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Would love some feedback / advice regarding a situation we are now facing with our rental in Bellingham, WA / Whatcom County. I tried finding an answer (both in my lease and on the Tenant's Rights website), but it's not specific enough - not sure it can get any more specific, but hoping someone has experience with this...
We currently rent from an out-of-town owner who advised us last year, in writing, that he had no intention of selling the condo we rent for as long as we wanted to rent it.
The owner approached us months prior to the end of our year lease last year asking us if we would be willing to sign another year's lease early - we said fine, recalling what he had stated about no intention to sell.
Two months after we renewed the lease the landlord sends an email asking me how things are with the condo... something he'd never done before. My gut told me something was up, so I asked "Why are you asking? Are you thinking of selling?" To my dismay, he replied "Well, I'm thinking about it, but not until next April or May (our lease ends July 31, 2018). The market's so hot right now." I did not say anything other than "yeah, the market is hot".
I advised the landlord that I would need to start looking for a rental to secure for the future and could not guarantee that it would coincide with the end of our lease, that the rental market was also "hot" and if we found something suitable in this market - and affordable - I would need to jump on it. He said he was fine with that as long as I could find someone to do a lease takeover.
Last week (Feb) I found a rental and advised the LL that even though it is available this month, I would pay him for the month of March. I advised him that I have a hospital procedure scheduled for the first part of March and that if we couldn't move out by the end of this month, we would hopefully be out by mid-March . I asked him if he still wanted me to find someone to do the lease takeover or if he would consider possibly listing the condo for sale early. I said I would go ahead and put an ad on CL for a lease takeover with the caveat that the condo was going to be listed for sale.
I placed the ad on CL two days later and received over 40 replies; 75% were a waste of time. I obtained a rental application from the LL and sent them via email to out-of-town prospects who contacted me. For those local or able to view the unit, I scheduled individual appointments for 5 showings for Sunday at 30 minutes each. I printed more applications in advance, cleaned the condo in preparation. I spent a LOT of time answering the phone, emailing and responding to multiple text messages.
Saturday NIGHT - the night before the scheduled showings, the LL emails to ask if I'd be interested in amending our lease to end in March vs July, as he would rather do that instead of a lease takeover with a new tenant. I said of course - I thought that made the most sense, and what I had tried to suggest to him previously once we had found a rental. I could leave without the worry of breaking the lease or not finding a replacement tenant. He could have an empty condo to prepare to list, to do repairs or improvements he might want to do and it would show better without us in it. I was all for it. I then had to contact all those individuals I had scheduled to show the unit to for the following day (some were not pleased at all! Can't blame them!)
Today I received an email from the LL saying he'd have his realtor get ahold of me next week and he'd "really appreciate it" if I could do some kind of "staging" to make the place look nice for showings. I did not respond... Seriously? I'm already packing boxes and trying to stack them neatly in corners. I will have the place clean, but I am not "staging" HIS property for him to sell. I have not replied to his email.
Tonight - I received a very long message from his local realtor saying he'd like to come see the condo asap so that he can list it by possibly Thursday. He would like to be able to give MY phone number to any prospects to coordinate a time to see the condo, with 24 hours notice or less if I can do it AND he'd like to have an open house THIS coming weekend on BOTH Saturday and Sunday. He talked about getting repairs done in advance, doing some "staging" or suggesting how I can present the place... how he knows I'm busy but maybe we could do this while I'm at work. You can imagine how well this went over... I'm waiting to respond to him tomorrow a.m. as I'm far too upset this evening to discuss his wants / requests this evening.
My apologies for the length of this... I probably just need to get this off my chest so I'm ranting here on CD. We have rented from owners who decided to sell before. NEVER have we encountered this situation. The last owner actually offered us money to break the lease so he could list the rental - he needed the cash to buy a new home for his own use. The one before that had the decency to let us know he wanted to sell, told me to take my time in finding something and waited to show the house until after we had moved out. This situation is totally different and we're feeling very invaded.
I checked to see if I could find anything re: any limits, time requirements, notices, etc. related to LL's selling homes / showing to prospective buyers. I read my lease thoroughly. The lease does state the owner only has to provide me with 24 hours notice for repairs, showings to prospective tenants or buyers. It appears that's what the Tenant Laws state as well. Do I feel screwed. This feels terrible! A tenant who has always paid rent on time, has caused no problems... it just seems really inconsiderate.
