Tenants still in living in for sale property?

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So there is a really nice property that i am interested in, near good school and only wallpaper/flooring would need changing.

But it still has Tenants living there. We are FTB (currently private renting too), how does having tenants living in the property affect putting an offer in/completion timelines?

i also feel morally bad about people being evicted for us to live there. I know how hard private renting is and how shitty some landlords can be. But there is no other property in the area that would work for us in terms if schools/work/near family/price range.

In that case I would put in an offer, and say you will pay for the survey once the property is empty a month later.

The vendor is asking you to bear all the risk, otherwise.

How long have they been in the property, do they have kids?

Nothing wrong with putting an offer in.

Just be wary about spending any money (surveys etc...) BEFORE the tenants have been evicted.

This is where catch 22 comes in. The vendor will want you to prove you're a serious buyer by starting searches before they issue and S21 eviction notice, but you don't want to be spending money until you can guarantee the tenants are going to leave.

And don't even THINK about exchanging contracts until you have seen with your own eyes that the tenants have left.

A "1 month rolling contract" is meaningless if the tenant doesn't want to move out or has nowhere to go. What is the supply of rental properties in the area?

I would possibly speak to the tenants themselves and see what their plans are. That way you can get a good idea on whether they're going to be able to move. In some areas the supply of rental properties is very low, and if they want social housing, the council will advise them to stay put until the S21 has been to court and the bailiffs are at the door! This process takes about 6 months (if the S21 has been issued correctly). During covid it was even longer.

I’m sure many tenants do move out as people have said, however our experience was that they didn’t ( and rightly so but that’s another thread) and by the time we found out they weren’t moving out we had spent money on solicitors etc. Eventually we ended up buying a house I much prefer so it did all work out but was stressful at the time.

My DS and GF are buying their first flat, it is being rented at present, but according to Estate Agent, the tenant cannot afford it any longer and is waiting for sake to go through and will move out, I am quite worried about this, but the Estate Agent is a local one that has a very good reputation here, so I hope they don’t have any problem, but you never know, it’s all going so well at the moment.

A 1 month rolling contract just means that the original term of the assured shorthold agreement has expired. The tenancy could continue forever without being renewed, however the landlord still needs to end the tenancy in the appropriate manner ie, give notice and obtain a PO. The tenants cannot be evicted without that under the protection from eviction acts.
The landlord is trying to have his cake and eat it. Clearly if the tenants can make arrangements they are free to do so, but they might need to stay and await a PO if they are relying on the local authority to assist them.

If you don't buy it someone else will. The tenants are probably on the look out for something else anyway. That is how it works.

I think you have misrepresented the tenant here: she was given a 25 year tenancy agreement and unsurprisingly wanted that to be honoured. Sounds like the owner has some mental health problems which may have contributed to him taking that extreme route

What have I misrepresented? I literally said I never want to be this guy. Bizarre comment. 🤷‍♀️

I was a tenant in a property that was being sold, my landlady had been very open about her intention to put it on the market and the only restriction I put on viewings was not before noon on a Saturday so I could have a lie-in after a week at work. I was happy for the EA to take people round when I was at work. Because I knew it was up for sale I was actively looking for another place and managed to get somewhere just around the time the sale went through, slight overlap of I think a week, but I did use the last week to leave the place clean and tidy. My now-ex landlady sent me a small gift for my co-operation which was sweet. So it can all work out well.

It sounded to me like you felt the landlord had been driven to his action by an unreasonable tenant, when the tenant just wanted the tenancy contract honoured.

This.
It took 18 months to evict the tenants from my daughter's home.
They said they couldn't find anything and refused to move.
It was very stressful and she lost 2 sales because of it.
Be prepared to wait!

Bear in mind that even if the tenants were happy to move out it the LL served notice (which is minimum 2 months notice and has to be on a specific date btw) they can only move if they have somewhere to move to
Many people are finding it incredibly different to find a property to rent - due to affordability, and the number of people chasing every available property that comes up.

The LL should either be selling it as a tenanted property, or giving notice before they put it on the market. Keeping tenants in whilst trying to sell rarely works and it's also a sign of a LL who hasn't made any provision for the costs involved of being a landlord (eg periods of the property being vacant) which in my experience doesn't bode well - eg in terms of whether they cut corners anywhere else, like repairs and maintenance!

"sale to go through" means completion or at the very least exchange,no? That's too late. Unless they are cash buyers

There are perfectly reasonable tenants. We’re not all monsters 😂

We put an offer in on a tenanted house. It was a bit of a nightmare as the tenants didn't leave on time, they were offered another place by the rental/estate agents and waited til that was available.

It meant we and our buyer had to renew mortgage offers and we nearly lost the chain.

BUT we got it at a good price as others were put off. At the time I vowed never again but perhaps put a low offer in if you're willing to be messed around a bit.

Find out what’s in equivalent properties are being rented for in the area then find out what the tenants are paying. If there’s a difference it’s quite like they will choose not to go and that is their choice. It can take up to a year or more and cost money, in the old days a tenanted property would be worth 30% less than a vacant property.

Do not exchange until they’re out. Under any circumstances.

That’s ridiculous. The house is for sale. They’ve moving on whether you or someone else buys it.

For all the problem tenants who don't move out at the end of the lease, there will be dozens that do.
If the LL neds to sell, it's probable that they can't afford to have the property empty for the duration of the selling process - or why would they want to?
Could even have decided to sell because the tenants have given notice. You won't know until you ask.
If they are being co-operative about allowing viewings, why assume there will be a problem without asking?

That's not what the law says. That's their home until they choose to leave or a court grants an eviction order. If the property is sold that just changes who they are supposed to pay rent to but it does not erase their rights.

I think for me it would depend on how much I loved the house.

The current situation is absurd for tenants and for buyers. A few years ago, I rented a house I loved. I asked the LL if they'd be willing to sell; they knew I was interested in buying. I had a mortgage in principle and was, as it happens, a cash buyer. They said no, but then a year later, decided they would put the property on the market. Obviously, I put my case forward. Because the LL is a company not an individual, their internal rules meant they had to put the property on the open market (which was fine). And at the same time, they served me notice to vacate. But, because they ran that notice very close to the wire, I had to make huge gamble. I put in an offer to buy the house (as did lots of other people; it was pretty competitive). But I didn't know whether or not I'd put in the winning bid until a couple of weeks before my tenancy ran out. It was absolutely terrifying. Thank goodness, my offer was the top one and I did buy the house, but if we'd been pipped to the post with a couple of weeks left on a tenancy, we couldn't realistically have got out in time. There is almost no rental housing stock where we are, and I felt absolutely furious the LL ran it so close to the wire. Most viewers had no idea we were bidding on the house too, and it all felt pretty off.

This. You are in a good position as you don't have a house to sell, so don't have the pressure of time so much. You can put an offer in and sit back and wait if it's accepted. Just don't waste money on surveys or searches or anything else until the house is empty.

The landlord is trying to have his cake and eat it by trying to keep the tenants in as long as possible to keep the rent rolling in, rather than making moves to get vacant possession to sell. They need to shoulder the risk.