Selling a House With Tenants in an Estate or Trust

It can be sold, but the occupant's rights come first. A tenant with a lease generally keeps that lease through a sale. A family member living there without a lease is a different situation, and one your attorney needs to address before listing. I do not advise on ending a tenancy or removing anyone.

What I can do is review the lease and rent, schedule showings with proper notice, and explain how occupancy affects the likely buyer, the price, and the timing. The tenant-occupied properties page covers this in more detail.

Generally, yes. A valid lease continues after the owner's death and after a sale, and the buyer takes the property subject to it. A month to month tenancy can typically be ended with the written notice Nevada law requires, but who can give that notice, and when, is a question for the attorney.

I start by gathering the lease, the rent history, and the deposit records. Those documents decide what can be promised to a buyer.

It depends on who the likely buyer is. A home with a reliable tenant paying market rent appeals to investors and can sell without any gap in income. A single family home in a neighborhood of owner occupants usually brings more vacant, because most buyers want to move in and their loans require it.

I run both scenarios with the rent, the lease term, and the condition in view. No one should ask a tenant to leave until the attorney confirms it is permitted and how it has to be done.

With proper notice and as little disruption as possible. Nevada law and the lease set the advance notice a tenant is owed before entry, and I follow both. Beyond that, I group showings into set windows so the tenant's week is not interrupted over and over.

A tenant who is treated respectfully and kept informed usually cooperates, and it shows in the condition of the home and the feel of the visit. I talk with the tenant directly at the start, explain what to expect, and give them one contact for questions.

Both are settled through escrow at closing. Rent for the month of closing is split between seller and buyer by date, and the tenant's security deposit is transferred or credited to the buyer, who becomes responsible for it under the lease.

Until closing, rent is normally collected on behalf of the estate or trust, and the attorney can confirm how it should be handled. If deposit records are missing, which is common, I raise it early so the attorney and the title company can sort it out before a buyer asks.

Both are common when a family member or a long term tenant has been in the home for years. Without a written lease, the tenancy is usually treated as month to month, and the attorney can confirm which terms apply.

Below market rent mostly affects what an investor will pay, since they value the property on its income. I show what the home is worth at the current rent, at market rent, and vacant, so you can see what each path would mean before choosing one.