My question is this... Is there any limit to the number of hours or days a LL or realtor can ask this of a tenant? Good grief!!! The Realtor wants to come see the rental, talk with me about "staging" (isn't this still MY residence?). I do not have time nor do I feel obligated to speak directly with prospective buyers / people who are interested in viewing the place... They can call the d**n realtor and he can call me to schedule (unless he wants to share some of his commission!). I work primarily from home. I have a disabled son who is attending college and this is going to be very disruptive for him (Autism - routine is absolutely a must)... he'll cooperate, but I worry about it affecting his performance and focus if we have to be invaded with realtors, work men, lurkers. And... TWO open houses this weekend? Just where are we supposed to go both days??? I'd like a refund for the missing hours/days please for the rent I've paid if I can't be here then. Am I being unreasonable? I understand the owner needs the ability to show the place, but give me a break. Each day / hour he seems to be changing his wants, increasing his demands... all for HIS benefit. I lost valuable work hours last week working on the lease takeover. I don't care to lose more hours/pay this week and this coming weekend for what they have planned. I don't make money when I don't work. Just how many hours are they allowed to invade our home for this?
Last edited by momma4evr; 02-12-2018 at 10:34 PM..
Reason: typo
I'm a realtor...I'd tell them you are in the middle of packing and moving, and it will not be staged.
I'd insist on 24 hr notice, and that you will be prepared to allow agent to show it on 3 days a week...you pick days and times (like tues, sat and Sunday, between 12-3 on weekend, and 3-6 on tues.)
Those hours will accommodate most everyone who works.
There is no need to show it daily, nor would I allow an open house while you live there and are moving.
You can insist on 24 hour notice. You don't have to stage, but there will be photos taken, so I suggest that you hide away anything valuable.
Your landlord is letting you out of your lease without penalty so you can be flexible about obtaining a new place to live. In exchange, it would be polite for you to at least keep the house tidy for showings.
Unless you want strangers wandering through without any notice, you are going to have to give the agent your phone number so you can receive warning that there will be a viewing.
No you can't stop your landlord from selling his property. Also keep in mind that you might need a good landlord reference from him in the future. You don't want him to honestly say you were difficult and unpleasant at move-out. Insist on getting your 24 hour notice, but other than that be pleasant about the whole thing.
Ask the agent for suggestions about what you are supposed to do for open house hours. You are in Bellingham, it's possible that the place will be sold during that first weekend.
Like everyone said you can insist on a 24 hr notice. I’m assuming the lease end agreement was SIGNED by both parties and it’s a done deal. Because if there is no signed agreement verbal mess jack
I would simply tell the realtor I can’t stage I’m in the middle of moving out. I will
Allow entry with proper notice DURING normal daytime hours.
I'm a realtor...I'd tell them you are in the middle of packing and moving, and it will not be staged.
I'd insist on 24 hr notice, and that you will be prepared to allow agent to show it on 3 days a week...you pick days and times (like tues, sat and Sunday, between 12-3 on weekend, and 3-6 on tues.)
Those hours will accommodate most everyone who works.
There is no need to show it daily, nor would I allow an open house while you live there and are moving.
Tenants cannot dictate when showings happen and they cannot stop open houses, you should know better if you are an agent.
WA state law says notice for showings needs to be at least "a day" which is kinda vague but implies 24 hours. The only demand you can make is that 24 hours notice for showings but if they are smart then give you notice today for showings every day plus the open house this weekend. Your landlord let you out of a pretty long term and he didn't have to, I'd think a reasonable person would cooperate a little bit.
I still agree that Spottednike has the most reasonable response... AND he actually read what I wrote and understood what I was asking. I know it was long - probably too long for a lot of people to follow and remember.
I am not interested in staying in our rental. I am not mad the owner is selling. For those of you who commented and make it seem like the landlord is doing ME a favor by "letting me out of my lease early"... Seriously? He's doing HIMSELF a favor. Sure, I'm grateful as it lets me off the hook on the lease until July in case I couldn't find anyone to do the lease takeover. But he's not doing this out of consideration for me... He wants to make his condo more appealing when he lists it by having it ready for someone to move in if they want to close early. He is the one who decided to move his list date up. If he sells the condo this weekend in February (and doesn't amend the lease) the new owner has to abide by the current rental lease... they would have to honor the lease until July 31st. That's the owner's reason for wanting to change the current lease - he's not doing me any favors; he's thinking of his own wants/needs and what he thinks a prospective buyer will want. I can assure you he has no concern over where I'm moving or when. I can move at the end of Feb. to our new rental - I'm the one who said I'd pay for the entire month of March when I probably won't even be here. The LL will have a clean, empty condo to show - and the way our market is here, he will probably have multiple offers after one open house. That would be great as it would, hopefully, mean far fewer showings if an offer is accepted and pending. He may even be able to close on the place by the end March if all goes well.
