If your tenant had signed a years contract but you wanted to sell, when would you put it on the market?

[TheDayMyButtWentPsycho]

Say the 12 month contract ends in June, would you put the house on the market in March?

No, because I wouldn't expect a tenant to facilitate viewings.

Are you the LL or T? Why March? The tenant doesn't have to facilitate viewings irrespective of what it says in the lease so the property could be on the market for 3 months without being viewed.

After the tenant has left. You have no idea if they will leave or whether you will need to evict them etc and you can't exchange on the premise of giving vacant possession if someone is still in there.

Give tenant the appropriate notice and when they have left tart up the property and then market it.

Wait until the tenant is out. I had this as a tenant and was furious at the constant intrusion, paying full rent but expected to facilitate viewings, surveyors, photographers, estate agent queries. It was incredibly disruptive, I refused all further visits in the end.

I was also a landlord at the same time, I waited until my tenants had left and gave them money towards removal costs, not saying landlords should do that but I wanted to keep things amicable and I am extremely sympathetic to tenants having been one myself for a few years.

No, I would have the courtesy to give them the appropriate notice and put it on the market when they had moved out. A landlord did this to us once, 5 months after we'd moved in. We started looking for another rental immediately, found one that week and moved as soon as we legally could. We weren't going to have prospective buyers traipsing through our home. Took months to sell ...

I would do whatever you needed to do. If you can afford to wait then great, but if you can’t afford to do so then fair enough

But if the house was viewed during the day she would be out so she wouldn't notice.

What is she said she didn't mind?

That's the problem we very much can't afford to wait.

That’s not the point, I don’t want anyone going through my home while I am out. She will feel as if she has to keep it tidy, it’s an invasion of her privacy.

What you can or can't afford is not your tenant's problem!

Talk to your tenant. If she’s signed for 12 months you will HAVE to sell with her in situ

We moved because the landlord was selling and I was spending my maternity leave woth a newborn taking calls from the agent and having people traipse through and asking me questions I neither cared about nor had the answer to. Please wait for tenant to leave, it's not a nice experience.

Wow, you want to do viewings when the tenant is not at home? Charming. When buying a property people will be inspecting thouroughly and therefore maybe opening cupboard and wardrobe doors (if built in).

I wouldn't let people into my home when I was out and I wouldn't facilitate viewings either. It is their home.

I'd speak to them and offer a reduction in rent if they are willing to put up the with disruption.

If not I'd give them notice and crack on as soon as they are out... they are tennents, you own the bloody thing.

If your tenant refuses viewings you will have no choice but to wait until she has left. She absolutely has the right to refuse.

What you could do is offer her a rent reduction in exchange for 2 or 3 “slots” per week when she would allow viewings? But expecting a tenant to keep a house up to viewing standards for months is totally unreasonable and she may not even agree to that.

Well it's not your tenants problem that you can't afford not to sell. She might not mind people viewing the house but she very well might. It's not going to be in your interests to have a property up for sale that potentially no one can view, and even if she does facilitate viewings she doesn't have to keep the place tidy and unfortunately a lot of buyers can't see past mess and clutter.

Our LL sold. We had been planning to move anyway so we initially said we were willing to facilitate viewings on Saturday mornings as we were normally out then, further we had a 7 month old baby so it would be a pita keeping the place tidyish and evening viewings were no good because of her bedtime. The estate agents began to be very pushy wanting viewings at all sort of times all of which we refused.

I don’t want anyone going through my home while I am out.

Good thing it isn't your home then .

We moved because the landlord was selling and I was spending my maternity leave woth a newborn.

She won't have a newborn. I will though, I will be on maternity leave with zero money coming in and we really need to sell.

Wow, you want to do viewings when the tenant is not at home? Charming.

If she doesn't mind. As I said above.

Yes our estate agent agreed to just Saturday viewings and then within three dats started taking the piss. Two of my dc were doing A levels and GCSEs and it completely disrupted their study leave.

Estate agents do not give a damn about tenants and will say anything to get a foot in the door.

Speaking as someone who's viewed lots of homes, I hate viewing occupied ones. It means you can't really get a good look at the place, can't see if there's furniture that's deliberately covering damp, can't get into every little corner. Even if the tenant is out at the time, I've still found out really awkward and like I was nosing around someone's home. As a viewer I didn't feel comfortable.

If your tenant refuses viewings you will have no choice but to wait until she has left.
Yes I totally appreciate she is within her right to refuse. In which case this would be a moot thread.

It’s not really funny though is it OP? It’s the tenants home and you sound like cheeky piss taker from this thread alone.

Speaking as someone who's viewed lots of homes, I hate viewing occupied ones. It means you can't really get a good look at the place, can't see if there's furniture that's deliberately covering damp, can't get into every little corner.

It's not a damp home thankfully but I totally hear what you're saying and if I was viewing a home I would feel the same. Time is money though in this case so there's no easy solution.

Of course it’s the tenants home. It’s not your home. It’s your house but their home!

I say that as an ex landlord.

She does not have to allow viewings, she’s entitled to quiet enjoyment of her home and that doesn’t involve feeling she needs to pick her dirty knickers up of the bathroom floor before leaving for work.

You might be lucky and she might say she doesn’t mind.

Another thing you could do is send a nice letter asking if the tenant would be interested in ending the contract early. Maybe they secretly hate the flat and would jump at the chance to move. It can be done.