Here's the situation: you no longer want to be a landlord or maybe you just want to let go of one your investment properties; you own the house so of course you can just sell it. But the thing is, a family (a really good one) is currently calling that property a home.
Remember, tenants have rights too. While there are awesome tenants who keep the house neat and clean and ready for showing, there are just the nightmare types who wouldn't let you in and even have the locks changed.
Regardless of the tenants you have, the bottom line is you need to put this property on the market. Here are tips to successfully sell a tenant-occupied property and knowing where landlord rights begin and tenants' rights end according to Trulia:
If your tenant is on a month-to-month lease
The laws of your state should be able to help you determine how much notice you need to allow your tenant to vacate - it's usually a 30 or 60-day notice.
Let your tenant know of this plan by writing them a letter about the end of tenancy. Check your lease agreement whether you have the right to show the property while the tenant still lives there.
If your tenant is on a fixed-term lease
If you haven't stated an early termination clause in the lease agreement which states that you can end the lease in a certain amount of days after closing, the tenant is entitled to live out the lease period, considering they have a good standing. But, you can terminate the lease if they have failed to pay rent or violated any lease terms.
Otherwise, you really need to wait until the lease ends before you could sell the property. You may however start showing it if your lease agreement allows it... and giving proper notice to the tenant if you are coming by.
Sell to an investor
If there is urgency and you need to sell the property immediately but your tenant still has the right to go on with the lease, then offer the property to investors who are happy to have a tenant already in. However, it would be a tougher sale considering that your market is limited and the new owner is obliged to honor the tenant's current lease.
Pay your tenant to leave
If you really need to sell now, one of the things you can do (but not the best one) is to pay the tenant to leave your own house. How much should you offer? Check the normal rent rates in the area and if you have been charging more, you can offer the difference times the number of months left on your lease. Or, you can also offer to pay for the moving costs. If the tenant won't budge, mention about helping to pay for the security deposit for the new place.
Sell the property to your tenant
So your tenant doesn't like the idea that you just presented, maybe because they would like you to offer the property to them. If the tenant can't get a mortgage, you can do seller financing where your tenant makes payments to you.