My biggest issue is the extent that the realtor seems to want to be able to have access to my home. I also looked up WA state law and my lease. Both state that for "non-emergency repairs or entrance" a 24 hour notice needs to be given. So, that's what I will expect. I will take Spottednike's advice and ask for a reasonable amount of showings during the week... according to the law, as the tenant I have a right to a peaceful environment.
I'm not saying I won't be accommodating or nasty through all of this. I just want to be respected as well. No, I'm not going to "stage" the rental for their showings... it will be clean, but they will have to understand that we are moving as well... and I have sectioned off a portion of the living room where the boxes are being neatly stacked.
Thanks to those who gave good advice and those who had suggestions. I found it interesting to read some of the responses and couldn't help putting replies into one of two camps: Those who "get" what I was relaying from a tenant's viewpoint and Those who are obviously on the landlord side of the equation. I'm a former homeowner - different state - WA is far too expensive for me to buy in anymore, so I have to be a renter for the time being. As one person we rented from said, I'm "every landlord's dream tenant"... and I have done nothing wrong in our current rental. The owner said he wanted to sell. I know how difficult it is to secure affordable housing here for renters (and buyers). I told the LL well in advance that I would need to look for a rental as a result of his decision to sell. I said I'd get someone to take the lease over. This LL hasn't really done a thing for us - he's just jumping on the chance to sell and quick. He said he wants to list earlier now because there is a lot of new construction and he does not want to compete with those new homes when they are done. I'm the one doing him a favor, really.
As a tenant, I am seeing an ever-increasing level of greed in this "hot" market place and a lot of displaced, hard-working individuals and families who are losing hope of home ownership. The unjustifiable rents that keep going up (some of us are going to have a really hard continuing to save when so much $ is going towards increase rent) and the lack of concern from homeowners/investors/landlords as to how their greed / profit is impacting the communities where their real estate is located is really pretty frightening. I keep hearing how it's like this "everywhere" in the U.S.
Tenants cannot dictate when showings happen and they cannot stop open houses, you should know better if you are an agent.
WA state law says notice for showings needs to be at least "a day" which is kinda vague but implies 24 hours. The only demand you can make is that 24 hours notice for showings but if they are smart then give you notice today for showings every day plus the open house this weekend. Your landlord let you out of a pretty long term and he didn't have to, I'd think a reasonable person would cooperate a little bit.
Thanks for your comments... My landlord did not really let me out of anything. I agreed to renew our lease last year. He said it would continue for as long as we wanted to rent here (I had told them when we initially applied we'd like to stay until son graduated from college). Okay, things change and this is a good time for him to sell. I get that. He said he wanted to list in May but that I should not worry - that even if sold our lease would be honored. He also needed to understand (and obviously did) that I would need to find new housing. I could not guarantee I'd find something that would coincide exactly on July 31st, the last day of the lease. Housing is very difficult to secure here for single families. There is plenty of housing for students, people who want to live with 6, 8 or more roommates, but for small families, it's really slim pickin's!
I wasn't going to leave him hanging. When I found a place to rent I agreed to find someone to take over my lease (not too hard to do here given the market - someone would have had 6 months here to land and look for something more permanent). LL was fine with this. He's the one that's changing things and, in my opinion, being a little inconsiderate and not very reasonable.
I don't think I implied anywhere that I would not be cooperative. I'm not like that. He created the situation by deciding to sell. Of course he let me out of "pretty long term" lease. It benefits him as he is just drooling in anticipation of selling his place quickly and making a killing... He did not do this for me, I am quite certain of that! I never asked him to either.
Have you really looked hard at the numbers in regards to buying?
Something similar happened to friends... the owner had decided to sell unexpectedly... he had retired and found his situation changed.
Of course the lease is in full force but they really were getting frazzled trying to find a new place.
Hooked them up to a straight mortgage broker who put together a plan and that was in 2012... it was the best single financial decision they ever made... the property had doubled in the last 4 years just like rents would have continued to increase... they got a fixed rate loan at 3.625 and stayed put.
Unless you own, you will always be subject to others... even rent control is not absolute.
My WA tenant has a 4 year contract with a child starting High School... eminently qualified but wanted a 4 year assurance with lease provisions... we made it happen.
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