Buying a property with sitting tenants

Landlord Discussion Property Investment
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We are looking for another property to add to our portfolio and the estate agents keep offering us properties with sitting tenants.

Has anyone bought properties with tenants and am I right in being cautious?

Steve

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i bought a property 22 years ago with a sitting tenant He is still in it and always paid rent. No probs… how do you know if a tenant has paid and is not big trouble ? The landlord may lie in order to get rid of them

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And the agents are no better at telling the truth.

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totally agree. I always think ,if a place is a good money spinner why is it up for sale? I accept that they may be fed up , too old, too much paperwork ,But I would always want to pass on my work to my children

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Have a look at this as a starting point: https://www.vestaproperty.com/blog/10-questions-to-ask-when-buying-a-tenanted-property

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Thanks for that.
I can think of a few difficulties of my own too, so I am going to look for an empty property with no chain.

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I’ve bought with sitting tenants & have had mostly horrible experiences. That said, I would do it again. Why? Well I always factor a nightmare scenario into the price I’m prepared to pay. Example. Last one had a high asking price of 80k. I passed over it. When it came down to 65k, I viewed it & offered 55k. I obviously wasn’t going win it. But the principal of always offering after a viewing has worked well in the past so why not. Turned out mine was the only offer & the landlord was desperate to sell up the last apartment of his portfolio. I paid the 55k & had the nightmares I imagined. But I still got a bargain property, albeit with hassle, but it was well worth it. After dealing with 3 tenants that had just been passed keys to, I now have it back on my terms. Sounds awful but the value in equity was well worth the hassle. Not having competition changes the price dramatically. Factor in at least a year of lost rent, dip the price a little more & there you have the true value of the property.

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Good idea. I now will re-consider my options. Thank you!

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