Selling a house currently rented out

[Housesellingnovice]

We have a small house that we used to live in that due to rising interest rates we now need to sell. It has tenants in it. We have never sold a house before, the reason the house is rented out is we needed to move quickly so didn’t have time to sell.
Does anyone have any advice? Do we tell the tenants we are planning to sell and ask if we can have viewings with them in it or do we need to give them notice to leave first? What are the other steps? Thanks for any advice

I think the usual process is asking them if they would like to buy it first, and if they say no, issuing a s21 and selling when they leave, or selling as an investment opportunity with tenants in situ so they don’t have to leave.

Yes, first point of call is to see if they want to and/or are in a position to buy.
If they say no I would speak to a few EA's to see what your local market is like and if it will be easier/quicker to sell as an investment property with sitting tenants.
If neither of the above work out then you will need to start the eviction process.

A fairly common story and one that happened to us.
Wanted to sell so offered tenants first refusal. They were keen but suggested that the rent they had paid over the previous few years should be deducted from the price but as we would not be using an EA that would make up the difference!?!?!?😖
Obviously we refused and started the process then months later, just before they were to move out they matched the original asking price. This of course was too late as we had engaged an EA plus the (silly) market at the time meant that their delay had coincided with a significant rise in value and they were now waayyy below the actual sold price.

It’s hard to sell with tenants in situ as buyers worry that they won’t leave on time. The property has to be vacant by Exchange of contracts in most cases anyway.

I would tell the tenants you are planning to sell and gauge their reaction.

Contact the tenants first and ask if they’d like to buy it first. Can you offer some sort of discount? This would be an easier option and cuts out the EA costs as well as time to market it and prepare for viewings and all that stress. I am a landlord myself and have experience of selling to a tenant as well as selling a rental property with the tenant having to leave.

One thing though - I’d wait until the tenants have moved out until you put the house on the market. Buyers will be wary of this and this may restrict any opportunities to sell the property as it could come to the case that on completion day, the tenants have not left and you are wrangled in a legal mess.

When I sold my property - I waited until the tenant had left before marketing it. Gave me the opportunity to give the property a fresh lick of paint and replace the carpets as they were 15 years old at that time!!