrong after closing. If the lease goes with the property, so be it, I will not make an offer. As others mentioned, it could be a headache and I know nothing about renting property, especially being unprepared in the initial purchase. It's a bad time now anyway to travel down to Florida, I'll wait till after the Holidays, I'm patient. The condo is completely furnished, nicely, and I don't know what might get damaged, what to supply, and by the time I make payments, there's not much left from what the rent money that was paid. I don't want anymore headaches than just what goes along with purchasing the property. I notified my Realtor and she said she personally agrees with my statements about the issues.
If you don't want a tenant, don't buy now a property with a lease already in place.
However, in many sections in Fl, a tenant is not your usual tenant. They are several month vacaation tenants. They are people who can become used to your home and want it every year. They are people who take good care and have the place cleaned.
Adding up what you're not used to might seem like a giant task. But think it through. It doesn't have to be so insurmountable.
You should have someone down there keeping an eye on things anyway. Doing checks after storms and weekly look-ins just in case. (If power goes off or something goes wrong with your humidistat and things aren't reset you can go down to any wallpaper sliding off the walls and some mildew.) Commodes should be flushed on a regular basis. There are often retired neighbors who will do this for a fee. And then the person who rents the place for you....and your realtor can refer you or does it him/herself (have an asst take care of things)....will also check on things when you have your winter rental.
It is excellent to have that extra income....winter getting the highest rates...if you can do that. We never had a winter renter cause any trouble. So just take it step by step.
OP, simple. Make your offer with a long escrow where you don't close escrow until after the lease is up and that the house has to be in the same condition at close of escrow.
That way the seller knows the house is sold. He gets the rent money. You get to inspect for damage before closing.
Yes, the lease goes with the property. It does not cancel just because the house sold. You can ask to receive the house empty, but it is a bit late for the seller to cancel a short term contract.
Because I like this condo a lot, I might try putting an offer in and have the closing after April 15th. I guess since the offer is written up earlier, I have to specify sale is contingent upon the unit being empty and accept final walk through (for damages) before closing.
BTW, I contacted the listing agent about the lease. It is a written lease and she said the Association did a background check. This is 55+ community so it cannot be kids.
I'd say a Florida snowbird renter in a 55+ community with a 4 month lease would be about the safest tenant situation you could buy into.
As a condo owner in Florida with our Snowbirds about to arrive in a few days, no truer words are spoken. I certainly would not worry about these tenants damaging anything HOWEVER I just cannot imagine with the investment you are about to make not going down and actually seeing the property, how would you know if something is damaged or not? You are worried about an older couple damaging something but not worried about damages or issues in probably a few hundred thousand dollar investment?
Also I believe the advise was given to have someone like a realtor, management company, or "somebody" look after the place if it is going to be rented considering you are not willing to make a trip, critical.
As far as putting those suggested contingencies in the contract, your wasting your time as they will never agree, you can try but if it really is a nice condo, furnished well and priced right, they really don't have to have your offer as I cannot imagine putting in a contingency for a sale months away! Real estate is recovering in Florida, prices are increasing, they will not be willing to accommodate you. Look for a place that is not a rental and forget this one.
As a condo owner in Florida with our Snowbirds about to arrive in a few days, no truer words are spoken. I certainly would not worry about these tenants damaging anything HOWEVER I just cannot imagine with the investment you are about to make not going down and actually seeing the property, how would you know if something is damaged or not? You are worried about an older couple damaging something but not worried about damages or issues in probably a few hundred thousand dollar investment?
Also I believe the advise was given to have someone like a realtor, management company, or "somebody" look after the place if it is going to be rented considering you are not willing to make a trip, critical.
As far as putting those suggested contingencies in the contract, your wasting your time as they will never agree, you can try but if it really is a nice condo, furnished well and priced right, they really don't have to have your offer as I cannot imagine putting in a contingency for a sale months away! Real estate is recovering in Florida, prices are increasing, they will not be willing to accommodate you. Look for a place that is not a rental and forget this one.
Do you rent out your condo and are you close by or out of state?
I'm sorry,but as the buyer,your rights trump any renters rights,and you don't have to honor a darn thing.
A lease is yearly,or month to month.
If you purchased it,and they have a lease,you can make them move within a month or two. You may have to pay expenses for them though.
You don't have to honor a previus owner's contract or lease.
Absolute garbage !!
As a realtor in Florida, I know this as a fact. The original lease must be honored unless the renter agrees to break the lease.
If you decide to proceed in closing before the lease expires, you should verify the lease the owner provides is the lease the tenant signed. In California, the tenant signs an estoppel certifying the terms. I am sure in FL there is something similar.
If you decide to proceed in closing before the lease expires, you should verify the lease the owner provides is the lease the tenant signed. In California, the tenant signs an estoppel certifying the terms. I am sure in FL there is something similar.
I would ask for a copy of the lease and a copy of the background check the listing agent said the HOA did on the tenant. I won't by from the listing agent as they work for the seller, I would use a buyer's agent.
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